My WTH Moment

Following Johnny Mallonee's post from a couple of days ago concerning the state of short track racing, I came across this jewel today.

With the current state of short track racing seeing many tracks struggle, it seems NASCAR would have some degree of concern with the state of that part of their industry. But noooooo! They have hired this gentleman to fill another "pulled from out of the blue" position. His salery could probably go a long way in helping make another short track successful.

Read on!

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 23, 2013) NASCAR announced today that Eugene (Gene) Stefanyshyn has been named Vice President, Innovation and Racing Development to drive continual improvements in racing performance. He will be based at NASCARs Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C.

"It has been a stated goal to raise the level of science and technology utilized throughout NASCAR to an entirely new level, and Im confident that we have found the right leader in Gene to build on our very strong foundation. NASCARs aim is to be a recognized leader when it comes to putting the best, most engaging product forward and this is another strong step in that direction."

In this role, Stefanyshyn will lead and shape NASCARs future approach to Competition by utilizing and developing innovations that advance the racing product and fan experience. Additionally, he will work in close collaboration with other NASCAR departments and industry stakeholders to develop a leading edge culture for NASCAR surrounding engineering and technology.

Stefanyshyn, a native of Ontario, Canada, will join NASCAR on May 13, 2013. His hiring concludes a thorough four-month search that was led by Courland International. He will report directly to NASCAR President Mike Helton and will work closely with Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Steve ODonnell and Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton.

Stefanyshyn has been a leader at General Motors working in various capacities for more than 30 years, most recently serving as the companys Executive Director, Global Product Development Quality, where he managed upwards of 250 employees across four global regions. Through his three-decade tenure at GM, Stefanyshyn has held increasingly senior roles spanning all facets of vehicle design and development, global project management, engineering strategy, finance, manufacturing and quality control. During his career he has lived in Detroit, Michigan, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Germany, and has played key roles on projects for GM in several other global regions including China.

Overall, Stefanyshyn led teams that put 14 cars and 20 body styles on the road. Several accomplishments under his oversight include the development and launch of the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro in 2010, the introduction of remote start technology in new vehicles beginning with the Chevrolet Malibu, and bringing acclaimed safety standards and innovation developed by Saab to other product lines. He has built extensive experience in operational management, cross-continent collaboration, managing investment in innovation and technology as well as cost containment in design and production.

We are very pleased to have a globally proven leader the caliber of Gene Stefanyshyn join our management team and take the reins of innovation and racing development at NASCAR, said NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian France. It has been a stated goal to raise the level of science and technology utilized throughout NASCAR to an entirely new level, and Im confident that we have found the right leader in Gene to build on our very strong foundation. NASCARs aim is to be a recognized leader when it comes to putting the best, most engaging product forward and this is another strong step in that direction.

NASCAR recently has rolled out successful product innovations including the new Generation 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car, the Air Titan track drying system, numerous driver safety innovations and seamless transitions to electronic fuel injection and Sunoco E15 racing fuel. Stefanyshyn will assume leadership of the teams that drove those initiatives and build on them in the areas of racing performance, innovation and event experience, as well as safety engineering.

I have a strong passion for cars and respect the proud history of this great sport, so Im thrilled at the opportunity of helping shape the future of NASCAR racing, said Stefanyshyn. I look forward to working with the team at NASCAR, each of the OEM partners, the race teams and drivers to raise performance levels across the board and to drive the sport to an even stronger leadership position in the future.

Stefanyshyn (rhymes with definition) holds a B.S., Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife, Angela, are the parents of two children, Ivanna (21) and Mark (17).

Randy, I'm with you.

When I saw the story posted at NASCAR.com and saw the gentleman's title, I figured (until I read the story) he was going to be a VP of Cheating.

NASCAR is letting its farm system dry up much as major league baseball did. When I was a kid you had the baseball winter leagues in Venezuela and the Class D Grapefruit League in Florida, along with many leagues of Class A and Double AA, along with the three AAA Leagues - International, Pacific Coast, and American Association.

