Jill Gregory was recently promoted to NASCAR's senior vice president of industry services.
Last spring, Jill Gregory brought NASCAR to Hollywood.
Drivers sat on the set of "Friends," posed for a photo with Ashton Kutcher and "Modern Family" star Eric Stonestreet and even got a glimpse at Jay Leno's car collection. Gregory's goal in putting together the trip — and tagging along for the ride — was to put NASCAR drivers in front of people who wouldn't normally be interested in the motorsport. Once they get to know the drivers, Gregory says they're more likely to join NASCAR fanbase, some 75 million strong.
"A lot of folks in L.A. have a preconceived notion of what the sport is like," Gregory said in an interview at the NASCAR Plaza in Charlotte, N.C. "You see they're a cool, hip, young, diverse group of athletes. You'll see us continue to do things like that — put the sport in front of new and unexpected audiences."
Gregory was recently promoted to senior vice president of industry services at NASCAR, a role that oversees sponsorship and branding for the teams, events and drivers. On top of that, she loves the sport. NASCAR earns about $3.1 billion in annual revenue, and 40 percent of its 75 million fans are women, according to Statistic Brain. But earlier in her career, she too struggled to understand the NASCAR allure.
She was in her early 20s when she attended her first NASCAR race at the Sonoma Raceway in California. Rusty Wallace was battling for the championship at the time, years before he'd enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame. She was with her cousins who loved Rusty Wallace, but Gregory wasn't a fan.
"I didn't know what to expect," Gregory said. "You get amazed and impressed by the scope and size and the pageantry associated, but until you get to the track and see the number of fans, the size of the facility, the roar of engines, there's so much that goes into the sensory experience of being at a race."
