August 21, 2024 • 33 mins
Latasha Causey is the President of NASCAR’s Phoenix Raceway, overseeing the promotion and operation of the modernized facility that is a top motorsports and entertainment destination in the Phoenix, AZ, market.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another edition of CEOs You Should Know, and
you should know our next CEO. She made history becoming
the first female black president of a NASCAR track ever.
She is the current president of the Phoenix Raceway. Latasha
Cosey joins us here on CEOs You Should Know. Latasha.
Great to see you, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you so much for having me. Glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Obviously, the NASCAR events that happen in Phoenix are an
integral part of the sports landscape of Phoenix, of which
there are many marquee events. It happens every year the community.
But we also want to talk about your story in
your background and how you came to this position. And
I know you've been asked about it a lot. I
know you've talked about it a lot, but this is
(00:42):
still something that I think people should know about that
in your current role, you continue to sort of trailblaze
in the NASCAR community. How did that happen and how's
it going for you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, well, first, it's been one of the best decisions
I've ever made, and so it has been an amazing
year and a half at Phoenix Raceway as the president,
and honestly, I took your unconventional route to get here.
I will tell you it was not on my to
do list to be the president of Phoenix Raceway, of
a NASCAR track, That was nowhere on my list of
things to do. But glad, glad it showed up. You know, honestly,
(01:19):
this is your good old networking and honestly, women supporting
other women. Julie Geese was the previous track president at
Phoenix Raceway. Julie and I. Julie came to Phoenix from Daytona.
She's been at NASCAR for over twenty years. She came
to Phoenix from Daytona brand new here. She was here
for maybe about a week and we were on a
(01:40):
women's panel together for the Phoenix Business Journal. So we're
on this panel. Rache from the Business Journal reaches out
and he says, hey, there's this woman that's taking on
Phoenix Raceway. She needs other women to be connected with
in the community, and she just needs other connections. And
I said, you know, raise a phenomenal human being. And
I said, hey, she's a friend of you, Ray and
she's a good person. I'm happy to happy to be
(02:01):
her friend too. And so Julie and I, Julie's an
amazing human being. We became very quick friends and Jodie.
Not until I met Julie Geese did I ever go
to a NASCAR race. So Julie, you know, I was
just out there helping her. She really had this vision
of really getting Phoenix Raceway as a known, you know
entity within our market here in Arizona, and she needed
(02:23):
to in order to do that, she needed support right
from the community, and so I was just making connections
for her, honestly, with zero intention of anything back, right,
nothing at all. And so I did that for Julie
for the whole four years that she was here. You know,
she created a group of high powered individuals called Accelerators,
so like Phoenix Leaders other so it wasn't just me anymore, right,
(02:45):
as other leaders helping her in the community as well.
And she's the one who said, hey, you got to
come to a NASCAR race. I'm like, okay, I'll come
check you out. But honestly, it was just to go
to support her, and I went to every single one
of her races that I could. Obviously we had COVID
in there as well, so there was some races that
didn't per se happened, but I was able to enjoy it,
(03:06):
and there is nothing like a NASCAR race, And so
I was sold after my first first race. But really,
when Julie had the opportunity to take on our Chicago
Street Race, which last year was our first year for
Chicago Street Race and she's killing it in Chicago, Julie
called me and said, hey, what do you think about
taking on Phoenix Raceway and this role? And you know,
(03:27):
I one was like what in the world? But you know,
and I went through a lot of like why would you?
Why would why me?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Right?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And all all of those questions, and you know, I
honestly was getting ready to shut the opportunity down and
think of, hey, who else can actually take this on?
Before I even considered it for myself. But I, of
course a lot of praying, had a lot of conversations
with my husband. Was the one who's like, hey, if
anyone else asked you for themselves, as if an opportunity
like this came up for them, there was no way
(03:56):
you would tell them to shut the door on it
before you even considered it. And so I hate when
he's right, but he was right. And so I went
through the research and really had great conversations with leadership.
It wasn't like an immediate absolutely, because you have to
make sure it's right for both of us. I mean,
you mentioned at the top of the show that I'm
the first black female to be in this role in
(04:16):
NASCAR's over seventy five year history. So for me, it
was important to know that I could authentically show up
as who I am and that I wouldn't be a token, right.
I don't want to be a to like I am
a Phoenix native here. What I'm really good at is
Phoenix and this Phoenix market and this business. And I
don't want my reputation ruined because you just want me
to go be a figurehead somewhere, right, And once I
(04:37):
determined that was not the case at NASCAR, I said yes.
And I could not be more grateful for Julie Giesi
for seeing that in me and for seeing that this
is an opportunity for me to be part of the
NASCAR family. And it has been so much fun.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
There's a lot that I can't wait to talk to
you about it there, including just the power importance of networking,
which sometimes gets overlooked in a social media era where
people think if they click this like or follow that.
That's networking. I want to talk to you specifically about
how that's helped your world. Plus taking over CEO. I
think it's a tremendously instructive conversation about taking over a
(05:13):
company that you didn't have a deep well of direct
experience in. But before we get to that, you mentioned
the first NASCAR event that you went to. What was
the first thing that hit you? The sites, the people watching,
the sound which is amazing, the smells which are unique
to NASCAR. Like, what was the first sensory experience you
had at NASCAR? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Everything, but first it was the driving up to the raceway.
Right when you drive up to the raceway, it just
kind of pops out of absolutely nowhere.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Right, And I'm like, and you're from the west side
of Phoenix, right, Yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
My parents still live in the same house I was
born and raised in and essentially it's only like fifteen
to twenty minutes STO. Never went to the racetrack before that,
but it just like pops up out of nowhere. You're like, okay,
all right, okay, that's cool, right yeah, But then you
like walk in and you're like, okay, this is actually
there's a little a little bit of everything you have.
Like some people who are dressed like they're, you know,
(06:03):
going to the club. You have some people who are
dressed like they just woke up. You have kids, you
have families, you have like everything there. And then when
the engine start.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
The sounds are amazing, right, Like I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Every race, I mean, I've now this, I've gone through three.
I've had three races as a president of the race
where I stand in the same spot after I get
done doing what I need to do for my job, right,
I go stand in the same spot and I just
soak it all in. Right, I'm seeing the pit crews,
I'm hearing the drivers, I'm smelling the smells like you
could fill it in your body. And so when I'm
down there on the grid, just like taking all of
(06:40):
that in. There's just, honestly nothing like it. I've never
experienced anything like that in my life.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
No, it's so unique. I had this really cool experience
a few years ago where the Andretti family was out
doing some racing and I got a chance to be
in a I think it was an IndyCar. It was
it was an IndyCar where we were doing laps around
the track, and it just gave me a sense of
like how fast. Yes, you can go on that because
(07:05):
people think like I drive on the one oh one,
I drive on the ten. I'm basically Phoenix Raceway every day.
And another word, no, it's unbelievable and unique is the
best way to describe it. You mentioned the site of it.
I was flying in this past weekend from out of
state and out the right side of the window. It's
such a distinct aerial view, two up against the mountain,
(07:27):
this big stadium. Yes, why I'm just curious from your
native Phoenician and your background outside of sports prior to
leading Phoenix Raceway, why do you think it still kind
of sneaks up on people.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, you know, I think because of its uniqueness, right,
and you know this year we celebrate sixty years of
the raceway being there, and so you know, back in
twenty eighteen, Julian the team renovated Phoenix Raceway. But no
matter what, it's always been just this site right like
that comes out of the mountain. So when it was purchase,
when it bought, we have over seven hundred acres of
land out there, and so it was just so smart
(08:05):
to put it just right there in the middle of
the mountains, and that's who we are, right, That's who
Arizona is.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
We have mountains, we have desert, that's what we have.
