BAKERSFIELD, Calif., February 25, 2019 – The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame has elected a trio of new members to its Board of Directors. Two of the new members, Ray Claridge and Jim Williams, previously were inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. The third, Julie Giese, was named president of ISM Raceway near Phoenix in 2018.
Their election increases the board’s membership to 25.
“It has been the intention of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame since its beginning to be able to establish a board of directors, the members of which, have made significant contributions in various types of businesses all over the country,” said Chairman Ken Clapp. “We are finally in a very fine position with this elite board to guide the Hall to many new, positive changes in the years ahead.”
Claridge, inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006, owned Golden West Motorsports. His Pontiacs won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 1996 with Lance Hooper and twice finished second in the points race (1997-98) with Sean Woodside. Over thee season and 41 races, Golden West Motorsports logged nine wins, 28 top fives, 35 top 10s and seven poles.
The Los Angeles-area resident owned Cinema Vehicle Services for the film industry and upon its sale in 2015 had grown to a 7.5-acre facility with 42,000 square feet of shop facilities and a fleet of 1,100 rental vehicles.
Giese joined ISM’s parent company, International Speedway Corp., in 2001 and has taken on roles with increasing responsibility, from Director of Public Relations at Watkins Glen International to Vice President of Marketing and Communication at Daytona International Speedway where she spent 12 years overseeing all aspects of consumer marketing, branding, creative, advertising, digital, public relations and event entertainment for the “World Center of Racing.”
Prior to assuming the president at ISM Raceway, Giese served as the Managing Director of Business Operations for ISC Design and Development, leading the coordination between ISC’s 13 race tracks, internal corporate department and the Design & Development team on the Company’s significant capital investment and redevelopment projects.
Williams, inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2015, has spent most of his adult life in the food industry working himself up through every aspect to the position of President of Golden State Foods including acquiring the public company through a private transaction in 1980.
In 1985 he began a relationship with Roger Penske starting with a sponsorship arrangement. In 1988 he that broadened to co-investing in track ventures that included California Speedway – now Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, Calif. – among others. It began a 30-year friendship that remains today. He has associated with people of all aspects of the motorsports industry including the late Bill France Jr. and Les Richter, as well as Penske, Walt Czarnecki, West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame member Parnelli Jones as well as short track owners and drivers.
The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame will induct its Class of 2019 on June 20 at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif. The ceremonies, presented by Gateway Motorsports Park, open the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and K&N Pro Series West weekend at nearby Sonoma Raceway. The five new inductees will be introduced March 16 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
About the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame:
The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car racing. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car competitors have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.
Contact:
Owen A. Kearns
661-342-2983
okearns@bak.rr.com
www.westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com