Matt Marcinkowski
Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Curtis Francois
When Curtis Francois was 7 years old, he went to watch Evel Knievel jump buses on a motorcycle at what was then Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. For Francois, it’s a core memory, one that has stuck with him into adulthood. Francois, a former racecar driver, real estate developer, and the owner of that very track—now World Wide Technology Raceway—brings up the story because he’s trying to create the same experience for families today, except on a bigger scale. He’s swapping the bus-jumping daredevil for the grandpappy of speed-freak showcases: an inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race. It’s just one part of Francois’ vision in transforming the track and the surrounding area.
“The track really is an integral part of our community with something going on virtually every week that brings people out,” says St. Clair County board chairman Mark Kern. That wasn’t always the case, however. “The track opened to great fanfare [under previous ownership], but it just never could make it. It appeared that the owner was going to take the grandstands, which were made of aluminum, and start to scrap the track—actually melt it down into something new.
“Curtis heard about this and saw the opportunity. Through collaborations with state and local officials, he's really been able to rebuild a lot of the existing infrastructure, but more importantly add necessary infrastructure to bring this major race to St. Louis.” Kern says.
The NASCAR Cup Series is a three-year agreement, and WWTR estimates that it will generate $60 million in economic impact each year. Think of the race as a World Series or Super Bowl. Meaning, the stakes are high. “It’s important for us to make sure that when the light is shining brightly on the St. Louis region, that we stand up and are noticed,” Francois says.
And if a few of the eyes trained on the Metro East also have deep pockets, that’d be ideal. Because Francois hopes that the $40 million he’s invested in the track since buying it is just the start. “There’s a lot of momentum already, and we intend to use our resources to help fuel what I believe is an existing opportunity to transform the Metro East,” he says. That area includes East St. Louis, a five-minute drive from the track, where 30 percent of residents live in poverty. When Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the NASCAR race would be called Enjoy Illinois 300, one observer tweeted that there wasn’t “much to ‘enjoy’ over on the east side currently.”
But Francois is looking for solutions. Last fall, he took a group of stakeholders—WWTR folks, local elected officials, representatives from Greater St. Louis Inc.—to Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, Kansas. Since its inaugural race in 2001, the area around the speedway has seen about $4 billion in development. Stores and other attractions ring the raceway: a Great Wolf Lodge water park, the Village West entertainment district with shopping outlets, and a Nebraska Furniture Mart. In 2020, Urban Outfitters selected a parcel of land next to the speedway to build an 880,000-square-foot distribution center, a $350 million development that will bring 2,000 jobs to the area.
KMOX sports director Tom Ackerman entered into a partnership with WWTR as a consultant and ambassador and traveled to Kansas Speedway. “I was looking at the track, but my eyes kept going beyond it,” he recalls. “I was thinking about what used to be basically a field and now you have a track. You have a soccer stadium; there was a ballpark. There was a Nebraska Furniture Mart, which might be the biggest store I’ve ever set foot in. It’s like IKEA times 10. This all was spurred by the fact that they built this track.”
Already there are changes taking place in preparation for the cup race. Ameren Illinois is spending $1.8 million to make updates to the area’s electrical grid, adding a third circuit in anticipation of future development. “We think commercial businesses, retail business hotels, maybe even some light manufacturing,” says Ameren Illinois president Richard Mark. “That system—the grid there right now—isn’t really built to handle that type of growth. What we want to do is use this as an opportunity to upgrade that infrastructure. The third circuit will not just increase the stability for the race track, but by having those three circuits all there together, we will be able to help that whole north-south region.” Customers likely won’t notice a difference except in terms of reliability—the upgrade means the area will be less likely to have an outage and any outages will probably be able to be resolved faster. Ameren has also started construction on a solar energy facility in East St. Louis.
A racetrack might seem like an unusual anchor for economic development, but, as Greater St. Louis Inc. CEO Jason Hall points out, one of the most important facets of growth is inspiring the future workforce. Hall knows. He grew up in Metro East, in the shadow of the track. “I’m a first-generation high school and college graduate, and I always tell people, ‘We don’t even know what opportunity looks like.’ I suspect a lot of kids in East St. Louis and Madison have similar backgrounds. It’s an exciting sport. It’s fast-paced. To use that hook and all the STEM that goes into racing is essentially a workforce development opportunity.”
And in that arena, Francois is doing inclusive work. Since 2015, he and WWTR, through the Raceway Gives foundation, have been partnering with Olympic gold medalist and East St. Louis native Jackie Joyner-Kersee and her foundation’s community center on STEM programming. The children also get to visit the track.
“You hear several of them saying they want to be racecar drivers, but to me, it sparks that interest and the importance of math and science,” Joyner-Kersee says. “When we’re talking STEM, they see it come full circle.”
It’s a mission that’s important to World Wide Technology, which bought the naming rights to the track in 2019. Juanita Logan, WWT’s vice president of global corporate development, says that for years the company has been trying to drive inclusion and equity, and the raceway is another way to do it. At the race, a STEM Lane exhibit will showcase augmented reality and an esports competition area. “Motorsports is just one way World Wide Technology is advancing STEM education for those in under-resourced communities, particularly youth,” she says. “There’s so much opportunity, and it’s ever-growing, when it comes to technology and the digital world. We know there’s an immense amount of talent out there. However, opportunity and access is not equally distributed. We want to do our part to change that.”
NASCAR Cup Series by the Day
The Enjoy Illinois 300 is more than the big race. The Confluence Music Festival will host more than 30 bands performing over the four days, including some of our favorites: Old Dominion, Nelly, Cole Swindell, Jimmie Allen, Alexandra Kay, River Kittens, Marquise Knox… A full lineup will be released soon. In the meantime, here are some other don’t-miss events.
May 31: It’s World Wide Technology Raceway Night at Busch Stadium: With your purchase of a theme ticket, you’ll receive a pass to both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 qualifying and the Enjoy Illinois 300 NASCAR Cup Series practice on June 3 at WWT Raceway. The Cardinals play the San Diego Padres at 6:45 p.m.
June 2: At Ballpark Village Fan Fest, from 4–8 p.m., catch live music, driver appearances, and the NASCAR Teams Hauler Parade—a caravan of 18-wheelers that will make their way from downtown to WWT Raceway.
June 3: Two practices and a qualifying all happen on Friday, but there’s another reason not to miss the day’s events: “The King” Richard Petty will take the ceremonial first lap. The ribbon-cutting is at 3:30 p.m.
June 4: Gates will open at 7 a.m. for the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois qualifying, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota 200 race, and the Thrills & Throttles exotic car display.
June 5: In addition to the big race, expect concerts on four stages, a military flyover, and more special attractions on Sunday. Gates open at 7 a.m.
