JOIE CHITWOOD III's nearly six-year tenure as Daytona Int'l Speedway President "has ended," as he will move to the "newly created role" of COO with DIS parent company Int'l Speedway Corp., according to Ken Willis of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. He will be replaced at DIS by Darlington Raceway President CHIP WILE, who at age 36 becomes the "youngest president" in DIS history. Wile takes the position "immediately, but there will be a transition period, with Chitwood maintaining oversight for the near-term." Prior to DIS, Chitwood was ISC VP/Business Operations for one year and also has been ISC Exec VP "throughout his tenure at DIS." Chitwood: "After this huge project with Daytona Rising, this gives me a chance to be focused on the corporate side, having oversight of all 12 race tracks and other corporate divisions." Willis notes in an industry where the "overriding theme is speed, Wile has been strong on the accelerator." He had "never worked" at a track before taking over at Darlington in '13. Prior to Darlington, Wile worked for ISC as Motor Racing Network Dir of Business Development. His Darlington tenure was "highlighted by last year's Southern 500" and its return to a Labor Day weekend date. Wile and his staff turned the race into a "'throwback' event, including nostalgic paint schemes for cars" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 4/26).
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK: In Daytona Beach, Godwin Kelly notes Wile has "years of motorsports experience and has worked for some of the brightest minds in the business." His resume includes working with N.C.-based Keystone Marketing Founder ROGER BEAR and NASCAR team owners BILL DAVIS and ROGER PENSKE. Wile: “We got some big things going on there in the next six weeks with the Country 500 [music festival] and the Coke Zero 400. The thing about Daytona is it seems like it never sleeps. There is so much activity going on a regular basis.” Kelly notes Wile "clocked in as a Speedway employee during Speedweeks" in February and was "assigned to oversee the suites on Level 2 of the stadium." Wile: “I can tell you I experienced Daytona firsthand. The new Speedway stadium is breathtaking" (Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL, 4/26).
