NASCAR Announces Key Leadership Promotions
Kennedy, Martin, Rogers and Schwartz to Vice President
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 6, 2020) – NASCAR announced today several leadership promotions across the breadth of its business. Ben Kennedy has been promoted Vice President, Racing Development; John Martin has been promoted to Vice President, Media and Event Technology; Patrick Rogers has been promoted to Vice President, Marketing Services; and Chris Schwartz has been promoted to Vice President, Media Properties.
Kennedy oversees strategic racing development initiatives for each of NASCAR’s series, including development of future national series’ schedules and international expansion. Having competed in both the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as previously serving as General Manager of the Truck Series, Kennedy plays a key role in working with NASCAR senior leadership to develop long term racing development strategies. Kennedy will remain based in Concord and will continue to report into Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer.
“Ben is a true racer at heart and has a tremendous understanding of what contributes to a strong race from a driver and a fan’s perspective,” said O’Donnell. “His love of motorsports and his commitment to delivering great racing for our fans comes through in everything he does. The sport is fortunate to have a rising leader like Ben and I look forward to his future leadership in this important area.”
Martin will oversee all technology related to the fan and industry at-track experience and across NASCAR’s media platforms and products. Martin has previously served in a variety of leadership roles across NASCAR Productions and NASCAR Digital and he was instrumental in the initial roll-out of NASCAR.com. Martin will remain based in Charlotte and will report into Craig Neeb, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer.
“John brings extensive experience and passion to this position,” said Neeb. “His spirit of innovation, coupled with his success working across the industry and driving collaboration and partnership, makes him an ideal fit to lead this group into the future.”
Rogers will oversee all marketing services across Teams, Drivers and Tracks, serving as the main point of leadership with industry stakeholders in implementing NASCAR’s integrated marketing strategy and maximizing the potential impact of all industry assets. Rogers has led the sanctioning body’s collaborative marketing work with race teams and drivers and will take that work to another level with his new, broader duties. Rogers will remain based in Charlotte and will continue to report into Pete Jung, Senior Vice President, Marketing.
“Patrick has developed strong relationships throughout the garage and has a track record of success in developing marketing opportunities for our drivers, teams and tracks that deliver for our fans,” said Jung. “His leadership in bringing the industry together cannot be overstated and I am excited about the impact he and his team will have as we seek new and innovative ways in bringing our fans closer to our drivers, teams and racetracks.”
In his elevated role, Schwartz will continue to lead MRN and Racing Electronics and work closely with NASCAR’s media functions to integrate that technology across NASCAR media platforms. His focus will be working with NASCAR’s media partners and senior leadership to build upon strategies to distribute live audio content and dynamic in-venue technology to race fans both at-home and at the track. Schwartz will be based in Charlotte and will report into Brian Herbst, Senior Vice President, Media and Productions.
“Chris is a seasoned industry executive that understands the opportunities that exist for our sport and our fans as we develop engaging media platforms and content across our industry,” said Herbst. “He has a proven track record in developing strong, innovative media partnerships with multiple stakeholders that will position our sport well as the media landscape evolves.”
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series™), three regional series, one local grassroots series, three international series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, Americrown Service and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).
Sources: Chris Tropeano/NASCAR Communications