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66 Ownership Raceway Associates, LLC, owner and operator of the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, is made up of the combined interests of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, International Speedway Corporation and the founding owners of Route 66 Raceway, LLC. When Raceway Associates was formed in May 1999, it took ownership of the Route 66 Raceway - a 240-acre motorsports complex ocated in Joliet, Illinois, that includes a 30,000 stadium style drag strip and a 1/2-mile dirt oval. Joie Chitwood III is vice president/general manager of Raceway Associates and the Chicagoland Speedway. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation (ISMC) owns the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the Indianapolis 500 - the best-attended one-day sporting event in the world -and the popular Brickyard 400 for NASCAR Winston Cup. A third race, the Formula One United States Grand Prix made it's successful debut at the hallowed track in 2000. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation also owns the Walt Disney World Speedway on the grounds of the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was created in 1909 when a 2.5-mile track for testing automobiles was built on the outskirts of Indianapolis. Two years later, the first Indianapolis 500 was run. The Indianapolis 500 in May 2000 will be the 85th running of the event. The Hulman-George family has owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1945 and has constantly expanded and improved the racecourse. Since 1996, Tony George, president and CEO, has also operated the Indy Racing Northern Light Series, which has brought the cars that compete at Indianapolis to other major markets around the country. International Speedway Corporation, a publicly-held company (Nasdaq: ISCA - news; OTC Bulletin Board: ISCB - news), is a leading promoter of motorsports activities in the United States, currently promoting more than 100 events nationwide. International Speedway Corporation is led by Chairman Bill France Jr., a name synonymous with stock car racing. The France family of Daytona Beach began the premier class of stock-car racing when Bill France, Sr., founded the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in 1948. In the ensuing decades, France, his children and his grandchildren have grown stock car racing from the hills and beaches of the Southeast into America's fastest growing sport. The hallmark of International Speedway Corporation is the Daytona 500, run every February at the Daytona International Speedway. The development of a permanent racing facility in Daytona Beach, Fla., took shape in 1955, and the dream became reality when the first Daytona 500 was run on Feb. 22, 1959. Bill France, Sr., had visions of an even bigger and faster speedway, and on May 23, 1968, construction of a new superspeedway began on a 2,000-acre site in North Central Alabama. The first race was held at Talladega Superspeedway on September 13, 1969. The 2.66-mile high-banked tri-oval is recognized internationally as the "World's Fastest Speedway." ISC currently owns and/or operates 11 major motorsports facilities, including Daytona International Speedway in Florida; Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama; Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan; California Speedway in San Bernardino County, California; Homestead- Miami Speedway in Florida; Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona; Darlington Raceway in South Carolina; North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina; Watkins Glen International in New York; Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania; and Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Other track interests include the operation of Tucson (Arizona) Raceway Park and the new Kansas Speedway near Kansas City scheduled to open in 2001. Route 66 Raceway is a multi-purpose, short-track facility that includes a state-of-the-art drag strip and a 1/2-mile dirt oval. Route 66 plays host to two National Hot Rod Association National events, which features Top Fuel, Funny Cars, Pro Stocks, trucks and motorcycle racing.
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