NASCAR Assembling Group To Evaluate Business Opportunities

By Michael Smith, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

NASCAR has announced internally that it is assembling an Int'l Business Strategy Group that will include many of the sport's highest-ranking executives to evaluate and develop global business opportunities. The panel includes NASCAR Media Group President Paul Brooks, NASCAR CMO Steve Phelps, VP/Corporate Marketing Jim O'Connell, VP/Corporate Administration Ed Bennett, VP/Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell and CFO Todd Wilson. O'Connell, in addition to his duties in corporate marketing, will lead the international business activities moving forward, a role previously held by Robbie Weiss. O'Connell's previous experience at the NFL included several years of work on NFL Europe. Weiss left NASCAR earlier this year as he recovers from a brain aneurysm. Other key members of the international group include Austin Tate, who has spent the last year running international licensing, and Araceli Villegas from NASCAR Media Group's international broadcasting division.