Richmond International Raceway President Dennis Bickmeier announced today Michael Waddell as the new Vice President of Marketing and Communications. In addition, current Director of Accounting, Shawn Stack, has been promoted to Senior Director of Accounting.
Waddell, who has 27 years of leadership experience in intercollegiate athletics, comes to Richmond International Raceway from the University of Illinois, where he served as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics for the past two years. There, he supervised all the marketing, promotions, ticketing, fan development, licensing, digital media, broadcasting, creative design, communications and public relations efforts for the Big Ten member athletics program.
“I am excited to welcome Michael to the RIR team and to our community,” said track president Dennis Bickmeier. “His passion for the business of sports, as well as his proven leadership and marketing creativity at some of the largest intercollegiate athletics departments in the country, will benefit our fans and their experience and help elevate our business into the future.”
Prior to his position at the University of Illinois, Waddell served as the Director of Athletics at Towson University, and in Executive leadership positions with the athletics programs at the University of Arkansas, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Akron, the United States Military Academy at West Point and Appalachian State.
“It’s a thrill to join the executive team at Richmond International Raceway and to work with Dennis Bickmeier and the talented staff at RIR,” said Waddell. “NASCAR racing is in my blood, as I grew up going to a NASCAR Home Track, Hickory (NC) Motor Speedway, along with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in Charlotte and Richmond. From the biggest venue to the smallest, there is no sport that better engages fans, and the brands who support it, than NASCAR. The commitment that has been made by Dennis, and ISC Leadership, to create the best fan engagement in all of motorsports is exciting and it’s only going to get better in the future. September 9-10 cannot get here soon enough for me, and I know our loyal fans feel the same way.”
Over the course of his career Waddell has received numerous National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) awards throughout his career, including seven Gold Medals ranging from “Best New Revenue Generation Idea” to “Social Media” recognition.
Waddell has ties to the Commonwealth of Virginia as he served as the Director of Sports Marketing for Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporate and a sports broadcaster with the University of Virginia Sports Network. He began his career as a play-by-play announcer and talk show host at WCHL-AM in Chapel Hill, NC, where he was also a member of the Tar Heel Sports Network broadcast crew.
A native of Newton, NC, Waddell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sport Management from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC where he was also a letterman in Football. He later graduated with Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Ohio University.
Waddell and his wife Heidi have a son, Drew (18), and a daughter, Caroline (16).
Shawn Stack joined RIR in 2014, overseeing the accounting for the multi-purpose facility. In his new role, Stack will continue to lead the financial aspects of the business as well as guide the overall strategic planning for the organization and work closely on new business development at the 1,000-acre facility.
“Shawn has not only provided strong financial guidance in his role, but has the great ability to pull together creative input from departments and formulate long term and short term plans of action for the business,” said Bickmeier. “As leaders, Michael and Shawn will have extremely important roles as we progress on a path forward for Richmond International Raceway.”
RIR PR
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