1on1: New Daytona president has cars in his blood (NASCAR.com)
September 7, 2010
As the new president of Daytona International Speedway, Joie Chitwood III knows more than a little about taking risks and gaining rewards from it.
He talked recently with NASCAR.COM about his background and how he thinks that will help him in his new position.
Question: Could you talk a little about your new job?
Chitwood: When I think about opportunities to be involved in this sport, being president of Daytona … I can’t think of anything better. We host NASCAR’s biggest event at really the birthplace of the sport down here in Daytona Beach.
I was born and raised in Tampa, Fla. My family has owned tickets to the Daytona 500 for over 26 years, and they are still in our family today. I remember coming here when I was young, and getting to watch all the great track activity. To now be a part of it in management is just fantastic.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face?
Chitwood: We’ve got some definite challenges. The world has changed the last couple of years. We’ve got a consumer out there that is feeling pressure from all sides—whether it’s the job market or the housing market or the general economic outlook of this country. That makes the challenge of selling sports tickets that much greater.
We’ve got a repaving project under way, as you well know. The challenge to be ready for next February is very important. We’ve had a great summer so far in terms of weather. They forecast a terrible hurricane summer, but so far we’ve been lucky with that. So our project is coming along excellent.
Q: Can you give us a more specific update?
Chitwood: We started with [repaving in] Turns 3 and 4 [late last week] and already have three layers of asphalt down in the backstretch. From that perspective, we feel really good about where we are and where we’re going to be in terms of the new year.
The chance to see the Daytona 500 on a repaved race track is going to be pretty unique. When we did the repave at Talladega [Superspeedway in 2006], we got great results. I expect that the 2011 Daytona 500 will be one of the most competitive, based on the new asphalt we’ve got for the drivers.
Q: How do you think the repaving of DIS will affect the racing on the track?
Chitwood: Well, one of the issues we faced was further degradation of the track itself—whether it was going to be bumps, waves, dips. So the chance to provide a more even race surface for all of them will be good for the competition. They’ll all be coming into a bit of the unknown, so they’ll have to re-do their data based on how the track responds or how their cars respond to the track in certain weather conditions.
So I think it provides a little bit of the unknown and might mix it up a little bit in terms of which teams are prepared to race on the new surface. I think that’s good for the sport.
Q: Do you have a favorite story from attending so many Daytona 500 races?
Chitwood: I remember bringing my girlfriend—who is now my wife—to the [Daytona 500]. We had 20 seats in the first row of the grandstands, and that was when you wanted to be in the first row and not higher up. You wanted to be closer to the action. I remember buying her a pair of sunglasses for that day, and she was like, ‘What are these for?’ I just said, ‘Talk to me after the race.’ You know the gust, the wind … once they start the race, if you don’t have eye protection at that point, it’s really difficult to watch everything. But just watching her reaction to that first lap—the video part, the audio part—it’s just such a great experience when they start the Daytona 500. I’ll never forget that.
To be able to come here now and lead this management team as we work through this repavement and all our other challenges is exciting. You’re talking to a guy who used to risk his life as a stunt man. So I’m not used to easy things. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead, and I’m ready to have some fun and get after it.
Q: What was it like growing up in a family like yours that carved its own niche in the stunt-car show business, founded by your grandfather and made famous by your own father Joie Chitwood Jr.?
Chitwood: Growing up in the business, I was always on the inside of it. My grandfather was a race-car driver who started the automobile stunt show [called the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show] in 1943. I spent 20 years performing—from age 5 to age 24. In fact, one of my last shows on the road, I drove a car on two wheels all the way around New Hampshire [Motor] Speedway. It helps me to look at our fans’ experiences a little bit more differently.
Q: Do you have a favorite stunt that you got to pull while with the automobile show?
Chitwood: When I was 14 years old, I was in Harrington, Del., at the fair there—and I learned how to stand on the side of a car while my dad drove it on two wheels. It was called the aerial wing walk. The TV show That’s Incredible came to watch that day—and as a result of that they needed some B roll [film], so we put the car up on blocks and I would practice climbing in and out of the car and standing on its side. My grandfather, who was still alive at the time, would rock the car back and forth to mimic its motions.
And as I was doing it, my grandfather suddenly decided to push the car back over onto all four wheels. I mean, if you’re standing on top of a car that’s on two wheels, you’re maybe, what, 8-10 feet high? I get thrown off into the dirt. I looked at my grandfather—whose nickname was ‘Chief’—and said, “Chief, what was that for?” And he just said, “You need to learn that, too.”
Q: You had to learn how to fall the right way?
Chitwood: The lesson was that sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to.
Q: Your father and grandfather challenged you and taught life lessons along the way, didn’t they?
Chitwood: And I’m going to push my son the same way. If you see something different and you want it, try it. Don’t be the kind of person who wishes they could have done this or done that. Try it.
Q: What is your son’s name?
Chitwood: What do you think my son’s name is?
Q: Joie?
Chitwood: Number four. He’s 9 years old and in fourth grade. He’s got some personality. Don’t know if he’s interested in getting in the cars at some point or not. I guess I’ll be a little shocked if he isn’t.
I will tell you this: he is a roller-coaster maniac. When we go to amusement parks, I can’t keep up with him. After four or five or six times on a roller coaster, I can’t do it anymore. I’ve reached that point in my career where roller coasters and I just don’t go that well together anymore. He could ride ‘em all day long. I’m not really sure where he got that thrill-seeking personality. Maybe from my wife’s side of the family.
Related: • ISC tabs Chitwood president of Daytona track
