Nashville Superspeedway President Erik Moses is stepping down from his position with the speedway to take on the role as Executive Director and CEO of the Fiesta Bowl.

This move comes after Moses has served as the NSS President for the past two years, leading NASCAR’s returning to Middle Tennessee for the first time in nearly a decade.

“The Fiesta Bowl has a rich history for innovation and a commitment to meaningful impact on and off the college football field. I’m excited to join this high achieving organization and to continue and enhance its inspiring work within Arizona’s communities,” says Moses. “The joy of sports, entertainment and charitable giving is how we help to connect our communities make our state a better place to live, work and visit. I look forward to working with the talented staff, collaborating with our dedicated Board of Directors, Yellow Jacket Committee and our incredible volunteers to ensure our prominent standing in a vastly changing college football landscape.”

Moses led the way for NASCAR’s return to Nashville with major engagement and attracting musical acts like Chris Janson, Brothers Osborne and many more to headline pre-race concerts at the speedway. His work helped lead to a sellout of the first annual Ally 400 Cup Series race which saw eventual NASCAR champion Kyle Larson take home the coveted Gibson guitar trophy.

“Erik has been a tremendous part of the bringing NASCAR back to Nashville Superspeedway during the past two years,” notes Speedway Motorsports President & CEO Marcus Smith in a statement. “We’d like to thank him for all of his hard work promoting the Ally 400 and serving the community. We wish him the very best in his new role at the Fiesta Bowl.”

Prior to his work in Nashville, Moses served as CEO of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, Moses oversaw the formation and founding of the Military Bowl, now celebrating its 14th anniversary, and also facilitated the creation of the AT&T Nation’s Football Classic featuring the tradition, unity and heritage of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). While in DC, he was also influential in the successful recruitment of MLB to the Nation’s Capital and the construction of the acclaimed Nationals Park–home of the MLB Washington Nationals and cornerstone of the revitalization of the southwest area of Washington, D.C. into a vibrant destination point of the city.

As Senior Vice President of Events DC, Moses solidified his expertise in sports tourism and event creation as the chief advocate for sports, entertainment and live events. He managed multiple venues, including the historic RFK Stadium, the Entertainment and Sports Arena at St. Elizabeths and the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. His responsibilities included creating industry-leading partnerships with A-list brands to support local events, overseeing a community grants program and maintaining strong relationships with major league sports teams and their governing bodies.

Moses’ last stop in Washington was as the founding President of the DC Defenders of the newly-launched XFL spring professional football league, where he guided all aspects of the team’s business operations and fan experience. The team quickly climbed to become the standard bearer of the league in the areas of game day experience, ticket sales, corporate partnerships, content and community engagement.

The reality of NASCAR returning to the historic Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway way is closer to becoming a reality as both Mayor John Cooper and Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) have agreed to a lease.

This proposal was presented to the Metro Fair Board on Tuesday (Nov. 8) by the Mayor’s office, BMS President and General Manager Jerry Caldwell.

“Partnering with Bristol allows Nashville to preserve our 131-year tradition of racing at the Fairgrounds and bring the legendary speedway back to life as a valuable and exciting part of the modernized Fairgrounds,” Cooper explains. “Recognizing our obligation to maintain the track, we are leveraging investments from the state, the tourism industry, and facility users to make this a financial success for the city. We can put this landmark back on the national stage. I look forward to working with the Fair Board, Sports Authority and the Metro Council in the months ahead.”

With this deal, BMS will “renovate, operate, and maintain the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Metro Fair Board pursuant to a development agreement and a 30 year lease agreement.”

The agreement will need to be passed by the Board of Fair Commissioners, Metropolitan Council and Sports Authority. A vote by the Fair Board is expected to take place in January 2023.

If the proper bodies approve this agreement, bringing NASCAR back to the Fairgrounds, Bristol will host a Cup Series race at least every other year throughout the lease agreement and has agreed to “make up any deficits in pledged revenues in order to ensure the bond payments are met in the event a race is not held as anticipated.”

Nashville SC, the Fair Board and Bristol have also negotiated a scheduling process that will ensure all parties can schedule events as required by Metro Charter and the Nashville SC lease.

“It’s been a long multi-year process through selections and negotiations and we are eager to see this project through its completion,” adds Caldwell. “There is a lot of work ahead of us as we meet with city officials and work with the community to complete a truly comprehensive restoration of the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for the enjoyment of future generations. We encourage race fans to continue to show their support for this special piece of motorsports history. We are thankful to all who have supported this venture throughout this process.”

According the agreement, the revenue sources to renovate the speedway will be a $17,000,000 grant from the State of Tennessee, a $17,000,000 payment from the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation (NCVC) for the use of the Speedway and tourism promotion activities, as well as Revenue Bonds issued by the Metro Sports Authority.

