JOIE CHITWOOD is the seventh president to oversee Daytona Int'l Speedway, serving in a position that "isn't for everyone," according to Ken Willis of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. Since DIS and NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. ended his 22-year reign in '81, the "shelf life for DIS presidents has been considerably shorter." ROBIN BRAIG, Chitwood's predecessor at DIS, said, "I suppose someday I'll miss it, but right now I don't miss all of the stress that goes with Speedweeks and leading up to the Daytona 500. I miss all the teamwork that went into it, and watching it all come together on that final Sunday." Chitwood said, "By the time we get to the Sunday of the Daytona 500, we're dragging a little bit." Chitwood “thought he knew what he was getting into last year when he approached his first Speedweeks as track president.” He had been president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and “had been in charge of the Indianapolis 500.” Chitwood: "I thought to myself, you've handled the Indy 500. … But I really wasn't prepared for this three-month stretch of activity. When you go from sportscars (January) to stock cars (February) to motorcycles (March), you're dealing with three different sanctioning bodies, you have three different marketing plans, you have to turn the property quickly. That was unique. I was not prepared for that and I will tell you, after Bike Week I needed to recharge." He added, "I'm not very good at conserving. I tend to go all-in. I found out that three months of all-in can be pretty intense. But when you live in the moment, you want to embrace this. These are great opportunities. This is pretty unique to run this fantastic property. … I don't want to miss anything. I want to be involved." DIS VP/Marketing SEAN BELGRADE said, "He runs at a very high level. He's relentless. That's a theme he gave us when he came here -- be relentless. He leads by example. But he's fair, too. He empowers his people to make their own decisions." Chitwood: "One of these days I'll slow down" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 2/12).
