Meet the Richmond Raceway Team
LORI WARAN | TRACK PRESIDENT
Lori Collier Waran serves as Richmond Raceway’s first female track President. Lori launched her career in Washington D.C., entertaining government dignitaries, professional sports teams and corporations with Sodexho Marriot. After 8 years, Lori and her family moved to her hometown of Richmond, Virginia where she joined Auto Trader and started her nearly 20-year career in the media and communications industry. In 2006, Landmark Media tapped Lori to take the helm of the Richmond based media company, Style Weekly Media as Publisher where Lori led the team for nearly 15 years. She was the youngest Publisher in the United States for an alternative weekly at that time.
Building audiences and innovating has been a skill well honed by Lori throughout her career which is why most recently, NASCAR tapped Lori to take the helm at Richmond Raceway. She is thrilled to engage loyal fans and new fans and create an iconic fan experience for years to come.
Lori is used to living life in the “fast lane” with her husband of 24 years and two sons – one in college at Virginia Tech and one in high school at Hanover High School. All of whom drive too fast.
Lauren Daneker | Executive Assistant to the President, Office Manager
Born and raised in Mechanicsville, VA, Lauren’s no stranger to the Richmond Area. She’s also no stranger to Richmond Raceway as her mother began her career at the track in 1992 – Lauren now finds herself working in the very offices she ran through as a young girl. She started with RR as Event Coordinator, then transitioned to work with the Track President as her Executive Assistant and Office Manager. Lauren assists in coordinating the Track President’s schedule, planning meetings, coordinating communication, community relations, office management and more.
Her career background ranges in experience from working in a Winery, a Consulting Firm, & Miss USA. She continues to work with the Miss USA in her free time when she’s not at the Dog Park with her dog, Blu.
Chris Alberta | Manager, Security
Chris retired from the Henrico County Police Division with 40 years of service at the rank of Captain. He’s attended numerous leadership schools to include The FBI National Academy, U of R Police Executive Leadership School, DEA Drug Unit Commanders School, and the Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University. Upon retirement in 2015, Chris joined the Richmond Raceway team as Security Manager. He is happily married, has three daughters and four grandchildren.
Nick Yardley | Sr. Manager, Ticketing
Nick Yardley, a product of Oneida, New York, is the Sr. Manager, Ticketing Operations – NASCAR Mid-Atlantic. Nick began his career in the professional sports and entertainment industry in 2017. Having spent the majority of his career working in minor league baseball, with stops in El Paso, Reno and Amarillo. In November 2021 he started working for NASCAR in the Mid-Atlantic Region with Richmond being his home track. Nick received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland.
Michael Persinger | Ticket Operations Coordinator
From Cobbs Creek, VA, Michael Persinger is the Ticket Operations Coordinator at Richmond Raceway. He has been attending races at the track since his early years, coming with his father to see Dale Jr participate in the Busch Series. After graduating from VCU, Michael began his career at Richmond in 2019 as part of the ticket sales team. He also assists with events at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway as part of the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Richard Vail | Event Experience Coordinator
Richard Vail joined the NASCAR family in 2018 working at Phoenix Raceway during his time at Arizona Sate University. Growing up around classic cars as an avid car-enthusiast, entering a career in the world of motorsports was a perfect fit. Richard now works as an Event Experience Coordinator in the NASCAR Mid-Atlantic region servicing Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Darlington Raceway.
Louis Gilmore | Senior Director of Sales, Mid-Atlantic
Louis Gilmore is a native of Binghamton, NY, and is a 1988 graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, with a degree in Marketing Management.
Louis joined Richmond Raceway in June of 2002, as Director of Complex Sales and managed all sales and marketing efforts for the Complex during non-race event weekends.
In 2007, Louis assumed the role of Director of Business Development at Richmond Raceway and in 2020 was named Sr. Director Sales, Mid-Atlantic for NASCAR. Louis works with local, regional and national companies to providing creative ways to help drive their business leading into and during race event weekends at Richmond Raceway, Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway.
Louis is married to his wife Julie of 25 years, has a 23-year-old daughter named Olivia and resides in western Henrico County.
Jack McCracken | Sr. Manager, Sales Mid-Atlantic
As a Richmond native and Virginia Tech graduate, Jack has always called the Commonwealth home. Jack’s roots at Richmond Raceway started with his great-uncle, Ernest Lloyd “Sonny” Hutchins, who raced in NASCAR’s Grand National/Winston Cup Series from 1955 to 1974. While he never got a chance to see his uncle race, he remembers the many stories Sonny told him about driving against legends such as Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. When Jack isn’t working, he enjoys spending his time outdoors, cooking, and seeing live music. Joining the team in November 2022, Jack now assists in providing businesses and organizations with corporate hospitality options at Richmond Raceway for their NASCAR race weekends.
Kent Winter | Director of Sales, Mid-Atlantic
Kent Winter, Director of Sales, Mid-Atlantic Region for NASCAR. He primarily oversees sales efforts for Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. However, he also manages a few accounts at Richmond Raceway as well. Kent had spent the past 5 ½ years as the Director of Sponsorships for the Meadow Event Park and the State Fair of Virginia. Prior to that Kent was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Weaver Media for one year (Spring 2016 – Spring 2017). Kent is no stranger to the Richmond Raceway property as he was also the Director of Sales and Corporate Partnerships from 2004 to the spring of 2016. Kent is married to his wife Jen, and they have two sons, Conner and Owen.
