International Speedway Corporation

ISC was founded as Bill France Racing, Inc. (later Daytona International Speedway Corporation) in 1953. 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. A decade later, France decided to build another superspeedway on a 2,000-acre site near Talladega, Alabama; Talladega Superspeedway became NASCAR's fastest track. Both Daytona and Talladega were the fastest tracks on the series schedule until the advent of restrictor plates in 1988. In 1968, the company changed its name to International Speedway Corporation. Two years later, ISC created the Motor Racing Network, a play-by-play radio network for NASCAR races, with MRN's first coverage at the 1970 Daytona 500.

The early 1980s saw NASCAR's popularity and sponsorship grow, making holding auto races a more profitable venture. ISC began purchasing existing tracks, acquiring Darlington Raceway in 1982, which had been in operation since 1950, as well as Tucson Raceway Park in Arizona. The following year, ISC partnered with Corning Glass Works to purchase Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. Bill France Sr. stepped down as president in 1987, with Jim France taking his place. ISC incorporated its food service company, Americrown, two years later.

By the late 1990s, ISC sought to expand beyond the South and into major U.S. cities. Homestead–Miami Speedway was built in 1995 by Ralph Sanchez and Wayne Huizenga; ISC and Penske Motorsports partnered with the track's owners in 1997. In 1999, ISC merged with Penske Motorsports, owned by Roger Penske, which brought four speedways into the fold: Nazareth Speedway, North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, Michigan International Speedway, and the newly constructed Auto Club Speedway. Bill France Jr. cited "attractive markets" as a primary reason for the deal. Nazareth was subsequently closed and Rockingham was sold. The merger also gave ISC a 90% stake in Homestead–Miami Speedway, which it later acquired fully.

That same year, ISC formed the Motorsports Alliance with the owners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, building Chicagoland Speedway in nearby Joliet, Illinois and acquiring Route 66 Raceway. ISC bought out its partners in that company in 2007 to take full control of both tracks. In 2001, ISC constructed Kansas Speedway near Kansas City.

Lesa France Kennedy became president of ISC in 2003. John R. Saunders took over as president in June 2009, becoming the first ISC president without the France surname; he had previously served as executive vice president of operations.

At the time of its acquisition, ISC owned 13 active tracks collectively hosting 18 of the 36 events on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In addition to stock car racing, ISC tracks hosted IndyCar Series races, USCC, Grand-Am, IMSA GT and SCCA sports car races, WKA go-kart races, and AMA motorcycle races. Other stock car series including IROC and ARCA also used their tracks. ISC's other holdings included the Motor Racing Network and Americrown. In 2005, ISC partnered with Speedway Motorsports to form Motorsports Authentics, a company marketing NASCAR souvenirs and collectibles.

Before the acquisition, ISC reported removing a total of 78,000 seats from Chicagoland, Darlington, Kansas, Martinsville, Michigan, Phoenix, and Richmond venues. About 35% of ISC stock was owned by heirs of Bill France Sr.; the remainder traded on the stock market.

Because both NASCAR and ISC had several members of the France family in top positions, ISC's competitors filed multiple antitrust lawsuits.

In 2002, Francis Ferko, a stockholder in Speedway Motorsports, Inc., sued NASCAR and ISC alleging violations of federal antitrust laws and breach of contract, claiming NASCAR had promised a second Winston Cup Series date to Texas Motor Speedway. Another shareholder, Rusty Vaughn, joined as co-plaintiff in 2003. The case was settled out of court in April 2004: Texas received the Cup date previously belonging to North Carolina Speedway, and as part of the deal agreed to purchase North Carolina Speedway from ISC for $100 million.

In 2005, Kentucky Speedway filed a similar lawsuit claiming NASCAR violated antitrust laws by not awarding them a Sprint Cup Series race. NASCAR sought dismissal on the grounds that Kentucky was not trying to end anticompetitive practices but merely to benefit from them; that motion was denied. A motion to move the case from Kentucky to Florida was also rejected. Kentucky initially sought to force NASCAR to grant them a Cup Series event, but in 2007 changed their demand to forcing the France family to sell either NASCAR or ISC, and also sought damages of $200 million. The court dismissed the lawsuit in January 2008. In 2011, Kentucky Speedway, by then owned by SMI, received a Cup Series date, the Quaker State 400, which lasted until 2020.

ISC pursued expansion into the Pacific Northwest and New York City.

In the Pacific Northwest, ISC initially scouted a site near Marysville, Washington. Local business owners supported the plan, but costs at that site proved too high and the project was abandoned in November 2004. ISC then pursued a site near Bremerton, Washington, to be partially funded by bonds. That proposal received a lukewarm reception from lawmakers and was abandoned in April 2007 after failing to advance through the Washington State Legislature.

In New York City, ISC purchased 600 acres on Staten Island in 2004 for a proposed 4/5-mile short track holding 80,000 fans with the New York City skyline as backdrop. The proposal drew fierce local resistance; a public meeting in April 2006 had to be ended early due to safety concerns. ISC dropped the Staten Island project in December 2006.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.