KY Speedway Senior Director of Business Development named salesman of the year

By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

LAS VEGAS – Kentucky Speedway has named Senior Director of Business Development Dan Stuart, Salesperson of the Year for the fifth time in the past six years.

Stuart

“I am proud to award Dan Stuart the 2016 Salesperson of the Year for Kentucky Speedway for a record-setting fifth time,” said vice president of sales and marketing John Cox.

During Stuart’s tenure at Kentucky Speedway he has continued to build and maintain extensive partnerships with the company’s long-term clients.

“Dan is celebrating his 15^th year at the speedway and his service and dedication is second to none, said Cox. “It was another extraordinary performance from him and is the benchmark of what every salesperson should aspire to be – a proven sales leader and an amazing team member.”

Stuart, who now lives in LaGrange, attended the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series awards banquet in Las Vegas this week and talked about the unlikely path that brought him to Kentucky Speedway.

“My background is in farm equipment,” Stuart said. “I grew up in Missouri and worked for Case Farm Equipment for about seven years, then Case was sold to New Holland and I lost my job due to a reduction on force.”

Stuart lived in Cincinnati and was not sure what he wanted to do next. Case set him up with an outplacement counselor who asked what he liked to do.

“I said, ‘well I like motorsports’ and she asked if I had ever considered working in the industry, but I didn’t know how I was going to make a living doing that.” Stuart said. “She encouraged me to think about and I sent a resume to Jerry (Carroll) and (then executive vice president Mark) Cassis. It was strictly timing and I was the first account executive they hired.”

Kentucky Speedway had formed some partnerships with Ford, Outback Steakhouse and Coca Cola, but didn’t really have anyone to service the accounts.

“They took a risk hiring me, I was an unproven commodity, but they didn’t know a lot about the business either,” Stuart said. “That was the fun is that they were not motorsports people either. We didn’t know any better.”

Stuart knew how to sell, but he came from the world of commodities, where he could present a tangible product that had a defined value. He admits selling customers on the marketing value of a facility such as Kentucky Speedway and its events was a hard transition.

“So I came in and starting working with the clients, doing the executions and working with these clients and selling suites and group tickets,” Stuart. “I got some traction doing that and we hired a few people and it became fun. Mark, Jerry and (Current general manager) Mark Simendinger taught me so much and I have had experiences with these guys that I could never have in another career.”

Simendinger said one of Stuart’s best assets is that he recognizes the value of client interaction.

“If you were a client, Dan is the guy you would want handling your account,” Simendinger said.

Kentucky Speedway Senior Director of Business Development Dan Stuart was named Salesperson of the Year for the fifth time while attending the NASCAR Awards in Las Vegas this week.

The Salesman of the year award was introduced after Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased Kentucky Speedway from Jerry Carroll in 2008.

“This is all part of the culture of SMI,” Stuart said. “They award the best corporate salesperson at each of the eight SMI tracks each year.”

While sales figures are an important factor in determining who receives the recognition, there is more to it than just dollars.

“Volume of business, the way you conduct yourself and your attitude are also very important,” Stuart said. “It’s all about integrity and how I treat my clients. The feedback that Mark (Simendinger) gets from my clients is also very important.”

One of the first really successful and satisfying client relationship Stuart had was with the Ford Dealer Group in Cincinnati

“We created an incentive package in Cincinnati, where if you bought an F-150 though a specific period of time, you got two race tickets and other merchandise,” Stuart said. “The Ford Dealer Group marketing agents wanted to know if that worked and it was amazing how many people came to the races and wore the swag. It’s the gratification about building programs and seeing projects that you worked on coming to fruition.

Kentucky Speedway’s 2017 season will open with the NASCAR premier series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts on Saturday night July 8 anchoring another NASCAR tripleheader weekend. It opens with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Thursday, July 6, followed by the NASCAR XFINITY Series Alsco 300 on Friday, July 7.

The XFINITY Series returns to the 1.5-mile tri-oval Saturday, Sept. 23 along with the ARCA Racing Series Crosley 150 on Friday, Sept. 22 to conclude the fall weekend of racing.

Fans can renew or purchase season tickets by calling (859) 578-2300, online at www.kentuckyspeedway.com or visiting the Kentucky Speedway ticket office at 1 Speedway Drive in Sparta.