LORI COLLIER WARAN

As the first woman to lead NASCAR’s Richmond Raceway, Lori Collier Waran races circles around everyone — literally. In July 2022, Waran grabbed the steering wheel and took over as the raceway’s president. It marked a big career switch for Waran, who previously served as publisher of Richmond-based Style Weekly magazine and associate publisher and chief revenue officer for Virginia Business magazine, but as a NASCAR fan dating back to her childhood, Waran says she feels at home.

“I loved that two things I found incredibly compelling could be found in a mission for one career — equality and the need to have your passion drive you to win,” Waran says.

Now, she oversees about 50 employees at the track, where she’s responsible for increasing ticket sales and building fan excitement after a dip in attendance over the past few years at NASCAR races nationwide. While NASCAR does not release attendance numbers, Waran confirmed that individual ticket sales increased year-over-year for Richmond’s spring race overall, as well as for first-time attendees.

Outside the raceway, Waran serves on the boards of the Henrico Education Foundation, the Henrico Police Athletic League and Richmond Region Tourism. She also previously served on the Hanover Tavern’s board.

Waran has been recognized several times for her professional prowess, including as a top publishing sales executive by Editor & Publisher in 2022 and as Metro Business League’s 2022 Remarkable Woman of the Year.

Read more about the 2023 class of Virginia Business Women in Leadership Award winners.