Revenue Bonds issued by the Metro Sports Authority will be backed by:

• $1,000,000 annual rent payments from Bristol (with a 1% escalator)
• $650,000 annual CVC rent payments
• Ticket tax revenues
• Redirect of the state and local sales taxes generated at the Speedway, similar to other Metro Sports facilities (Geodis Park, First Horizon Ballpark, Bridgestone Arena, Nissan Stadium)
• Guaranteed annual payment by Bristol of $103,125, plus additional rent of up to $103,125 annually (with a 2% escalator) to be paid out of anticipated excess project revenues
• A share of gross revenues and food & beverage revenues
• Facility sponsorship payment up to $600,000 per year (with a 1% escalator)
• 10% of facility naming rights net revenue

The deal between the city and Bristol is similar to the deal the Mayor’s office and the Titans agreed on last month for a new stadium and lease.

Bristol Motor Speedway will be responsible to all renovations as well as any updates needed within the 30-year lease.

Big Machine Racing team (BMR) announced on Saturday (Oct. 29) that Parker Kligerman will take over as the team’s new full-time driver beginning in 2023.

This announcement comes as the BMR team winds down their second season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Kligerman made one start for the team in 2022, competing in the Sparks 300 at Talladega Superspeedway where he started 9th and ended the day with a 6th place finish.

“Parker Kligerman is coming to Big Machine Racing at the perfect time,” explains BMR team owner, Scott Borchetta. “As our team continues to grow and put up real results, Parker has the experience and talent to take us next level. He has also become a staple in the NASCAR world with fans and industry alike and he will be a great ambassador for Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers and our other brands. Excited for 2023!”

The much-anticipated announcement comes just before the end of the 2022 season with Borchetta unveiling one of the team’s Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolets, featuring Kligerman’s name.

Kligerman currently drives Henderson Motorsports’ No. 75 truck part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, most recently with a win at Mid-Ohio and top-ten finishes at Talladega and Miami. Kligerman has raced in all three of NASCAR’s premier series since the start of his career in 2013 and has amassed 3 wins, 26 top 5 finishes, and 72 top 10 finishes across all three series.

“From getting the call in Mid-Ohio to our first run together at Talladega, Big Machine Racing has felt like somewhere I want to be,” says Kligerman. “I’m thrilled to be joining the championship-caliber team Scott Borchetta has put together and I can’t wait to continue the building process with the folks at Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers. Let’s have some fun and get a lot of checkered flags!”

BMR has not yet announced who will drive the No. 48  Big Machine Spiked Cooler Chevrolet Camaro for the final race of the 2022 season at the Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6.

The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix announced a series of executive-level promotions, which include the elevation of Jason Rittenberry to President & COO. He has served as COO from the inception of the event.

In his expanded role, he will continue to oversee all operations of the event and on-track motorsports activity. A 22-year veteran of motorsports and entertainment, Rittenberry previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Circuit of The Americas, overseeing the Formula One United States Grand Prix and Austin 360 Amphitheater. His career includes tenure as President & CEO of IRG Sports + Entertainment and President & General Manager of Memphis Motorsports Park.

“I’m incredibly proud of this executive team. There is well over 100 years of motorsports and festival experience between this group of leaders,” says Big Machine Music City Grand Prix CEO Matt Crews.  “Dedication, hard work, passion, and leadership from this team is immeasurable and will be instrumental in our continued growth and position us as one of Nashville and motorsports marquee events.”

Liz Allison has been named Executive Vice President. Having served as Director of Partnerships, Client Services and Special Events since joining the team in January of 2021, Allison has over 25 years of motorsports client services, special events and premium hospitality experience in NASCAR. As EVP, she will continue to oversee strategic and investor relations, partnerships, guest experiences and premium hospitality.

Tony Cotman, the original course designer for the MCGP, has been named Director of Infrastructure in addition to his role as Track Designer. He will continue to oversee the course design, work closely with motorsports sanctioning bodies, and manage the organization’s rapidly growing infrastructure inventory. Cotman has over 25 years of motorsports experience and also serves as President of NZR Consulting. He previously served as the Vice President of Competition for IndyCar, Vice President of Operations for ChampCar and as an IndyCar Steward and Racetrack Engineer and Designer. He currently serves as the US Representative to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

Brad Margolis has been named Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Finance and Administration. In addition to finance and administration, he will oversee the ticketing sales and operations for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Prior to the MCGP, Margolis spent the last 13 years working with a single-family office that built and invested in consumer businesses spanning media and entertainment, festivals, restaurants, sports, and technology.

In addition to these executive level changes, the organization announced the following senior management promotions: Charlie Legeman upped to Sr. Director of Sales and Partnerships, Kent Russell elevated to Sr. Director of Ticketing, and Kristen Moser promoted to Sr. Director of Operations.