And we're just in the middle of a mountain in
the desert. And so that's what just makes it so
you're not in the middle of the city. Which there's
nothing wrong with being in the middle of the city either,
but it's just different. There isn't anything else like it,
which is why you, like you said, when you're on
an airplane, when you're just drying, you wouldn't normally just
drive by a phoenix race right right, it's at the end.
If you're going out there, you're going for. If you
(08:32):
see it, it's because you meant to see it. Come man.
So I just feel like it's because it's just so unique.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
So let's go back to networking, because I think one
of the things that we kind of overlook in positions
that people are elevated to or have the opportunity to
achieve in is it just always helps to know people.
So from your experience and if you were speaking right
now to people listening to the CEOs, you should know
(08:59):
podcast and they are an aspiring CEO. Maybe they're starting
their journey, maybe they're at the midway point, maybe they
haven't begun it yet. How would you weigh the importance
of in person networking.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
There's nothing more important than in person networking, right, I
feel like and there I'm just a curious person and
I just love people. But I also just love different people,
Like I don't want everyone in my network to be
just like me. I do not feel like you grow.
I do not feel like, I mean, you need people
who think differently than you. Have different religious beliefs in you,
different political beliefs, right, because that's what educates you. Right,
(09:33):
those are the things that keep you educated, and you
hear a different perspective on things. So for me, I
just get energy off of knowing different people and having
different people in my in my network. But I do
always feel like there is You're always in this space
of like do you know why people ask you like,
do you know a guy that does whatever? That is? Right?
And so for me, I'm always like, I actually know
a guy that does that fact connect you with it. It
(09:55):
would be mutually beneficial for both of you. So that's
something that I've always I'm like the queen of connection.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Right, Like when I get to inherit your network now
that we're doing this interview.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, but here's the thing. I'm super protective of my network.
For you, you have to be protective of your network.
You have to know. Of course I have a lot
of friends, but I have a lot of associates, and
I have a lot of business people. You need to
know what bucket those individuals go into. And it's okay
for all of them. Everybody's not your bestie, right, and
that's okay. And you could go with some people not
talking to them for years or months, but they know genuinely, Hey,
(10:26):
Natasha is a really good person. If she actually reaches
out to me, it's probably for a good reason, right,
And so just not taking advantage of that network either, right,
and having a true intent, knowing why you want that network.
For me, I always go in eyes wide open until
there's a reason for me not to want to be
around you or a reason for me not to know you.
I'm always in a space of like, I don't need
(10:47):
anything from you, and I'm sure you don't really need
anything from me, but let's just network.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Did this start in college? Did you begin kind of
laying the groundwork for the network. Did you find that
it really took getting your feet in the business world
before you could successfully network the way you wanted to.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, I think naturally the person that I am, I've
always met. My kids say this about me all the time,
Like they hate going with me to the grocery store
because I think I'm just one of those people that
someone is like, oh, either they think they know me
or like I have a friendly something where they want
to just come up and tell me their whole life
story and that and I just met you right now
and I know everything about you, right, And so my
kids like, I'm not going with you because somebody's gonna
talk to you or you're going to know someone. And
(11:25):
so I feel like I've always had that, like that's
just a part of who I am since I was
very young. Then I think I had to at some
point hone that in right Like, so, like you said,
I probably learned that very early in my career of
just honing in on like why do you know all
of these people? And like you don't have to call everything,
you don't have to call email, right, text talk to
everyone every day, and so just really honing in on
(11:46):
those things, and so, yes, I had to figure that out.
And I think the more you're in business, the more
you figure out how to manage your network. And honestly,
the more you move up and the more you become
who you are, you also manage your friends, and so
you figure out, like, hey, there's certain people that you
should associate yourself with and there are certain ones that
you shouldn't, and so, yes, you learn as you go.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I don't know if you've had this experience. I'm curious.
I work with some younger people kind of out of college,
and they work hard, and they create content and they
do all the things that they're kind of told in
the classroom to do. But it does feel like networking
has become somewhat of a lost art for the younger generation.
And I'm maybe generalizing there, but it's been my experience.
(12:28):
Have you found that to be true to it? Has
it been more of a learning curve for that in
person communication with the younger generations that are just starting
their journey.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely think it is different than
when we started, Right, we didn't have the Instagrams of
facebooks and all the thankfully well and Honestly, the text
messages really weren't as big of a thing neither, right, Like,
so you actually had to talk to people, Like your
grammar was a little different, right because if you were
writing something, you were actually writing it either on.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Pen and pain, were representing yourself and you're writing one percent.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And so it is much different because now you can
get away with emojis and omgs and all of those
types of things, right, And so yes, I do think
it is different. However, I do think that young people
teach us as well, because now their network is much broader, right,
so there is nothing like in person and face to
face things. People have to get out there and you
have to get out from behind your phone. So the
phone gives you the opportunity to one either be anonymous
(13:23):
and be anonymous and rude, or be present and be
present and great. Right, And so I feel like, you know,
they teach us things of like, oh maybe we should
expand our networks. Like for me, when I started in
this role, right away, the team's like, you have like
such a really good personality that we could practice with
you and you could create like an Instagram account. It
would be like Phoenix Raceway, pres right, and I'm like,
(13:43):
I am not doing that right, Like, there's no way
I'm doing that. But the younger crowd is like, no,
people want that because there's certain people that are not
comfortable coming up and talking to you, and certain people
that won't get to know you right if they're not
on their phone. And I said, okay, So there is
a balance of those two things. While it's uncomfortable for
me to be on that social media side of things,
(14:04):
it's something that's like, Okay, I have to relate. How
do we become relatable?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Latasha Casey joining us here on CEOs you should know
she's the president of Phoenix Raceway, and you know a
couple of other things I wanted to delve into. Was
you mentioned that you didn't want to take this job
unless you could be your authentic self, and it feels
like so much of leadership is authenticity. You also mentioned
you didn't have a direct background in sports before you
(14:29):
took over a job that is steeped in a sport.
How are you able to do both at the same time,
because I think a lot of people would be tempted
to pretend they were a NASCAR fan or to pretend
that they were a huge sports fan. You doesn't sound
like you've ever done that, have ever hid from your
background outside of sports, but have maintained authenticity. Tell me
(14:52):
about why that was important to you and how you
were able to successfully pull that off. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Well, I think one of the best things that I
am comfortable my own skin, right. I know I woul
going into this. I knew that I did not have
a background in NASCAR, and like you said, not a
bad background in sports. But I also am humble enough
to know that I didn't have those things, and so
I knew that I had to get really, really, really
ingrained in the sport to understand it. Right. I can't
get out here and act like I know all these things, right,
(15:17):
I know me. I know that if I'm doing these
interviews with you and you ask me the ins and
outs of points and all that kind of stuff within NASCAR,
I'm going to bees my way through that, and that's
just not who I am. You'd be able to tell
right away. And so for me, it was really just
getting out there. One. I have a phenomenal team here
in Phoenix, and so I learned from my team every
single day, and I make sure that they know, Hey,
(15:38):
I'm not here to tell you everything that you need
to do how to do it, because you actually have
been in this job for quite some time. I'm asking
you to help me understand the sport, understand how this works,
and then we're going to collaborate and collectively work together.
So I had to humble myself enough to be able
to do those things. But I lead like that anyway,
whether I have been I've been in human resources for years,
community development for years, and even in those roles, you
(16:00):
learn something new every day. And so I also spent
the majority of the first quarter, first two quarters of
me being in this role on the road. I was
out there in the sport getting to meet drivers, teams.
I mean, one of my first meetings was with Jeff
Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, right, and so Jeff is just
a phenomenal human being. He took the time to have
(16:21):
lunch with me, and it was a fancy lunch too, Right,
take the time to have lunch with me at Hendrick
Motorsports their leadership team, and really, you know, everyone that
has been everyone has been so genuine and hey, how
can we help you? What can we do to support you?
