Lesa France Kennedy, is the chief executive officer of International Speedway Corporation

International Speedway Corporation

International Speedway Corporation is a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of NASCAR race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International Speedway and in 1999 they merged with Penske Motorsports to...

 and a member of the board of directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

.

Kennedy joined ISC in 1983 and was named to the board of directors one year later. She served as ISC's secretary from 1987-96 and as its treasurer from 1989-96. From that point until April 2003, Kennedy was the company's executive vice president. She was then appointed president of ISC after Bill France

Bill France

Bill France may refer to one of two people involved in NASCAR, father and son:*Bill France, Sr. , nicknamed "Big Bill", the founder of NASCAR and its president from 1948–1971...

 stepped down. Most recently, Kennedy was named chief executive officer in April of 2009.

Kennedy's husband, Dr. Bruce Kennedy, was killed in a plane that crashed into two homes in Sanford, Florida

Sanford, Florida

Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...

 on July 10, 2007. http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=ap-smallplanecrash&prov=ap&type=lgns Five people were killed, including two small children.

Kennedy received a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Psychology from Duke University

Duke University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 in 1983. In October 2009, Forbes named Kennedy "The Most Powerful Woman in Sports." In 2005, Street & Smith

Street & Smith

Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction and dime novels. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks...

's SportsBusiness Journal named her "The Most Influential Woman in Sports Business."http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS/articles/000017/001717.htm

Other honors include:

• "Most Influential Woman in Business" by Volusia Flagler Business Report;
• "One of the 10 Secret People Who Will Change The World" by AutoWeek magazine;
• One of the "25 Most Influential People in NASCAR" by the Charlotte Observer - 2001 through 2006.

See also

• France family
  France Family
  The France Family is known as the "first family" of NASCAR racing. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1948 and to this day France family members hold many high-ranking positions within the company...