Nashville Superspeedway makes Erik Moses NASCAR’s first Black track president – Yahoo Sport Australia

Nashville Superspeedway named Erik Moses as its next track president on Saturday, making the longtime sports and entertainment executive the first Black man to have the title in NASCAR.

The 1.33-mile concrete track announced plans this summer to reopen in June 2021. It was built in 2001 by Dover Motorsports and hosted both NASCAR and IndyCar events until 2011, when it closed to competitive events.

Moses ready to ‘bring circus’ to Nashville

Moses said he was welcomed by NASCAR president Steve Phelps, per ESPN, and will be focused on making sure the track is ready.

“Our partnership with NASCAR is for them to put on the race and bring the circus to town,” Moses said, via ESPN. “Our job is to make certain that the big top is ready. Make certain that everybody in and around middle Tennessee and the rest of that area understands we’re going to have a Cup Series race and they can look forward to the type of experience that NASCAR fans expect and deserve.”

It is the sister track of Dover International Speedway, which is hosting an unprecedented six races within three days this weekend. It will move one of those races to Nashville, where it is spending between $8 million and $10 million for track improvements, per ESPN.

Moses brings decades of sports, entertainment experience

Moses is the first Black track president while there are increasingly calls for the sport to be more inclusive and deal with diversity.

“Any time that you have the distinction of being the first at anything professionally, it is a humbling kind of honor,” Moses said, via The Associated Press. “That said, I’m not naive enough to believe that I’m the first person of color qualified enough to run a NASCAR track. I am thankful [to Dover] for their confidence in my experience and ability to lead that effort. I’m also thankful to the folks at NASCAR for their confidence in me, as well. I’m going to focus on the job. I got hired to do a job, not because of what color I am.”

Moses has decades of experience in the sports and entertainment world around the Washington, D.C., area. He most recently was the founding president of the XFL’s DC Defenders, which ranked highest in the league in ticket sales, game-day experience and social-media engagement, per a release.

He also served as senior vice president at Events DC for more than a decade and oversaw the competition and grand opening of Nationals Park while the CEO of the DC Sports & Entertainment commission. While there he also helped develop and the Military Bowl and the former AT&T’s Nation Football Classic.

More from Yahoo Sports:

• Doncic exits Game 3 after trying to play through ankle sprain

• Phillies acquire veteran relievers from Red Sox

• Pats QB Stidham has injured hip, opening door for Newton

• NBC removes broadcaster after ‘insensitive and insulting comment’ about women

NashvilleAdmin

See author's posts