Even people like Jeff Gordon can take the time to
do that. Every time I have a race, no matter what,
I will get a text message from Jeff Gordon. It
(16:43):
will say, hey, thinking of you, let me know if
you need anything, and he means it right like the
fact that he takes the time to do that. And
so that's the nature of NASCAR, and people are genuinely
just really good people and they want to see you
succeed because if I succeed, the Phoenix Raceway succeeds, and
so does the sport. And so I have just again,
I've really been able to have the opportunity to get
(17:03):
out there and learn soak it all in.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There's a lot to soak up, right, there's a lot
to soak up, I mean in sports in general. Your deal,
I mean, this is part of why this position is
so interesting to me is there's approximately one hundred employees.
So you've got a lot of people that are relying
on your leadership and the raceway succeeding for their livelihoods.
You have a constituency in a fan base that is
(17:26):
known for their long, deep rooted passion for the sport
and history and tradition, and they're pretty protective of the
culture of NASCAR that has existed, and then NASCAR on
top of that is heavily driven by sponsorships, of corporate sponsorships,
local national. So for you in your role, what are
(17:51):
the most important characteristics and traits you think you need
to have in order to succeed in all of those areas?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Absolutely? Well, I mean there's so many things. It's relatability, right,
how do you relate to every single one of those facets? Right?
Our fans, like you said, we have the most loyal
fans I feel like in any sport, right, I mean,
we invite these fans out to our race. They come
the Monday before, leave the Monday after. And even if
you're not a fan that's coming to camp, but you're
just a fan that has been a fan forever. You're
(18:19):
coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday right to racing at their raceway,
and you're traveling in from somewhere else. So how do
you relate to those fans? How do you get out there?
And so I have made it a priority of myself.
I know we talked a little bit earlier about me
meeting and engaging with fans all ages, young, old, Everything
I get out there, and I don't want to be untouchable, right,
I want to touch and feel and talk to our
(18:40):
fans so that I can hear. They're the ones that
are going to tell you if they're having a good
time or not. That's how you know how you continue
to enhance the experience. And so that's one thing. But
then as well from partners, right, you have to get
out there. You have to make sure that you understand
their needs, the direction of their organizations, their companies, and
making sure that you understand like, how can we make
(19:00):
sure that Phoenix Raceway is still being a good partner
to you and your business holistically, make sure your brand
is where it's supposed to be. Make sure you only
you know, have this certain drink or that drink or
whatever it is, but that we're putting you in a
prominent space so that people know we're partners in this.
And so there's so many of those things. You know.
People always ask like, hey, you have a race in
Marching and you have a race in November. You're obviously
(19:21):
not doing anything in between there.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, right, it's hanging out.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, staycay, that's what we're doing all the time. No,
we're building and we're continuously making sure that our events
are really great and making sure that our partners are good,
our fans are good, but that even all of those things,
we're also having multiple events at the raceway. You know,
we're open almost two hundred days per year and have
almost that many events per year at the raceway outside
of NASCAR racing, And so again, you have to make
(19:48):
sure that you're keeping everyone satisfied, to include the community
and the business community, and making sure that they know
our home is theirs and we want to make sure
that it continues to thrive.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Okay, two questions flowing from that. One is specifically when
it comes to engaging your employees. Yeah, what's your leadership style?
Are you a delegator? Are you someone who is learning
all parts of the organization. What would you describe as
effective leadership at Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, effective leadership is being flexible, Right. There are times
when you have to be a delegator, and there are
times when you have to get in you have to
do certain things, and there's always times when you have
to get your hands dirty. But for me, I'm a
relationship person. So first and foremost, the first thing I
did is really got to know my team, what's important
to them in and outside of Phoenix Raceway. You know,
being in sports, we're not there eight to five, right,
(20:36):
Like we are there a long time for a lot
of hours on your weekends. By the way, oh yeah,
it's not based on our schedule what we want, right,
It's based on what the need is of our sport.
And so we have to I have to make sure
that I know my team. But at the same time,
you have to be able to read your team, Like, hey,
when do you know that that person is going to
reach their limit? Right? We're there twenty four to seven
(20:58):
during race week. How do I know exactly when they're
going to reach a limit? Did they eat? Like basic
things we're forgetting about, like basic human beings, right, because
it is it's intense, you know after race week. A
lot of times, like on a Monday after race week,
if I have like interviews that I have to do
or people that I have to see, I'm always like
by twelve o'clock, I have to be done because I
will shut down, right because you just know that you've
(21:18):
been on for a whole week too. Is authenticity again
I bring that up, but it's it's a true statement.
Let people come to work as who they truly are.
You know, in my environment that we currently have at
Phoenix Traceway. I mean, I know that this sounds like
something so little, but we're in sports, right, and so
you know when I first came in, everybody's like all
in suits and like all button dubos. I'm like, oh
my god, like and you can tell that they're uncomfortable, right,
(21:40):
and I'm like, take the jacket off. Oh how about
you take the tie off? Wear? Are those things when
you need to? If that's not now, If you're comfortable
doing that every day, you do that, right, But if
you're not, I'm okay with you having some flexibility and
wearing sneakers to work. If you need to, whatever it
is to make you get the best version of you
showing up and doing the job, that's what I want
you to do. So I am that person that make
(22:01):
sure that people know that, like, hey, let's open communication
and open fun all the time.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
So naturally, I think the follow up there is something
that I've struggled with. So I'm asking this selfishly and
also for the audiences in sports outside of sports, people
with ambitions, people with goals, how do you find balance
work life balance. You've got a family, You've got obviously
a whole set of responsibilities that in the grand scheme
of things dwarf the responsibilities of what you're doing at
(22:27):
the raceway. But sometimes it doesn't feel that way. So
what's what's your approach and are you successful or do
you struggle with a work life balance?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, when people ask me about work life balance, I
always say, you know that there is no such thing
life balance, right, It's prioritization. That's really what it is.
You have to prioritize what's important to you. For me,
like you said, I have a family, I have two
boys of teenagers, thirteen and seventeen.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Oh that's easy. That in teenagers, so easy right.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
In the park, Okay, And so you have all of
those things, and so for me, I make sure that
there are certain things for my kids that I just
do not miss. Right, If I have to travel at
midnight because I wanted to be at my kids baseball game,
that I'm going to do that, right, And so those
are sacrifices that I have to make. But that doesn't
mean that there is a balance. However, I do have
to be self aware enough to know like, hey, you
(23:12):
are not the best version of you because you're freaking
exhausted or you're stressed out about something, and so you
do also have to take a step back for yourself
to make sure that you can be present for everyone,
because that is not easy. And yes, there are a
lot of times when I am doing so good at work,
but then at home you're like, oh my god, did
you can really get in trouble.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
At school today? Right?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Or vice versa like, oh, dang, everything's going so good.
We got home runs, we got buckets, or my one
kid plays basketball, we got a lot. This is great.
Then you go to work in somebody's quitting or someone's unhappy, right,
You're like, okay. So there's never really like that balance
of both. You can't anticipate that everything's going to be perfect.
It's how you manage it and how you prioritize.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Let's talk about the long term goals of Phoenix Raceway
of the season you mentioned, and I think this is
so thing that most people don't know. I don't even
think that I was aware of how many other events
go on at Phoenix Raceway other than these two huge
NASCAR events. So how have you successfully grown that and
how do you want to continue to grow that at
(24:14):
Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Yeah, well, first of all, it's the team. You know,
the team, the sales team, the on site operations team.
They have grown that and they know. So we put
out the goals and we say, hey, here's what we
want to do. We want to generate more revenue for
our off cycle events outside of NASCAR events, And so
they get out there and like and we can get creative.
I told you we have seven hundred acres of land.
(24:35):
You could either use the raceway itself, like the track,
all those types of things. We have internal we have
like a conference center that holds up to a thousand people,
and then we have land where you can build things.
