SPEEDWAY, Ind. — A new day may be dawning at the United States Auto Club.
With the Nov. 30 retirement of long-term USAC President Rollie Helmling, USAC Chairman of the Board Johnny Capels has appointed Kevin Miller as CEO and President of USAC. Miller, who has worked closely with USAC in recent years through his position with Mopar, represents a fresh start for USAC.
But with the hiring of Miller, an old face also returns, as Jason Smith, who left USAC in 2006, has returned as Senior Vice-President of Racing Operations, reporting directly to Miller.
“USAC is excited to start a new era with Kevin and Jason on board,” Capels said in a statement. “Kevin brings a proven track record of business success and marketing passion to USAC. His leadership will be the foundation for the next 50 years of our organization. Jason has a great history with USAC that I am confident will meld successfully with Kevin’s vision. It is a team I am excited about.”
“I am thrilled at the opportunity presented to shape the future of USAC and solidify their leadership position in grassroots open wheel racing across America,” said Miller, who worked 23 years for Chrysler. “USAC has the heritage, brand, teams and drivers that define true passion in racing today.”
Both Miller and Smith were already on the job Wednesday at the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, and not surprisingly both were overloaded with racers, manufacturers, track operators and media members stopping by to get the skinny on the future of the sanctioning body that was founded in 1955.
According to Smith, the two were some sort of package deal.
“I wasn’t really interested in going back, and then when I found out Kevin was part of the deal, the two of us started talking. We talked about the opportunity and what we could do with it.”
Smith said he and Miller have “targeted five or six things that need to be addressed” early on in the transition period.
Racing-wise, the Silver Crown and Ford Focus divisions are at the top of Smith’s agenda.
“Silver Crown and Ford Focus need some attention,” he said. “The sprint cars and midgets are on solid ground for now.”