International Speedway Corporation — BrandWiki

International Speedway Corporation

Overview

International Speedway Corporation

operating income
type	Public
industry	Motorsports
founder	Bill France Sr.
former name	Bill France Racing, Inc.
hq location city	Daytona Beach, Florida
hq location country	United States
key people	Jim France (chairman) Lesa Kennedy (vice chairman and CEO) Steve Phelps (president)
revenue	$633.91 million USD (2010, November)

International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business was the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International Speedway and in 1999 it merged with Penske Motorsports to become one of the largest motorsports companies in North America. The company played an important, though controversial, role in the modernization of the sport. It worked with NASCAR to create new tracks and update older ones in an effort to improve the racing and the experience for spectators and has constructed popular new tracks in regions previously thought uninterested in NASCAR. Because both companies have several members of the France family in top positions, ISC's competitors have filed multiple lawsuits on antitrust grounds.

On May 20, 2019, NASCAR agreed to purchase ISC for approximately US$2 billion, with it the purchase closing October 18, 2019. It has been dissolved into NASCAR.[1][2][3]

History

Penske merger

By this time ISC was profitable, but most of their races were still in the South and in mostly rural areas, with many of the country's major cities like Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami and Chicago lacking a nearby track. ISC began looking for ways to change this in the late 1990s. Homestead–Miami Speedway was built in 1995 by Ralph Sanchez and Wayne Huizenga and in 1997 ISC and Penske Motorsports (owned by motorsports magnate Roger Penske) partnered with the track's owners.[7] In 1999, the company continued its push into the country's urban centers when it merged with Penske, who at the time owned four speedways: Nazareth Speedway, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, Michigan International Speedway and the newly constructed Auto Club Speedway (which opened as California Speedway). Chairman Bill France Jr. cited the company's "attractive markets" as one of the major reasons for going ahead with the deal.[8] The new company retained the ISC name, with Penske's son Gregory Penske joining the board of directors.[8] Not all of the new tracks from the Penske merger fit into the company's plans however, as Nazareth was soon closed down and Rockingham was sold. The merger also gave ISC a 90% stake in Homestead-Miami Speedway and the company soon bought out the final 10% to acquire complete control over the track.[8]

In the same year, ISC formed the Motorsports Alliance with the owners of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway; this company would go after another huge market in Chicago by building the new Chicagoland Speedway in nearby Joliet, Illinois and by buying out the smaller Route 66 Raceway dragstrip.[4] In 2007, ISC bought out its partners in the company to take control of both tracks.[9]

In 2001, ISC would continue its trend towards modern facilities by constructing Kansas Speedway near Kansas City. In 2003, Lesa France Kennedy took over from Jim France the role of president of the company.[6] On June 1, 2009, John R. Saunders took over as President of ISC, becoming the first ISC president without a "France" surname. Saunders held the position of executive vice president of operations prior to becoming president.

On January 28, 2019, it was revealed on ISC's 2018 annual report that a total of 78,000 seats were removed from Chicagoland, Darlington, Kansas, Martinsville, Michigan, Phoenix, and Richmond.[10]

Antitrust lawsuits

Ferko lawsuit

Francis Ferko, a stockholder in Speedway Motorsports, Inc., sued NASCAR and ISC in 2002 for violating federal antitrust laws and breach of contract for not awarding a second Winston Cup Series date to Texas Motor Speedway, claiming that the second race was "promised" to the SMI track by NASCAR.[35] After an attempt by NASCAR to get the case dismissed, another shareholder, Rusty Vaughn, joined the case as co-plaintiff in 2003. Although NASCAR CEO Brian France initially said he was going to fight the case in the courts, in April 2004 it was announced that the case had been settled out of court with Texas getting the Cup date previously belonging to North Carolina Speedway and, as part of the deal, agreeing to purchase North Carolina—which now had no dates at all—from ISC for $100 million.[35] Other races on the schedule were also moved around as a result (see NASCAR Realignment).

Kentucky Speedway lawsuit

In 2005, Kentucky Speedway filed a similar lawsuit against ISC and NASCAR, claiming that NASCAR violated antitrust laws by not awarding them a Sprint Cup Series race, noting the close relationship between NASCAR, ISC, and the France Family.[36] NASCAR sought to have the case thrown out by arguing that the speedway wasn't trying to end the alleged anticompetitive practices, they were merely trying to benefit from them as well. This motion was denied, however.[37] A motion to move the case from Kentucky to Florida – home of NASCAR and ISC – was also rejected.[38] ISC, for its part, said it shouldn't be involved in the case at all as it conducts no business in the state. Lawyers for Kentucky Speedway contended that the company does business online and is just as responsible for the lack of competition in granting the races as NASCAR is.[39]

Initially, Kentucky had wanted the jury to force NASCAR to grant the speedway a Sprint Cup Series event but in 2007 they changed their demand to instead force the France family to sell either NASCAR or ISC. The track is also demanding that NASCAR develop objective standards for the awarding of their race events and damages of $200 million. In January 2008, the court dismissed the lawsuit, saying that the plaintiffs had failed to make their case. Kentucky Speedway says they will appeal the court's decision.[40]

In 2011, Kentucky Speedway, now owned by SMI, received a date, the Quaker State 400, on the Cup Series schedule, which lasted until 2020.