Darlington Raceway president leaving, moving to Daytona

DARLINGTON — Chip Wile already knew the NASCAR business. As the president of Darlington Raceway, he learned so much more.

He will take that knowledge with him to Daytona International Speedway. On Monday, Wile announced he is moving on to be the president at NASCAR's most sacred asphalt, the home of the Daytona 500.

At Darlington, where Wile has been the track's president since August 2013, he learned to connect with the track’s employees.

“There’s not a single person in this building that I don’t know intimately,” Wile said. “And I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful as a group. We believe in one another.”

While directing that team, Wile spearheaded the Bojangles’ Southern 500’s return to Labor Day weekend. And after one year of a five-year throwback campaign, the Southern 500 already is in the discussion with events like the Super Bowl as one of sports’ best overall stages.

So much so that Wile was honored with the Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to the sport of stock car racing.

Darlington and Daytona, which hosts the July 2 Coke Zero 400 as well, are owned by International Speedway Corporation. Joie Chitwood III, who was Daytona’s previous president, will now be the chief operating officer for the parent company.

"Chip personifies the ideal track president being someone who values relationship building as the catalyst for collaboration and promotion," ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said in a statement. "(Wile) not only operates with a fan-first mentality but is deeply community-focused and a real team player, all of which will serve him well in this new role."

Wile said he will be in Daytona Beach next week and will “balance the duties of Daytona and Darlington until we have a new president.”

“The transition will be over the next couple of months,” he said. “And we’re committed as a company to continue to make both Daytona and Darlington succeed as they prepare for their events.”

Wile, who did not offer a recommendation for his replacement at Darlington, also learned one more important trait of being a leader: You know when something is bigger than you, and you find ways to make that grow even more.

“The thing I’m most proud of is our team, the folks who come to work every day and put their hard hats on and go to work,” Wile said. “We’ve been recognized (with awards) as a team over the last 12 months, but it’s for things I’ve known for a long time. These folks are so talented and so committed to Darlington that it’s been an honor to be a part of their team and lead this group.”

This year, Darlington director of public relations Dennis Worden was named NASCAR’s PR representative of the year, and the track staff earned top honors as the marketing team of the year for its “Tradition Returns to Darlington Raceway” campaign.

Worden said Wile will be sorely missed.

“I don’t think there’s any question on the impact Chip has made not only to the track but to the community,” Worden said. “Since he’s been here in 2013, the impact that he’s made across the board over the past 2½ years has been fantastic, and obviously you can see the results. Firsthand, with us moving back to Labor Day Weekend and him spearheading the throwback weekend and the variety of community events we host here almost on a monthly basis are all because of his leadership.”

Building a Darlington community in addition to a fan base was paramount to Wile.

“We made Darlington our home,” Wile said. “My wife (Catherine) and I moved here three years ago, and we committed to making Darlington and the Pee Dee our home and enjoyed everything about the community.

“We made great friends here, and we will certainly miss those folks, so this is a little bit of a bittersweet day. It’s that way because, although I’m getting an incredible opportunity to lead the team in Daytona where they have an incredible group of talented people over there, I’m also leaving a group that I care very deeply for and know intimately.”

As for the continuation of the throwback campaign, Wile said that will continue to thrive at Darlington.

“We have a very well thought-out, five-year plan, and we’ll continue to build on that for years to come,” Wile said.

This story was originally published April 26, 2016 at 8:44 AM with the headline "Darlington Raceway president leaving, moving to Daytona."