Josh Harris to succeed Kerry Tharp as president of Darlington Raceway
In what looks to be a seamless and well-suited transition, Darlington Raceway has named its Vice President of Business Operations Josh Harris to be the next president of the historic race track. Harris will officially assume the role when current president Kerry Tharp retires at the end of the 2023 season.
In so many ways, this position seems a natural fit for Harris, a Mississippi native whose earliest NASCAR connections came as a young fan attending events at Talladega Superspeedway before eventually working as an executive for the sanctioning body at the local and national levels. His love of the sport and his 12-year tenure learning the ropes as a NASCAR executive working at Talladega, Daytona and now Darlington have given him a strong foundation as he prepares to step into his new role with the company.
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“Josh is an incredible human and filling Kerry‘s shoes will be hard, but I don‘t think he‘s coming in thinking like that,” said NASCAR‘s Senior Vice President, Chief Track Properties Officer Chip Wile, himself a former Darlington Raceway president (2013-16). “He‘s going to continue to build on what Kerry has built here. I‘ve had the opportunity to work with Josh directly for the past eight years. He is very, very strategic and smart and thoughtful. He is all about the team. He just has an incredible style about him.
“When you’re thinking about what Darlington needs and this community, building on what we‘ve been able to do here over the last 10 years, you need to pick the right person and I can‘t think of a better person than Josh Harris.”
Tharp, one of the most respected executives in the sport, also had nothing but praise for his successor.
“Josh Harris is the right person to lead Darlington Raceway,‘‘ Tharp said. “This is one of the most historic race tracks in motorsports and I am certain it will be in great hands. Josh has already proven himself as a tremendous leader in NASCAR. He is tireless, passionate, strategic and ready to lead the track ‘Too Tough to Tame’ into its next era of success.”
It‘s exactly the kind of faith and goodwill that Harris has earned through more than a decade of working in the industry. He came to NASCAR 12 years ago after earning his undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University and then a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from the University of Miami.
After holding an executive role working for IMG Tickets in South Florida, Harris took a job as Director of Ticketing at Talladega Superspeedway in 2012 — a return of sorts to the place his lifelong love of NASCAR really began. One of his fondest memories from Talladega is watching Dale Earnhardt‘s legendary final career victory in the 2000 Winston 500, when the late NASCAR Hall of Famer passed 17 cars in the final five laps to claim his last trophy. It is where Harris’ appreciation of the NASCAR industry was born and blossomed.
“I came across this [open] position at Talladega and thought, ‘That would be so cool to go back and have an impact on a place that I got to go as a kid and have great memories of.’ ” Harris recalled.
After a successful tenure at Talladega, Harris went on to hold positions as NASCAR‘s Southeast Region Vice President of Ticketing & Guest Services and eventually the company‘s Southeast Region Vice President of Client & Event Experience. It all helped prepare the 41-year-old for his role leading one of the sport‘s most iconic venues.
This background in ticket sales, client and guest services working at the sport‘s marquee tracks such as Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and for the last nine months working with Tharp at Darlington Raceway, has certainly provided Harris with vast experiences sure to benefit him in his new role.
“My background has primarily been on the customer side of our business, in ticketing, guest services, event experience, and I really think just understanding our fans over the course of the last 12 years puts me in a unique position,‘‘ Harris said. “I think I‘ll bring a unique perspective.
“First and foremost, the competition on the track will take care of itself, but I think we can control a lot of things around the fan experience here, the camping experience and really making each weekend unique in its own right, but also giving fans a reason to want to be here and to not miss out on being here at Darlington Raceway.‘‘
The expectations of leading one of NASCAR‘s premier facilities are high and not only does Harris look forward to the job, he has support throughout the sport.
“Josh has gotten comfortable with the team and gotten comfortable in the community and obviously has the respect of so many people within our organization,‘‘ Wile said. “I‘m very confident he‘s going to continue to push this incredibly important facility forward for us. It is one of our most important properties for a number of reasons. Obviously, the history that sits inside these four walls, you could write hundreds of books on. We don‘t have another Darlington Raceway. It‘s one of the oldest facilities but also so iconic, that Wrigley Field-esque facility. It has to be led by the right people that continue to foster it and move it forward.
“He has the right experience, he has the right style, he‘s willing to roll his sleeves up and do whatever it takes and quite honestly, over the last 10 years has been prepping for this job,‘‘ Wile continued, adding, “You have a lot of really important events that are important not just to the race track but to the sport that you have to lead. And I certainly think he‘s going to do that.”
