This interview with Lesa France Kennedy, chief executive of theInternational Speedway Corporation and vice chairwoman of Nascar, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.
Q. Your grandfather, Bill France Sr., started Nascar, and you grew up in the family business. What are some early memories for you?
A. My brother and I did a variety of jobs, starting when we were 10 years old. I was in the ticket office. I had the chance to interact with customers. They were all characters. It was a really neat job to have at that age.
I worked a lot with my grandmother. All our family members have very strong personalities, and she was very particular with the details, and that was very important in the business, especially starting out from scratch.
She was a penny counter. My grandfather was a visionary. He knew from the very beginning what his passion was and what his vision for the sport was. At the time, it was very disorganized, and it needed someone to wrap their arms around it and say, “Let’s get this headed in the right direction.” They were a great match for each other.
My grandmother even kept two sets of books. One was the real set for the business. And then she kept a second set of books to show my grandfather, because she knew if there was any money in the bank, he would be looking to spend it quickly, and she was more of a rainy-day type of a person.
After every race, she would go to the back room and count with the bankers and make sure that every dollar got right into the bank. She would sit there and count dollars and wrap them herself.
Do you see their influence in your leadership style today?
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