- Career Sports Marketing, Private Equity, Fundraising, College Athletics and Motorsports Executive Third President in MSHFA’s 38-Year History
- Appointment Brings Lucas Back to Daytona Beach Where He Previously Worked in Sales, Marketing and Business Development Executive Positions at Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (January 5, 2025) – Daren Lucas, a 35-year career professional in sports marketing, private equity, fundraising, college athletics and motorsports has been named President of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA). The appointment returns Lucas to the Daytona Beach area where he previously held several executive business development, management and revenue generating positions with both Daytona International Speedway (DIS) and NASCAR from 2000 through 2006.
Lucas joins the MSHFA after most recently spending the past 10 years in his own sports consultancy, which has kept him at the forefront of sports sponsorship and digital and social marketing. Previously in Daytona, Lucas led all Sales and Marketing at DIS and all Consumer Marketing and Ticketing for NASCAR-owned tracks, in support of such major events as the Daytona 500, the Rolex 24 At Daytona sports car race and the Daytona 200 motorcycle road race and other major motorsports events. In his agency work, Lucas executed more than 100 official partnership deals including with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and the Indianapolis 500. Lucas also brings extensive career experience in the sports travel and tourism industry at Super Bowls, Olympics, Masters and Kentucky Derbys. Lucas earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was followed by a Master of Sports Administration (MSA) at Ohio University.
“It is both an honor and a privilege to join the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America as President,” Lucas said. “The impressive MSHFA Museum has grown extensively since relocating nearly 10 years ago in the DIS Ticket and Tours building, which is located just outside of the Speedway’s NASCAR Turn 4. The MSHFA administrative headquarters facility is housed in the same offices I worked in earlier in this century with DIS and NASCAR. Now, I look forward to working with both the MSHFA Board of Directors and the MSHFA team in my next chapter in Daytona and – most importantly – the next phase of success and growth for the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.”
Lucas takes over MSHFA’s leadership from the retiring George Levy, who served as president from late 2019 through the end of 2025. Levy was just the MSHFA’s second president following the late Ron Watson, who initially held the presidential position from 1989 until his unexpected passing in October of 2019.
“The future of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is solid but has room to continue to grow,” said MSHFA Board of Directors Chair Paul Doleshal. “With the hiring of Daren, we feel that we are poised for that growth. We are more than confident that we have found the right person with Daren who can help advance the Hall into its next chapter of success. The MSHFA presidential search committee managed a long and thorough process, culling through more than 50 applications, interviewing dozens via video interviews, and then meeting with our final eight candidates through in-person interviews in both Daytona and Charlotte. We want to thank the entire search committee and sincerely thank George Levy, and we are proud of his ongoing efforts and the solid growth he led in the last six years.”
Lucas brings dual passions for both modern-day motorsports as well as the rich history and legacy of racing in the United States, which includes a high-speed family tie to the very roots of motorsports Americana.
“The history of motorsports in America is truly right at home in our family,” Lucas said. “My wife, Dawn, is the daughter of stock car pioneer Dink Widenhouse, and we are thrilled to be able to once again live so close to where he and his friends and racing peers competed on the beach here in Daytona. Our daughter Caroline was born in Daytona, and we are so happy to come back to where both my father-in-law and our daughter’s grandfather was part of the amazing motorsports legacy in America, which I now have both the responsibility and honor to preserve for generations to come.”
Widenhouse is pictured in his trademark No. B-29 stock car at the final Daytona beach race in 1958 and with his friends and racing peers Ned Jarrett (MSHFA Class of 1997) and Ralph Earnhardt.
The 38th Annual MSHFA Induction Ceremony Presented by Toyota Gazoo Racing takes place March 9 – 10, 2026 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort in the heart of Daytona Beach, Florida. The traditional black-tie gala, which is the crowning event of the two-day, multi-function induction celebration. The Induction Ceremony will be preceded the night before on Monday, March 9, by the traditional “Heroes of Horsepower” reception and strolling dinner at the MSHFA Museum on the DIS grounds.
Daytime events, presented by Toyota Gazoo Racing, include the annual Inductee Welcome Luncheon on Monday, and the annual Inductee Brunch on Tuesday morning.
For more information or to purchase Class of 2026 Induction tickets, visit the MSHFA at www.mshf.com.
The MSHFA is located in Daytona International Speedway’s Ticket and Tours Building. Access to the MSFHA Museum is included with every Daytona International Speedway tour, which runs throughout each day, or as a museum-only ticket. The museum is open daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. except for major holidays. It is visited by more than 150,000 guests each year from every state in America and countries all over the world. For museum tickets call 1-800-PIT-SHOP.
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MotorsportsHOF/ and Instagram and Twitter at @MotorsportsHOF. Learn more at www.mshf.com.
About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America: The MSHFA is the only hall that honors all major American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by first President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. Originally based in Novi, Mich., it relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets more than 120,000 guests a year in its museum. MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc.