So for example, we just had the circus that was
out there. We have the circus and a concert going
at the same time. So we have a partnership with
the Relentless Beats where we do electronic music concerts, and
(24:57):
so they come out there, they do their concerts, and
then at the they're into the property. We had the
circus going every day for like seven days. But we
also have a really good relationship with the city of
Avondelle so that we can get people in and out
of our location. Right, we have the traffic department, all
of those individuals helping us be successful. And so for us,
it's really a matter of the team getting out there
and getting those opportunities and then us executing it and
(25:19):
making sure that when we execute that that people are
having a really good time and having a top notch
experience our customer and as well they're customers right that
are coming to enjoy and experience that. So we will
continue to have events, we will continue to open up
our raceway. It's not something that we have done truly
hugely in the past. That was a path that Julie
(25:39):
was going down as what like I mentioned, you know,
you had COVID that came in there, so her momentum
was great and then the ideas were there and it
was just starting and so she didn't get to finish
what she was doing. And so now it's my opportunity
to come in and sprinkle that on with the team,
and the team has been phenomenal. We have expanded our
events and we're continuously doing that. The amount of track
tours that we've given people never been to the raceway
(26:01):
has been phenomenal and that's business community, right. We have
like the Phoenix Chamber hosted their board of Director's retreat
there for the first time ever, almost one hundred people
at their raceway. And then you know, if you're gonna
come to the raceway, we're gonna make sure you have fun.
So we're gonna give you some pace, car rides and
things like that. And so we've opened it up to
people who have never even thought of it, which has
been super cool. As well.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
People have gotten married there. You have gotten married like
on the track or on the property.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
On the property, we have an area called the barn,
and so in the barn, it's like a conference center, right,
but it's unique, it's different. It's arizona Ish if you will.
It's called the barn, but it's really fancy. And so
we've had weddings and receptions within the barn. Now, if
we had anybody that wanted to get married on the track,
we can make that happen as well. So people have
gotten engaged. We know someone that's gotten raceway. Jay from
(26:50):
here got the raceway, and so we know again disguise limit.
We have prom that we will have next year. A
couple of proms actually are coming the raceway. So again,
it's just a unique collection of things that people just
had no idea that one we were willing or two
that it was an option.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Let's talk about the future of the events that go
on there, and as you guys have announced, twenty twenty
four and twenty twenty five will continue to be the
home of the NASCAR Championship. What does the raceway have
to do? What does the community have to do to
continue to make sure that NASCAR and Phoenix Raceway are
inextricably linked and the biggest events continue to be at
(27:31):
Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Yes, So one thing that I will say is you
mentioned the community and the business community. I have been
truly humbled by the support that I personally have received
from the community. There are people who have just been curious,
right like, what you went to NASCAR? I got to
know why you're at Phoenix Raceway, right Like, so I
just want to know. Then when they come, they're like,
oh my god, how do I support this? What do
I do? So we've had, if you will, a seat
(27:53):
at the table with all the other leaders in the
sports arena. The leaders have come to our races as
well since I been there, which has again been just
truly humbling for We've had an executive from every sports
team that has come over my last few races, which
has been super cool as well. So for us, it's
really having those opportunities to tell our story about Phoenix
(28:13):
Raceway out into not only this market, but other markets
as well, because you know, our fans come from all
over the place, and so we want to be able
to continue to tell that story and for the community
to continue to support us. So we appreciate that, and
so that's what we have to do. We have to
make sure that our track is ready at all times.
So we have a phenomenal team on site that's at
their raceway. So if at any time you said, hey,
(28:35):
you know what, tomorrow, I want to come out and
I want to have this really big party at their raceway,
of course it takes a little longer than tomorrow, but
the point is is that the track would be ready
for you to be able to do that in a
very quick turnaround. So it's just a matter of that
people knowing that we're there, but also people knowing that
we're willing to have them there, and.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
For you just your your personal goals that you're hoping
to accomplish and see through as you continue in this journey.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yeah. Well, one first and foremost from a NASCAR perspective,
is to continue to host really phenomenal events at Phoenix Raceway.
From a NASCAR standpoint, right, we have a race in March,
like you mentioned, and we have championship in November. We
know for sure that championship is coming back in twenty
twenty five. It's a whole process to figure out what
happens after that. But what we want to do is
make sure that we at least have two races here
at Phoenix Raceway for well into the future. Even if
(29:21):
we didn't have championship, we'd have a playoff race, and
so we want to continue to have that. But we
want to continue to provide really great experiences. So that's
our first goal, is to continue to bring new attractions,
bring new things, bring new fans. I mentioned to you
that we have some of the most loyal fans within NASCAR,
So there is a space for all of our NASCAR fans,
but there's also a space for other fans. How do
(29:42):
we diversify our fan base? Diverse five doesn't just mean color, right,
that means everything. Everything from age, people who just never
We were just in a conversation and we had multiple
people there that had never been to a NASCAR race,
right Opening it up to people like that that want
to come to the raceway them knowing that you don't
have to come just to be in an RV all
week right now, you can come maybe just for Friday, Saturday,
or just for Sunday and really experience what's happening at
(30:05):
the raceway. So that's first and foremost, But then it's
the community. How do we show up and how do
we serve the community. We have a Phoenix Raceway Charities
where we give back, but how do we create I
don't want to just give you a ten thousand dollars
check and say there you go, good luck with your
the causes that you have going on. How do we
create programs and make sure that kids are not like
(30:27):
me where they're not they're well into their adulthood and
they live in the backyard down the street, it never
came to their raceway. Open that opportunity up for them
early providing field trips. We've already created that program. We
were doing fild trip programs. We're just doing multiple things
where people feel like they're welcome to be part of
NASCAR and part of Phoenix Raceway. And so that's my
(30:47):
goal is that you know what, when I'm done giving
my Sparkle, whatever whatever happens next, that there are programs
and things that are sustainable well into the future and
people are like wow, like I remember when I went
to Phoenix Raceway, or wow, I'm a diehard Mask fan.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Now, last question, and I think you've got a great
background to answer this in a way that will be
relatable to a lot of people listing what do you
think is the biggest misconception about a NASCAR race or
working in sports? Are just in your experience as president
and Phoenix Raceway, what is sort of the biggest misconception
You've been able to stop me like, wait a second,
(31:20):
that's nothing like I thought it was going to be.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Well, let's just be honest. The first thing, the first
misconception was like even for me as a black woman,
like black people don't go to NASCAR, which that is
not true. I but that was just what it was, right, Like,
I mean, that was the mindset, that was a perception
of like, hey, that's just not a space for us,
but it is actually a space for us. And it's
amazing how many pit crew members look like me, right,
(31:43):
But there's so many of them there. It's just and
NASCAR has been doing a drive for diversity program for
the last twenty years, not something that it's not brand new, right,
It's not just since twenty twenty when the whole George
Floyd thing happened. No, NASCAR was leading from the forefront,
but doesn't talk about it, right, And so that's been
like one of the most prizing things for me is
just like how welcoming the sport actually is to everyone.
(32:05):
So that was my first misconception in regards to NASCAR,
but then as well in regards to sports. So you
don't realize what it takes to actually work in sports, right.
There are so many things, so many political things, non
political things you mentioned partners, right, making sure everyone is happy,
making sure your drivers are happy, their teams are happy.
(32:27):
There's just so many things that collectively have to happen
in order for racing just to happen on the track itself. Yes,
we haven't even got to the event before we get
to all those things. So those two things have been,
if you will, the biggest misconceptions and like, you know, one,
it's easy to walk in the park. No, it's not easy,
but it's actually it is easy in the sense that
(32:48):
there's so many people making sure that it is successful.
And again it is very, very welcoming, which not something
that you would have thought from the outside looking in,
or you think that everyone is just the same fan
or the same person, and that is not the case
at NASCAR.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Well, yeah, it's an incredible story, it's inspiring, it's engaging.
