How did you get Daytona USA (now the Daytona 500 Experience) project over Bill France Jr.s desk?
“You had to have a compelling business argument. That’s just the way you run business. A lot of times, he would send you back to look at it a little more closely. He’d make you think through it. He would try to make you think of all the downsides and worst-case scenarios. He was exceptional at that. Sometimes I thought it was almost a game with him, that he continued asking questions until you didn’t know the answer. He would find out how deep your knowledge was on the subject. If you got through one or two questions, you could expect a lot more.” Your father seemed to have a strong relationship with your son. “We live close by my parents’ house and so my father got to spend quite a bit of time with Ben. We were fortunate that Dad got to see Ben race quarter-midgets at New Smyrna Speedway. That meant a lot to Ben. That’s one of the memories that we’ll have that couldn’t be replaced. That was a cool evening. I think he got a real kick out of Ben. He was intrigued by what that age of chi
