Ben Kennedy fuels passion for NASCAR in new leadership role

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Now out from behind the wheel, Ben Kennedy -- the newly named NASCAR Camping World Truck Series General Manager -- will return to working behind the scenes to ensure his family’s strong legacy of competition and excitement continues to thrill for decades to come. Kennedy has won a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and competed in the series Playoffs. Now the 25-year-old is ready to hang up his driver’s suit, roll up his sleeves and serve as an executive in the sport he loves. His interest in guiding the future of NASCAR comes naturally and authentically -- after all, he is the great-grandson of NASCAR’s founder and the son of International Speedway Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer. RELATED: Ben Kennedy named to Truck Series leadership position His decision to accept the important new position in the Truck Series is an opportunity to pursue a passion all his own -- relying on experiences as a racer, a lifetime observing his family lead the sport and a positive dose of fresh perspective. “I had opportunities to continue racing but I guess I’ve always been thinking about it,’’ Kennedy said of taking an administrative position in the family business. “I think for myself personally, and my long-term growth that made the most sense. I thought, 'Let’s jump in now and hit the ground running.' ” Not only does he show great motivation and interest in his new endeavor, but also Kennedy comes with credentials that both race fans and race drivers can appreciate. He has worked in the family business for a lot of his life already – legitimate and diverse jobs putting in long hours as a track worker, a competitor and also interacting with fans. Learning from the ground up, just as his relatives have done before him. “I worked at the Daytona 500 Experience,’’ Kennedy said. “I did that for two or three years just after high school during the summer. And I did a couple other summer internships at the track. I’ve literally done everything from helping park cars for the Coke Zero 400 to making signs for the old flag stand, to trash duty, to even working the sewage truck -- a little bit of everything.’’ By the time he graduated from the University of Florida in 2014, Kennedy had already embarked on a full-time racing career in the Camping World Truck Series. He won Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 and dramatically won at the notoriously tough Bristol Motor Speedway in August, 2016 -- one of 10 top-10 finishes in 23 races that season that also earned him a Playoff position. RELATED: Ben Kennedy brings new perspective to management role Last year, Kennedy ran a half-season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, scoring his best finish (fourth place) on a superspeedway (Talladega) his family built nearly 50 years ago. “It’s definitely fresh for me and hopefully a new perspective I can bring to the table,’’ Kennedy said of his new role. “Hopefully I can add value. I’ve been on the driver’s side. I’ve been on the team side. And I’ve negotiated on either side of the table. “I think getting behind the wheel and driving a race car is one element to it, but there are so many other elements that come to it, as well, from partnership sales to managing a team to budgeting. “There are all sorts of things that come not only from being on the driver’s side but from being on the team owner’s side too, so hopefully I can add value to that piece of it.’’ Judging by the positive reception Kennedy already has received in his new role, it appears all expectations are high. Last weekend he and other NASCAR executives held a news conference to more formally introduce the new leadership and discuss what to expect from the series, which begins the 2018 season Friday under the lights with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Kennedy sat among sanctioning body executives including Steve O’Donnell (Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer), Elton Sawyer (Vice President of Officiating and Technical Inspection), Brad Moran (Managing Director, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) and Jeff Wohlschlaeger (Managing Director, NASCAR Series Marketing). He aptly handled all the questions directed to him – smiling and looking quite at ease addressing the press, now in a buttoned-up dress shirt instead of a fire suit. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski tweeted a photo of the news conference, saying of Kennedy, “Call me crazy, but I think this may be the biggest story of the off-season.” The response that post received on social media was also encouraging to Kennedy. “He’s got a solid, confident attitude,’’ a fan said of Kennedy in response to Keselowski. It’s exactly the kind of high expectation that buoys Kennedy’s decision to continue to work in the family business – now as an executive, ready to lead and shape and embolden. An opportunity to put his own signature on the sport he loves. “There’s never really been a GM of the Truck Series, so I can go and focus on the big picture of what’s going on in the trucks and what the future will be,’’ Kennedy said. “It’s kind of tricky because there’s no rule book (for this position) or someone to talk to that might say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ve done this in the past.’ But at the same time, it also gives me the opportunity to open more doors and try more things -- just because it’s never been done before. “In a sense, I’m trying to write my own book, just trying to figure out the right way to do it.”