There's obviously a lot more to it. But Latasha Casey,
president of Phoenix Raceway, thanks for taking some time with
us on CEO's You should know I'm telling your story.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you so much for having me
Welcome to another edition of CEOs You Should Know, and
you should know our next CEO. She made history becoming
the first female black president of a NASCAR track ever.
She is the current president of the Phoenix Raceway. Latasha
Cosey joins us here on CEOs You Should Know. Latasha.
Great to see you, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Thank you so much for having me. Glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Obviously, the NASCAR events that happen in Phoenix are an
integral part of the sports landscape of Phoenix, of which
there are many marquee events. It happens every year the community.
But we also want to talk about your story in
your background and how you came to this position. And
I know you've been asked about it a lot. I
know you've talked about it a lot, but this is
(00:42):
still something that I think people should know about that
in your current role, you continue to sort of trailblaze
in the NASCAR community. How did that happen and how's
it going for you?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yes, well, first, it's been one of the best decisions
I've ever made, and so it has been an amazing
year and a half at Phoenix Raceway as the president,
and honestly, I took your unconventional route to get here.
I will tell you it was not on my to
do list to be the president of Phoenix Raceway, of
a NASCAR track, That was nowhere on my list of
things to do. But glad, glad it showed up. You know, honestly,
(01:19):
this is your good old networking and honestly, women supporting
other women. Julie Geese was the previous track president at
Phoenix Raceway. Julie and I. Julie came to Phoenix from Daytona.
She's been at NASCAR for over twenty years. She came
to Phoenix from Daytona brand new here. She was here
for maybe about a week and we were on a
(01:40):
women's panel together for the Phoenix Business Journal. So we're
on this panel. Rache from the Business Journal reaches out
and he says, hey, there's this woman that's taking on
Phoenix Raceway. She needs other women to be connected with
in the community, and she just needs other connections. And
I said, you know, raise a phenomenal human being. And
I said, hey, she's a friend of you, Ray and
she's a good person. I'm happy to happy to be
(02:01):
her friend too. And so Julie and I, Julie's an
amazing human being. We became very quick friends and Jodie.
Not until I met Julie Geese did I ever go
to a NASCAR race. So Julie, you know, I was
just out there helping her. She really had this vision
of really getting Phoenix Raceway as a known, you know
entity within our market here in Arizona, and she needed
(02:23):
to in order to do that, she needed support right
from the community, and so I was just making connections
for her, honestly, with zero intention of anything back, right,
nothing at all. And so I did that for Julie
for the whole four years that she was here. You know,
she created a group of high powered individuals called Accelerators,
so like Phoenix Leaders other so it wasn't just me anymore, right,
(02:45):
as other leaders helping her in the community as well.
And she's the one who said, hey, you got to
come to a NASCAR race. I'm like, okay, I'll come
check you out. But honestly, it was just to go
to support her, and I went to every single one
of her races that I could. Obviously we had COVID
in there as well, so there was some races that
didn't per se happened, but I was able to enjoy it,
(03:06):
and there is nothing like a NASCAR race, And so
I was sold after my first first race. But really,
when Julie had the opportunity to take on our Chicago
Street Race, which last year was our first year for
Chicago Street Race and she's killing it in Chicago, Julie
called me and said, hey, what do you think about
taking on Phoenix Raceway and this role? And you know,
(03:27):
I one was like what in the world? But you know,
and I went through a lot of like why would you?
Why would why me?
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Right?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
And all all of those questions, and you know, I
honestly was getting ready to shut the opportunity down and
think of, hey, who else can actually take this on?
Before I even considered it for myself. But I, of
course a lot of praying, had a lot of conversations
with my husband. Was the one who's like, hey, if
anyone else asked you for themselves, as if an opportunity
like this came up for them, there was no way
(03:56):
you would tell them to shut the door on it
before you even considered it. And so I hate when
he's right, but he was right. And so I went
through the research and really had great conversations with leadership.
It wasn't like an immediate absolutely, because you have to
make sure it's right for both of us. I mean,
you mentioned at the top of the show that I'm
the first black female to be in this role in
(04:16):
NASCAR's over seventy five year history. So for me, it
was important to know that I could authentically show up
as who I am and that I wouldn't be a token, right.
I don't want to be a to like I am
a Phoenix native here. What I'm really good at is
Phoenix and this Phoenix market and this business. And I
don't want my reputation ruined because you just want me
to go be a figurehead somewhere, right, And once I
(04:37):
determined that was not the case at NASCAR, I said yes.
And I could not be more grateful for Julie Giesi
for seeing that in me and for seeing that this
is an opportunity for me to be part of the
NASCAR family. And it has been so much fun.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
There's a lot that I can't wait to talk to
you about it there, including just the power importance of networking,
which sometimes gets overlooked in a social media era where
people think if they click this like or follow that.
That's networking. I want to talk to you specifically about
how that's helped your world. Plus taking over CEO. I
think it's a tremendously instructive conversation about taking over a
(05:13):
company that you didn't have a deep well of direct
experience in. But before we get to that, you mentioned
the first NASCAR event that you went to. What was
the first thing that hit you? The sites, the people watching,
the sound which is amazing, the smells which are unique
to NASCAR. Like, what was the first sensory experience you
had at NASCAR? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Everything, but first it was the driving up to the raceway.
Right when you drive up to the raceway, it just
kind of pops out of absolutely nowhere.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Right, And I'm like, and you're from the west side
of Phoenix, right, Yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
My parents still live in the same house I was
born and raised in and essentially it's only like fifteen
to twenty minutes STO. Never went to the racetrack before that,
but it just like pops up out of nowhere. You're like, okay,
all right, okay, that's cool, right yeah, But then you
like walk in and you're like, okay, this is actually
there's a little a little bit of everything you have.
Like some people who are dressed like they're, you know,
(06:03):
going to the club. You have some people who are
dressed like they just woke up. You have kids, you
have families, you have like everything there. And then when
the engine start.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
The sounds are amazing, right, Like I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Every race, I mean, I've now this, I've gone through three.
I've had three races as a president of the race
where I stand in the same spot after I get
done doing what I need to do for my job, right,
I go stand in the same spot and I just
soak it all in. Right, I'm seeing the pit crews,
I'm hearing the drivers, I'm smelling the smells like you
could fill it in your body. And so when I'm
down there on the grid, just like taking all of
(06:40):
that in. There's just, honestly nothing like it. I've never
experienced anything like that in my life.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
No, it's so unique. I had this really cool experience
a few years ago where the Andretti family was out
doing some racing and I got a chance to be
in a I think it was an IndyCar. It was
it was an IndyCar where we were doing laps around
the track, and it just gave me a sense of
like how fast. Yes, you can go on that because
(07:05):
people think like I drive on the one oh one,
I drive on the ten. I'm basically Phoenix Raceway every day.
And another word, no, it's unbelievable and unique is the
best way to describe it. You mentioned the site of it.
I was flying in this past weekend from out of
state and out the right side of the window. It's
such a distinct aerial view, two up against the mountain,
(07:27):
this big stadium. Yes, why I'm just curious from your
native Phoenician and your background outside of sports prior to
leading Phoenix Raceway, why do you think it still kind
of sneaks up on people.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, you know, I think because of its uniqueness, right,
and you know this year we celebrate sixty years of
the raceway being there, and so you know, back in
twenty eighteen, Julian the team renovated Phoenix Raceway. But no
matter what, it's always been just this site right like
that comes out of the mountain. So when it was purchase,
when it bought, we have over seven hundred acres of
land out there, and so it was just so smart
(08:05):
to put it just right there in the middle of
the mountains, and that's who we are, right, That's who
Arizona is.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Right.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
We have mountains, we have desert, that's what we have.
And we're just in the middle of a mountain in
the desert. And so that's what just makes it so
you're not in the middle of the city. Which there's
nothing wrong with being in the middle of the city either,
but it's just different. There isn't anything else like it,
which is why you, like you said, when you're on
an airplane, when you're just drying, you wouldn't normally just
drive by a phoenix race right right, it's at the end.
