TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ben Kennedy has been the face of the NASCAR schedules for the last few years, but his responsibilities have expanded with the promotion to chief operating officer.
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Now, some things will change as NASCAR puts together the schedules for 2027 and beyond. Kennedy will still oversee the process, but another important figure will take on a larger role.
"Recently Julie Giese, who you guys know, she's been the president of Phoenix and headed up the Chicago Street Course for the past few years. She's now leading all of our scheduling efforts," Kennedy said Saturday in response to FanBuzz.
"She's done a tremendous job already helping us build out the 2027 schedule. We're actually leaving after this (press conference) to sit down and talk with a few drivers about it."
Giese has extensive ties to NASCAR, which includes multiple roles. She spent 12 years working in marketing and communications at Daytona International Speedway, nearly two years as a manager of business operations at International Speedway Corporation (ISC), and 1.5 years as vice president of track marketing for NASCAR.
Giese took over as Phoenix Raceway president in 2018, and she remained in that role for four years while overseeing the $178 million modernization effort. This track became the host of championship weekend in 2020 and continued to host the finale weekend after Giese moved into the role of Chicago Street Race president.
Last summer, Giese began working on the scheduling team in a smaller capacity. She joined after NASCAR parted ways with race director Jusan Hamilton, who also worked on the three national series schedules.
Now, she will further expand her presence on the team while working alongside Kennedy, the man who has helped NASCAR branch out with new events across North America.
He spearheaded the race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after originally trying to host an event in Chicago's Soldier Field. He took the Cup and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series teams to Mexico City during the 2025 season.
This year, all three national NASCAR series will head to Naval Base Coronado in a historic first for the sport.
What happens in 2027 and beyond as Giese leads the scheduling efforts? That remains unclear, but she will play a major role while working closely with Kennedy. She will also work with multiple other teams as Kennedy brings them closer together in pursuit of unity.
"We have a great team on the event and venues team, whether it's the racetracks, folks are thinking about hospitality, food and beverage at our tracks," Kennedy added. "We have six or seven verticals that live within our team today. Then we get to add in John Probst and the competition folks together.
"I think it's neat that we get to bring competition and our tracks kind of closer together. Granted, we'll be working with the rest of the leadership team.
"If you think about some of the most important parts of our business and our DNA, when I think about it, it's our events, it's our venues, and the cars we put on track. I think putting that team together in one department is going to be a neat opportunity."
