public traded as nasdaq isca otcqb iscb industry motorsports founded 1953 as bill france racing inc. headquarters 1 daytona boulevard daytona beach florida 32114 1243 key people bill france sr. founder jim france chairman lesa kennedy ceo products sporting events revenue 633.91 million usd 2010 november operating income 115.64 million usd 2010 november net income 54.53 million usd 2010 november number of employees 1 000 full time website www.iscmotorsports.com international speedway corporation isc is a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of nascar and indycar race tracks . isc was founded by nascar founder bill france sr. in 1953 for the construction of daytona international speedway and in 1999 they merged with penske motorsports to become one of the largest motorsports companies in north america . 1 2 the company has played an important though controversial role in the modernization of the sport . it has worked with nascar to create new tracks and update older ones in an effort to improve the racing and the experience for spectators though because both companies have several members of the france family in top positions isc s competitors have filed multiple lawsuits on antitrust grounds and has constructed popular new tracks in regions previously thought uninterested in nascar . 1 3 4 contents 1 history 1.1 bill france racing 1.2 transition 1.3 penske merger 2 today 2.1 isc tracks 2.2 former inactive isc tracks 3 future expansion 3.1 pacific northwest 3.1.1 marysville 3.1.2 bremerton wa 3.2 new york city 3.3 colorado 4 antitrust lawsuits 4.1 ferko lawsuit 4.2 kentucky speedway lawsuit 5 references history edit bill france racing edit international speedway corporation isc was founded as bill france racing inc. later daytona international speedway corporation in 1953 and in 1957 the company signed a contract for the use of land on which to build daytona international speedway one of the world s first superspeedways . 1 a decade later france decided to build another superspeedway this time on a 2 000 acre 8 km site near talladega alabama and after its completion talladega superspeedway became nascar s fastest track . these two tracks were the fastest on the series schedule until the advent of restrictor plates in 1988 . in 1968 the company assumed its current name to reflect its more ambitious scope . 2 two years later isc created the motor racing network a play by play radio network for nascar races with mrn s first race coverage coming at the 1970 daytona 500 . 5 transition edit the early 1980s saw nascar s popularity increase not only among fans but also with sponsors . companies like ford general motors winston and gatorade were willing to put up advertising dollars and holding auto races became a much more profitable venture . 2 to capitalize on this the company began pursuing expansion through the purchase of existing tracks . in 1982 the company bought one of the series most popular and traditional ones darlington raceway which has been in operation since 1950 as well as tucson raceway park a .375 miles 0.604 km dirt oval since paved in arizona . 1 2 the following year they partnered with corning glass works to purchase the watkins glen international road course in upstate new york . 1 in 1987 bill france sr. stepped down as president of the company with jim france replacing him . 5 two years later isc incorporated its food service company americrown . 5 penske merger edit by this time isc was profitable but most of their races were still in the south and in mostly rural areas with many of the country s major cities like los angeles detroit miami and chicago lacking a nearby track . isc began looking for ways to change this in the late 1990s . homestead miami speedway was built in 1995 by ralph sanchez and wayne huizenga and in 1997 isc and penske motorsports owned by motorsports magnate roger penske partnered with the track s owners . 6 in 1999 the company continued its push into the country s urban centers when it merged with penske who at the time owned four speedways nazareth speedway north carolina speedway in rockingham north carolina michigan international speedway and the newly constructed auto club speedway which opened as california speedway . 7 chairman bill france jr. cited the company s attractive markets as one of the major reasons for going ahead with the deal . 7 the new company retained the isc name with penske s son gregory penske joining the board of directors . 7 not all of the new tracks from the penske merger fit into the company s plans however as nazareth was soon closed down and rockingham was sold . the merger also gave isc a 90 % stake in homestead miami speedway and the company soon bought out the final 10 % to acquire complete control over the track . 7 in the same year isc formed the motorsports alliance with the owners of the historic indianapolis motor speedway ; this company would go after another huge market in chicago by building the new chicagoland speedway in nearby joliet illinois and by buying out the smaller route 66 raceway dragstrip . 1 in 2007 isc bought out its partners in the company to take control of both tracks . 8 in 2001 isc would continue its trend towards modern facilities by constructing kansas speedway near kansas city . in 2003 lesa kennedy took over from jim france the role of president of the company . 5 on june 1 2009 john r. saunders took over as president of isc becoming the first isc president without a france surname . mr. saunders held the position of executive vice president of operations prior to becoming president . today edit today the company owns 13 active tracks which collectively hold 19 of the 36 events on the schedule of nascar s premier competition the sprint cup series . 