If you're going out there, you're going for. If you
(08:32):
see it, it's because you meant to see it. Come man.
So I just feel like it's because it's just so unique.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
So let's go back to networking, because I think one
of the things that we kind of overlook in positions
that people are elevated to or have the opportunity to
achieve in is it just always helps to know people.
So from your experience and if you were speaking right
now to people listening to the CEOs, you should know
(08:59):
podcast and they are an aspiring CEO. Maybe they're starting
their journey, maybe they're at the midway point, maybe they
haven't begun it yet. How would you weigh the importance
of in person networking.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
There's nothing more important than in person networking, right, I
feel like and there I'm just a curious person and
I just love people. But I also just love different people,
Like I don't want everyone in my network to be
just like me. I do not feel like you grow.
I do not feel like, I mean, you need people
who think differently than you. Have different religious beliefs in you,
different political beliefs, right, because that's what educates you. Right,
(09:33):
those are the things that keep you educated, and you
hear a different perspective on things. So for me, I
just get energy off of knowing different people and having
different people in my in my network. But I do
always feel like there is You're always in this space
of like do you know why people ask you like,
do you know a guy that does whatever? That is? Right?
And so for me, I'm always like, I actually know
a guy that does that fact connect you with it. It
(09:55):
would be mutually beneficial for both of you. So that's
something that I've always I'm like the queen of connection.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Right, Like when I get to inherit your network now
that we're doing this interview.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, but here's the thing. I'm super protective of my network.
For you, you have to be protective of your network.
You have to know. Of course I have a lot
of friends, but I have a lot of associates, and
I have a lot of business people. You need to
know what bucket those individuals go into. And it's okay
for all of them. Everybody's not your bestie, right, and
that's okay. And you could go with some people not
talking to them for years or months, but they know genuinely, Hey,
(10:26):
Natasha is a really good person. If she actually reaches
out to me, it's probably for a good reason, right,
And so just not taking advantage of that network either, right,
and having a true intent, knowing why you want that network.
For me, I always go in eyes wide open until
there's a reason for me not to want to be
around you or a reason for me not to know you.
I'm always in a space of like, I don't need
(10:47):
anything from you, and I'm sure you don't really need
anything from me, but let's just network.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Did this start in college? Did you begin kind of
laying the groundwork for the network. Did you find that
it really took getting your feet in the business world
before you could successfully network the way you wanted to.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, I think naturally the person that I am, I've
always met. My kids say this about me all the time,
Like they hate going with me to the grocery store
because I think I'm just one of those people that
someone is like, oh, either they think they know me
or like I have a friendly something where they want
to just come up and tell me their whole life
story and that and I just met you right now
and I know everything about you, right, And so my
kids like, I'm not going with you because somebody's gonna
talk to you or you're going to know someone. And
(11:25):
so I feel like I've always had that, like that's
just a part of who I am since I was
very young. Then I think I had to at some
point hone that in right Like, so, like you said,
I probably learned that very early in my career of
just honing in on like why do you know all
of these people? And like you don't have to call everything,
you don't have to call email, right, text talk to
everyone every day, and so just really honing in on
(11:46):
those things, and so, yes, I had to figure that out.
And I think the more you're in business, the more
you figure out how to manage your network. And honestly,
the more you move up and the more you become
who you are, you also manage your friends, and so
you figure out, like, hey, there's certain people that you
should associate yourself with and there are certain ones that
you shouldn't, and so, yes, you learn as you go.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
I don't know if you've had this experience. I'm curious.
I work with some younger people kind of out of college,
and they work hard, and they create content and they
do all the things that they're kind of told in
the classroom to do. But it does feel like networking
has become somewhat of a lost art for the younger generation.
And I'm maybe generalizing there, but it's been my experience.
(12:28):
Have you found that to be true to it? Has
it been more of a learning curve for that in
person communication with the younger generations that are just starting
their journey.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely think it is different than
when we started, Right, we didn't have the Instagrams of
facebooks and all the thankfully well and Honestly, the text
messages really weren't as big of a thing neither, right, Like,
so you actually had to talk to people, Like your
grammar was a little different, right because if you were
writing something, you were actually writing it either on.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Pen and pain, were representing yourself and you're writing one percent.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
And so it is much different because now you can
get away with emojis and omgs and all of those
types of things, right, And so yes, I do think
it is different. However, I do think that young people
teach us as well, because now their network is much broader, right,
so there is nothing like in person and face to
face things. People have to get out there and you
have to get out from behind your phone. So the
phone gives you the opportunity to one either be anonymous
(13:23):
and be anonymous and rude, or be present and be
present and great. Right, And so I feel like, you know,
they teach us things of like, oh maybe we should
expand our networks. Like for me, when I started in
this role, right away, the team's like, you have like
such a really good personality that we could practice with
you and you could create like an Instagram account. It
would be like Phoenix Raceway, pres right, and I'm like,
(13:43):
I am not doing that right, Like, there's no way
I'm doing that. But the younger crowd is like, no,
people want that because there's certain people that are not
comfortable coming up and talking to you, and certain people
that won't get to know you right if they're not
on their phone. And I said, okay, So there is
a balance of those two things. While it's uncomfortable for
me to be on that social media side of things,
(14:04):
it's something that's like, Okay, I have to relate. How
do we become relatable?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Latasha Casey joining us here on CEOs you should know
she's the president of Phoenix Raceway, and you know a
couple of other things I wanted to delve into. Was
you mentioned that you didn't want to take this job
unless you could be your authentic self, and it feels
like so much of leadership is authenticity. You also mentioned
you didn't have a direct background in sports before you
(14:29):
took over a job that is steeped in a sport.
How are you able to do both at the same time,
because I think a lot of people would be tempted
to pretend they were a NASCAR fan or to pretend
that they were a huge sports fan. You doesn't sound
like you've ever done that, have ever hid from your
background outside of sports, but have maintained authenticity. Tell me
(14:52):
about why that was important to you and how you
were able to successfully pull that off. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Well, I think one of the best things that I
am comfortable my own skin, right. I know I woul
going into this. I knew that I did not have
a background in NASCAR, and like you said, not a
bad background in sports. But I also am humble enough
to know that I didn't have those things, and so
I knew that I had to get really, really, really
ingrained in the sport to understand it. Right. I can't
get out here and act like I know all these things, right,
(15:17):
I know me. I know that if I'm doing these
interviews with you and you ask me the ins and
outs of points and all that kind of stuff within NASCAR,
I'm going to bees my way through that, and that's
just not who I am. You'd be able to tell
right away. And so for me, it was really just
getting out there. One. I have a phenomenal team here
in Phoenix, and so I learned from my team every
single day, and I make sure that they know, Hey,
(15:38):
I'm not here to tell you everything that you need
to do how to do it, because you actually have
been in this job for quite some time. I'm asking
you to help me understand the sport, understand how this works,
and then we're going to collaborate and collectively work together.
So I had to humble myself enough to be able
to do those things. But I lead like that anyway,
whether I have been I've been in human resources for years,
community development for years, and even in those roles, you
(16:00):
learn something new every day. And so I also spent
the majority of the first quarter, first two quarters of
me being in this role on the road. I was
out there in the sport getting to meet drivers, teams.
I mean, one of my first meetings was with Jeff
Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, right, and so Jeff is just
a phenomenal human being. He took the time to have
(16:21):
lunch with me, and it was a fancy lunch too, Right,
take the time to have lunch with me at Hendrick
Motorsports their leadership team, and really, you know, everyone that
has been everyone has been so genuine and hey, how
can we help you? What can we do to support you?