Now the major league baseball teams (and there are way too many with a very diluted product) take the college ballplayers and give 'em just a little seasoning before bringing them up.

Appears NASCAR is content to fill the Cup ranks these days with drivers coming from other sanctioning body organizations, rather than its one-time NASCAR sanctioned weekly tracks. I yearn for the days when a fan could follow a driver from local success, to regional success and upwards through the NASCAR ranks.

I'll take a resurgence in efforts toward building the weekly competition base and settle for jet dryers and pulling tires rather than expending the money on Air Titans and Racing Development VPs.

Thanks for the post, Randy.

All those Cameros he helped develop and the remote start in new vehicles (so thats what those extra switches are for in the gen 6 car). Now what the heck is his place in Concord or in Daytona..

Ok the big boys need help on the fuel injection system they running, what about Bill Tripp or Bobby Williamson. They got carburetors on their car just like mine. Bet that old car that was resurrected from the dead that was Jeffs old car has a carb. on it.

Oh yeah he is working with OEM parts too so no room for creativity there anymore huh.

He holds a B.S. from somewhere, is this the same place Brian learned his BS ? TIME will TELL

As I said before----Save those old motors guys were we will survive on dirt

I think BS is the "KEY"!!

Randy, I am beginning to believe there is something in the water in Daytona that is causing early on-set stupidity. The more I hear, the more I see, the more I read, I wonder, where common sense went. As Cody Dinsmore says, "Common sense isn't common anymore". NASCAR had a good system. Worked fine for years. Along comes Brian France and here we go throwing everything out the window and re-inventing the wheel. Frankly, this past two weeks, I've gotten pretty sick of the whole deal. What they did to Penske was a crime. What they have done to JGR (and I don't like Toyotas) is so far out in the crime rankings I can give no leaway to that. I don't understand what this new guy is supposed to do for what will obviously be an extraordinary salary, but, as you say, the B.S. rules.

What is it going to take to make NASCAR wake up? Are they so enamored with the Waltrips, the FOX Network, the gadgets and glitz of Hollywood that they can't remember us, the real fans? The fans who paid the price to built the sport along with the drivers that paid the price as well? I will really have to give some thought this week as to how much further I'm going to go with this game.

His main job will most likely will be to go out and find rich spoiled brats to put in the cars.The main word in this is not a word. B.S. is what he will spread to talk some rich dad to invest in the general motors team that his son or daughter would be driving for. They will skip the local tracks and go directly to Nationwide or Cup series.

OMG! I agree, Randy, thisisa WTH moment. Seems NASCAR is paranoid over big brother, whoever they perceive that to be. The backstetch wall last weekend at Kansas was painted and emblazoned a politically correct green. NASCAR seems convinced its product will not stand on its own merits, if it not supplemented with gizmos. Maybe the gen-6 cars can be remotely started, at some future point........that'll fill the stands, for sure!

Good point Mike. Like Major League baseball drafting kids right out of high school. Maybe they need to restrict access to any school where kids are under the age of six.

Bobby, as for the big brother theory, I would buy into that except for the fact that NASCAR seems to think they answer to no one and cares not one bit about what anyone thinks. I gave my opinion of this politically correct B.S. NASCAR is pushing now in my Tuesday Legendtorial. I want just ONE person, NOT affiliated with the government lie machine or being paid by E-15 producers, to tell me how E-15 is going to be good for my cars and my lawn mower. One local politician told me the "E" gas is pushed solely to justify the farm subsidies for corn farmers. If they want to justify corn subsidies, just leagalize MOONSHINE and that would help the sugar industry too.

I am literally getting ill with this NASCAR "B.S.". I may become that standup comic and just walk around saying "NASCAR is a viable sport" and that should get laughs enough to support me.

I think, that they think, at some future point, auto racing, especially fossil-fuel-propelledauto racing will fall completley out of the favor with tree-hugging, left leaning, big brother. And, as Mike indicated, there's an obvious General Motors-big-money connection in all this too.