Nothing has come easy to Siegel on his way to the top (cont'd)

"I was the first African-American to graduate from Notre Dame Law School with honors," Siegel said. "And that meant so much to me because when you are there and you grow up, especially as an African-American in this country, you listen to anything that some people have to say. You always wonder if you're there because of your ability or some special initiative.

"When I got into law school it was a top-20 law school and to be able to graduate with honors, competing against some of the best students in the country did a lot for my self-confidence because it said to me -- not knowing who I was -- that I was one of the best students there. So it's some objective validation for me that I was capable of accomplishing things."

With law school in his rear-view mirror, Siegel entered the workforce. His career began back in Indianapolis. His first job was with Baker & Daniels, a premier sports law firm. He then opened his own sports agency, representing top-tier athletes like Tony Gwynn, Antonio Davis and Reggie White.

In the mid-'90s, Siegel switched gears and took a job with Tommy Boy records, helping it start up a new division. After three and a half years, at the end of his contract, Siegel moved to Sony/BMG to head the Zomba music label, home of acts such as Usher, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Shakira and Britney Spears.

While at Sony, Siegel was always looking for the next venture in his life. That's what led him -- along with good friend and former client Reggie White -- to become interested in NASCAR.

"It was at a point in Reggie's career where I was looking to invest and he was looking to do something," Siegel said. "So, we made our rounds, he finished his career with the Carolina Panthers and he became friendly with Coach [Joe] Gibbs over the years.

"So we talked to [team owner Rick] Hendrick, Gibbs, all the teams, and formed an early alliance with the Gibbs organization and the diversity program they were running.

"From there we looked at getting involved and starting a Busch team and were engaged in conversations with Hendrick Motorsports, but then they had their tragic plane crash [in October 2004]."

Siegel and White didn't stop pursuing their dream of owning a NASCAR team. They brought in former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo and NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, and the foursome was a couple weeks away from making it happen. Then tragedy struck again when White died from cardiac arrhythmia on Dec. 26, 2004.

Siegel kept in contact with his NASCAR connections, trying to find a job he was passionate about while also keeping his wife, Jennifer, and three kids, Max Jr., Matthew and Madeline, close.

"I was looking," Siegel said. "I had a crazy lifestyle. My wife is a pediatric dentist and built a huge practice in Indianapolis. I was an executive at Sony and literally for almost nine years, I worked in New York during the week and I was home on the weekends.

"As my children started to get older, I wanted to find something interesting and challenging and in an industry I felt was vibrant and could get my family in one place. I reconnected with Teresa and talked to her about her vision to grow Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- which is a much more diverse company than just motorsports.

"I got really excited about where she wanted to take the company so I engaged conversation and she invited me to come down here."

New job in hand, one would think Siegel's challenges would be a thing of the past, but that wasn't the case -- he had to talk his family into moving to North Carolina.

"I convinced my reluctant wife to sell her practice and move down here but I misled her," Siegel said, laughing. "I told her we were moving to a place where it was warm and it didn't snow -- and the first weekend she visited, it snowed. I told her I would have more sanity and peace than my job in the entertainment business and there was not a lot of stress and not a lot happening and then I got embroiled in all this Dale Jr. stuff, so I'm batting a thousand with her."

The move has turned about to be a good one, according to Siegel. Contract talks aside, Siegel said he and his family feel right at home.

"It's interesting, my wife has picked up on [the sport] and she really enjoys the NASCAR community," Siegel said. "The DEI community and the NASCAR community have really embraced our family, which has made the transition much easier. It's probably the first time professionally my family can experience what I do.

"I'm not a health professional so I can't really enjoy her surgeries and all that other stuff, and being in New York it was difficult, other than going to the Grammys, for her to experience what I do. But now, being able to bring the kids to a race, to have my wife involved, it's actually pretty cool to have them experience it. It's been a really great experience for us." (Continued)