Even people like Jeff Gordon can take the time to
do that. Every time I have a race, no matter what,
I will get a text message from Jeff Gordon. It
(16:43):
will say, hey, thinking of you, let me know if
you need anything, and he means it right like the
fact that he takes the time to do that. And
so that's the nature of NASCAR, and people are genuinely
just really good people and they want to see you
succeed because if I succeed, the Phoenix Raceway succeeds, and
so does the sport. And so I have just again,
I've really been able to have the opportunity to get
(17:03):
out there and learn soak it all in.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
There's a lot to soak up, right, there's a lot
to soak up, I mean in sports in general. Your deal,
I mean, this is part of why this position is
so interesting to me is there's approximately one hundred employees.
So you've got a lot of people that are relying
on your leadership and the raceway succeeding for their livelihoods.
You have a constituency in a fan base that is
(17:26):
known for their long, deep rooted passion for the sport
and history and tradition, and they're pretty protective of the
culture of NASCAR that has existed, and then NASCAR on
top of that is heavily driven by sponsorships, of corporate sponsorships,
local national. So for you in your role, what are
(17:51):
the most important characteristics and traits you think you need
to have in order to succeed in all of those areas?
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Absolutely? Well, I mean there's so many things. It's relatability, right,
how do you relate to every single one of those facets? Right?
Our fans, like you said, we have the most loyal
fans I feel like in any sport, right, I mean,
we invite these fans out to our race. They come
the Monday before, leave the Monday after. And even if
you're not a fan that's coming to camp, but you're
just a fan that has been a fan forever. You're
(18:19):
coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday right to racing at their raceway,
and you're traveling in from somewhere else. So how do
you relate to those fans? How do you get out there?
And so I have made it a priority of myself.
I know we talked a little bit earlier about me
meeting and engaging with fans all ages, young, old, Everything
I get out there, and I don't want to be untouchable, right,
I want to touch and feel and talk to our
(18:40):
fans so that I can hear. They're the ones that
are going to tell you if they're having a good
time or not. That's how you know how you continue
to enhance the experience. And so that's one thing. But
then as well from partners, right, you have to get
out there. You have to make sure that you understand
their needs, the direction of their organizations, their companies, and
making sure that you understand like, how can we make
(19:00):
sure that Phoenix Raceway is still being a good partner
to you and your business holistically, make sure your brand
is where it's supposed to be. Make sure you only
you know, have this certain drink or that drink or
whatever it is, but that we're putting you in a
prominent space so that people know we're partners in this.
And so there's so many of those things. You know.
People always ask like, hey, you have a race in
Marching and you have a race in November. You're obviously
(19:21):
not doing anything in between there.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, right, it's hanging out.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
Yeah, staycay, that's what we're doing all the time. No,
we're building and we're continuously making sure that our events
are really great and making sure that our partners are good,
our fans are good, but that even all of those things,
we're also having multiple events at the raceway. You know,
we're open almost two hundred days per year and have
almost that many events per year at the raceway outside
of NASCAR racing, And so again, you have to make
(19:48):
sure that you're keeping everyone satisfied, to include the community
and the business community, and making sure that they know
our home is theirs and we want to make sure
that it continues to thrive.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Okay, two questions flowing from that. One is specifically when
it comes to engaging your employees. Yeah, what's your leadership style?
Are you a delegator? Are you someone who is learning
all parts of the organization. What would you describe as
effective leadership at Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, effective leadership is being flexible, Right. There are times
when you have to be a delegator, and there are
times when you have to get in you have to
do certain things, and there's always times when you have
to get your hands dirty. But for me, I'm a
relationship person. So first and foremost, the first thing I
did is really got to know my team, what's important
to them in and outside of Phoenix Raceway. You know,
being in sports, we're not there eight to five, right,
(20:36):
Like we are there a long time for a lot
of hours on your weekends. By the way, oh yeah,
it's not based on our schedule what we want, right,
It's based on what the need is of our sport.
And so we have to I have to make sure
that I know my team. But at the same time,
you have to be able to read your team, Like, hey,
when do you know that that person is going to
reach their limit? Right? We're there twenty four to seven
(20:58):
during race week. How do I know exactly when they're
going to reach a limit? Did they eat? Like basic
things we're forgetting about, like basic human beings, right, because
it is it's intense, you know after race week. A
lot of times, like on a Monday after race week,
if I have like interviews that I have to do
or people that I have to see, I'm always like
by twelve o'clock, I have to be done because I
will shut down, right because you just know that you've
(21:18):
been on for a whole week too. Is authenticity again
I bring that up, but it's it's a true statement.
Let people come to work as who they truly are.
You know, in my environment that we currently have at
Phoenix Traceway. I mean, I know that this sounds like
something so little, but we're in sports, right, and so
you know when I first came in, everybody's like all
in suits and like all button dubos. I'm like, oh
my god, like and you can tell that they're uncomfortable, right,
(21:40):
and I'm like, take the jacket off. Oh how about
you take the tie off? Wear? Are those things when
you need to? If that's not now, If you're comfortable
doing that every day, you do that, right, But if
you're not, I'm okay with you having some flexibility and
wearing sneakers to work. If you need to, whatever it
is to make you get the best version of you
showing up and doing the job, that's what I want
you to do. So I am that person that make
(22:01):
sure that people know that, like, hey, let's open communication
and open fun all the time.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
So naturally, I think the follow up there is something
that I've struggled with. So I'm asking this selfishly and
also for the audiences in sports outside of sports, people
with ambitions, people with goals, how do you find balance
work life balance. You've got a family, You've got obviously
a whole set of responsibilities that in the grand scheme
of things dwarf the responsibilities of what you're doing at
(22:27):
the raceway. But sometimes it doesn't feel that way. So
what's what's your approach and are you successful or do
you struggle with a work life balance?
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, when people ask me about work life balance, I
always say, you know that there is no such thing
life balance, right, It's prioritization. That's really what it is.
You have to prioritize what's important to you. For me,
like you said, I have a family, I have two
boys of teenagers, thirteen and seventeen.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Oh that's easy. That in teenagers, so easy right.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
In the park, Okay, And so you have all of
those things, and so for me, I make sure that
there are certain things for my kids that I just
do not miss. Right, If I have to travel at
midnight because I wanted to be at my kids baseball game,
that I'm going to do that, right, And so those
are sacrifices that I have to make. But that doesn't
mean that there is a balance. However, I do have
to be self aware enough to know like, hey, you
(23:12):
are not the best version of you because you're freaking
exhausted or you're stressed out about something, and so you
do also have to take a step back for yourself
to make sure that you can be present for everyone,
because that is not easy. And yes, there are a
lot of times when I am doing so good at work,
but then at home you're like, oh my god, did
you can really get in trouble.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
At school today? Right?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Or vice versa like, oh, dang, everything's going so good.
We got home runs, we got buckets, or my one
kid plays basketball, we got a lot. This is great.
Then you go to work in somebody's quitting or someone's unhappy, right,
You're like, okay. So there's never really like that balance
of both. You can't anticipate that everything's going to be perfect.
It's how you manage it and how you prioritize.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Let's talk about the long term goals of Phoenix Raceway
of the season you mentioned, and I think this is
so thing that most people don't know. I don't even
think that I was aware of how many other events
go on at Phoenix Raceway other than these two huge
NASCAR events. So how have you successfully grown that and
how do you want to continue to grow that at
(24:14):
Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Yeah, well, first of all, it's the team. You know,
the team, the sales team, the on site operations team.
They have grown that and they know. So we put
out the goals and we say, hey, here's what we
want to do. We want to generate more revenue for
our off cycle events outside of NASCAR events, And so
they get out there and like and we can get creative.
I told you we have seven hundred acres of land.
(24:35):
You could either use the raceway itself, like the track,
all those types of things. We have internal we have
like a conference center that holds up to a thousand people,
and then we have land where you can build things.
