Jusan Hamilton becomes 1st Black Daytona 500 race director

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jusan Hamilton fell hard for fast cars, dreaming as a kid of a NASCAR career as he drove at dirt tracks in New York. He contended for wins, kept pace with top drivers as he bounced from series to series and trusted his talent enough to know that he could succeed as a professional driver.

What Hamilton didn't see as his family traversed around tracks were other kids that looked like him. While a dearth of minorities didn't deter him from racing, it did lead other friends and family to wonder what he was doing with his time each weekend.

«Why does an African American kid from upstate New York have an interest in motorsports?» Hamilton said he was often asked.

The answer was simple, based less on breaking barriers and blazing trails, and more about simply pursuing his passion.

«For me, it was: 'This is what I enjoy,'» Hamilton said. «This is what I love doing. There's a huge connection with me and my family to go to the racetrack each weekend and spend the time together.»

The 31-year-old Hamilton did make it in racing, not in a driving career that petered out — to a great degree because of the financial strain on his family — but behind the scenes for over a decade in NASCAR. He has worked in event production, social media and shepherded the series' Drive for Diversity program (which rejected him as a teen), and he was eventually was named race director for NASCAR's three national series.

On deck, his milestone moment: Hamilton is set to become the first Black race director in Daytona 500 history and only the third since 1988. He will watch from a booth overlooking the sprawling track and call the shots on everything from cautions to penalties to the clean-up crew, navigating the complexities of the