9 twelve of the thirteen host a sprint cup race the thirteenth being route 66 raceway a dragstrip . 9 in addition to the stock car racing that nascar is famous for isc tracks also host irl indycar races grand am imsa gt and scca sports car races wka go kart races and ama motorcycle races . besides nascar other stock car series like iroc and arca use their tracks . 1 the company s other holdings include the motor racing network a radio network that broadcasts nascar events and americrown a food service business that operates concession stands at its tracks . 1 in 2005 isc partnered with speedway motorsports inc. to form motorsports authentics a company that markets and distributes nascar related souvenirs and collectibles . 10 although isc is controlled by the france family it is separate from nascar . about 35 % of the stock in isc is owned by the heirs of nascar founder bill france and the remainder trades on the stock market . 11 lesa kennedy is ceo and jim france is chairman . 1 isc is still headquartered in daytona beach florida near daytona international speedway . isc is working on a new development called one daytona that will feature anchor tenants bass pro shops cobb theatres and a marriott autograph collection hotel . 12 isc tracks edit track name location length seating year opened year acquired a auto club speedway fontana ca 2 miles 3 km 68 000 1997 1999 chicagoland speedway joliet il 1.5 miles 2.4 km 55 000 2001 2007 darlington raceway darlington sc 1.366 miles 2.198 km 58 000 1950 1982 daytona international speedway daytona beach fl 2.5 miles 4.0 km 101 000 1959 1959 homestead miami speedway homestead fl 1.5 miles 2.4 km 46 000 1995 1999 kansas speedway kansas city ks 74 000 2001 2001 martinsville speedway ridgeway va .526 miles 0.847 km 55 000 1947 2004 michigan international speedway brooklyn mi 2.0 miles 3.2 km 71 000 1968 1999 phoenix international raceway avondale az 1.0 mile 1.6 km 51 000 1964 1997 richmond international raceway richmond va .75 miles 1.21 km 60 000 1946 1999 route 66 raceway joliet il .25 miles 0.40 km dragstrip 30 000 1998 2007 talladega superspeedway talladega al 2.66 miles 4.28 km 78 000 1969 1969 watkins glen international watkins glen ny 2.45 miles 3.94 km road course 38 900 1948 1997 former inactive isc tracks edit track name location length seating year opened year acquired a last year nazareth speedway nazareth pa 0.946 miles 1.522 km 37 424 1966 1999 2004 b north carolina speedway rockingham nc 1.017 miles 1.637 km 60 122 1965 pikes peak international raceway fountain co 1 mile 1.6 km 62 000 1997 2005 2005 d tucson raceway park tucson az .375 miles 0.604 km n a 1968 1982 2002 e a lists the year the company gained a controlling interest 50 % in the track . b isc ceased operations at nazareth speedway in 2004 and the track is currently up for sale . 13 c isc sold north carolina speedway to speedway motorsports inc. as part of a settlement in the ferko lawsuit 14 who subsequently auctioned the track to former racer andy hillenburg . hillenburg renamed the track rockingham speedway and is planning to hold several stock car events there in an attempt to revive the track . 15 d isc shut down pikes peak international raceway shortly after purchasing it with nascar moving the track s busch series date to martinsville . in 2008 the track was sold to a private company pikes peak international raceway llc . 16 e isc sold tucson raceway park to david deery the track s general manager in 2002 . 17 future expansion edit isc and nascar have both made public their desire to have a presence in areas it sees as having the potential for growth most notably the pacific northwest and new york city . isc has said that the earliest either of these tracks would be operating is 2011 . 18 pacific northwest edit marysville edit kitsap county lies across puget sound from seattle in 2003 isc began scouting sites in washington and oregon for a new track to attract fans from around the pacific northwest eventually settling on a site near marysville washington in snohomish county north of seattle . although the plan was met with some resistance from residents particularly those living near the site for the planned speedway local business owners and other residents were in favor of the plan believing that the track would be good for the area s economy and would create jobs . unlike isc s later proposal in new york the marysville proposal would be supported by public funds raised through taxes in much the same way as other sports venues in the area keyarena safeco field centurylink field . the track would have been publicly owned and leased to isc . 19 in november 2004 local officials and isc announced that they could not go through with the deal saying that the costs for that particular site would be too high . 20 bremerton wa edit after the deal in marysville fell through isc courted another site this time south of bremerton national airport in bremerton wa just across puget sound from seattle . 19 although like the marysville proposal the proposal in bremerton was to be partially funded with public money the money will not come directly from taxes but instead from bonds funded by taxes in a scheme similar to the one used to fund kansas speedway . 21 also like the marysville proposal the bremerton track would be publicly owned and leased to isc for three races per year . 19 isc s current proposal was met with a lukewarm response from area lawmakers and citizens but the company has promised to present an improved offer for early 2007 . 22 in march 2007 washington state representative larry seaquist caused a minor controversy