So for example, we just had the circus that was
out there. We have the circus and a concert going
at the same time. So we have a partnership with
the Relentless Beats where we do electronic music concerts, and
(24:57):
so they come out there, they do their concerts, and
then at the they're into the property. We had the
circus going every day for like seven days. But we
also have a really good relationship with the city of
Avondelle so that we can get people in and out
of our location. Right, we have the traffic department, all
of those individuals helping us be successful. And so for us,
it's really a matter of the team getting out there
and getting those opportunities and then us executing it and
(25:19):
making sure that when we execute that that people are
having a really good time and having a top notch
experience our customer and as well they're customers right that
are coming to enjoy and experience that. So we will
continue to have events, we will continue to open up
our raceway. It's not something that we have done truly
hugely in the past. That was a path that Julie
(25:39):
was going down as what like I mentioned, you know,
you had COVID that came in there, so her momentum
was great and then the ideas were there and it
was just starting and so she didn't get to finish
what she was doing. And so now it's my opportunity
to come in and sprinkle that on with the team,
and the team has been phenomenal. We have expanded our
events and we're continuously doing that. The amount of track
tours that we've given people never been to the raceway
(26:01):
has been phenomenal and that's business community, right. We have
like the Phoenix Chamber hosted their board of Director's retreat
there for the first time ever, almost one hundred people
at their raceway. And then you know, if you're gonna
come to the raceway, we're gonna make sure you have fun.
So we're gonna give you some pace, car rides and
things like that. And so we've opened it up to
people who have never even thought of it, which has
been super cool. As well.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
People have gotten married there. You have gotten married like
on the track or on the property.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
On the property, we have an area called the barn,
and so in the barn, it's like a conference center, right,
but it's unique, it's different. It's arizona Ish if you will.
It's called the barn, but it's really fancy. And so
we've had weddings and receptions within the barn. Now, if
we had anybody that wanted to get married on the track,
we can make that happen as well. So people have
gotten engaged. We know someone that's gotten raceway. Jay from
(26:50):
here got the raceway, and so we know again disguise limit.
We have prom that we will have next year. A
couple of proms actually are coming the raceway. So again,
it's just a unique collection of things that people just
had no idea that one we were willing or two
that it was an option.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Let's talk about the future of the events that go
on there, and as you guys have announced, twenty twenty
four and twenty twenty five will continue to be the
home of the NASCAR Championship. What does the raceway have
to do? What does the community have to do to
continue to make sure that NASCAR and Phoenix Raceway are
inextricably linked and the biggest events continue to be at
(27:31):
Phoenix Raceway.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
Yes, So one thing that I will say is you
mentioned the community and the business community. I have been
truly humbled by the support that I personally have received
from the community. There are people who have just been curious,
right like, what you went to NASCAR? I got to
know why you're at Phoenix Raceway, right Like, so I
just want to know. Then when they come, they're like,
oh my god, how do I support this? What do
I do? So we've had, if you will, a seat
(27:53):
at the table with all the other leaders in the
sports arena. The leaders have come to our races as
well since I been there, which has again been just
truly humbling for We've had an executive from every sports
team that has come over my last few races, which
has been super cool as well. So for us, it's
really having those opportunities to tell our story about Phoenix
(28:13):
Raceway out into not only this market, but other markets
as well, because you know, our fans come from all
over the place, and so we want to be able
to continue to tell that story and for the community
to continue to support us. So we appreciate that, and
so that's what we have to do. We have to
make sure that our track is ready at all times.
So we have a phenomenal team on site that's at
their raceway. So if at any time you said, hey,
(28:35):
you know what, tomorrow, I want to come out and
I want to have this really big party at their raceway,
of course it takes a little longer than tomorrow, but
the point is is that the track would be ready
for you to be able to do that in a
very quick turnaround. So it's just a matter of that
people knowing that we're there, but also people knowing that
we're willing to have them there, and.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
For you just your your personal goals that you're hoping
to accomplish and see through as you continue in this journey.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Yeah. Well, one first and foremost from a NASCAR perspective,
is to continue to host really phenomenal events at Phoenix Raceway.
From a NASCAR standpoint, right, we have a race in March,
like you mentioned, and we have championship in November. We
know for sure that championship is coming back in twenty
twenty five. It's a whole process to figure out what
happens after that. But what we want to do is
make sure that we at least have two races here
at Phoenix Raceway for well into the future. Even if
(29:21):
we didn't have championship, we'd have a playoff race, and
so we want to continue to have that. But we
want to continue to provide really great experiences. So that's
our first goal, is to continue to bring new attractions,
bring new things, bring new fans. I mentioned to you
that we have some of the most loyal fans within NASCAR,
So there is a space for all of our NASCAR fans,
but there's also a space for other fans. How do
(29:42):
we diversify our fan base? Diverse five doesn't just mean color, right,
that means everything. Everything from age, people who just never
We were just in a conversation and we had multiple
people there that had never been to a NASCAR race,
right Opening it up to people like that that want
to come to the raceway them knowing that you don't
have to come just to be in an RV all
week right now, you can come maybe just for Friday, Saturday,
or just for Sunday and really experience what's happening at
(30:05):
the raceway. So that's first and foremost, But then it's
the community. How do we show up and how do
we serve the community. We have a Phoenix Raceway Charities
where we give back, but how do we create I
don't want to just give you a ten thousand dollars
check and say there you go, good luck with your
the causes that you have going on. How do we
create programs and make sure that kids are not like
(30:27):
me where they're not they're well into their adulthood and
they live in the backyard down the street, it never
came to their raceway. Open that opportunity up for them
early providing field trips. We've already created that program. We
were doing fild trip programs. We're just doing multiple things
where people feel like they're welcome to be part of
NASCAR and part of Phoenix Raceway. And so that's my
(30:47):
goal is that you know what, when I'm done giving
my Sparkle, whatever whatever happens next, that there are programs
and things that are sustainable well into the future and
people are like wow, like I remember when I went
to Phoenix Raceway, or wow, I'm a diehard Mask fan.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
Now, last question, and I think you've got a great
background to answer this in a way that will be
relatable to a lot of people listing what do you
think is the biggest misconception about a NASCAR race or
working in sports? Are just in your experience as president
and Phoenix Raceway, what is sort of the biggest misconception
You've been able to stop me like, wait a second,
(31:20):
that's nothing like I thought it was going to be.
Speaker 2 (31:23):
Well, let's just be honest. The first thing, the first
misconception was like even for me as a black woman,
like black people don't go to NASCAR, which that is
not true. I but that was just what it was, right, Like,
I mean, that was the mindset, that was a perception
of like, hey, that's just not a space for us,
but it is actually a space for us. And it's
amazing how many pit crew members look like me, right,
(31:43):
But there's so many of them there. It's just and
NASCAR has been doing a drive for diversity program for
the last twenty years, not something that it's not brand new, right,
It's not just since twenty twenty when the whole George
Floyd thing happened. No, NASCAR was leading from the forefront,
but doesn't talk about it, right, And so that's been
like one of the most prizing things for me is
just like how welcoming the sport actually is to everyone.
(32:05):
So that was my first misconception in regards to NASCAR,
but then as well in regards to sports. So you
don't realize what it takes to actually work in sports, right.
There are so many things, so many political things, non
political things you mentioned partners, right, making sure everyone is happy,
making sure your drivers are happy, their teams are happy.
(32:27):
There's just so many things that collectively have to happen
in order for racing just to happen on the track itself. Yes,
we haven't even got to the event before we get
to all those things. So those two things have been,
if you will, the biggest misconceptions and like, you know, one,
it's easy to walk in the park. No, it's not easy,
but it's actually it is easy in the sense that
(32:48):
there's so many people making sure that it is successful.
And again it is very, very welcoming, which not something
that you would have thought from the outside looking in,
or you think that everyone is just the same fan
or the same person, and that is not the case
at NASCAR.
Speaker 1 (33:04):
Well, yeah, it's an incredible story, it's inspiring, it's engaging.
There's obviously a lot more to it. But Latasha Casey,
president of Phoenix Raceway, thanks for taking some time with
us on CEO's You should know I'm telling your story.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you so much for having me
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