Ex-NASCAR General Counsel Leaves Race Track for Family Adventure

Two parents. Two children. Five suitcases.

That’s how Tracey Lesetar-Smith describes her adventure of a lifetime, nearly 12 months of travel spanning three continents, or more than 42,000 miles.

Lesetar-Smith, 42, left her job as NASCAR’S law department leader in November 2021 after an intense stretch in which she helped the professional stock car racing circuit navigate the pandemic and swirling social justice issues. Her sabbatical brought her near the border of a major war in Europe and on another journey throughout Southeast Asia.

First, she had to accept the uncertainty that comes with walking away from an important job and putting her career trajectory on hold, at least for a little while. She said she understands the fear many working women have that taking time away from their jobs may derail professional momentum.

“Anxiety in general is normal—we don’t need to banish it,” Lesetar-Smith said in an interview. “But I don’t want to let fear be the primary decision-maker. The residue that fear-driven decisions leave behind is regret.”

‘Collision’

By late 2021, Lesetar-Smith was ready for a respite.

She had helmed NASCAR’s legal and government affairs departments over what she called two of the most challenging years for the sport and its privately held parent company, NASCAR Holdings LLC.

Lesetar-Smith helped NASCAR become the first major US sports league to return to competition during the pandemic, worked on schedule innovations and a historic merger, and she led the way on ambitious diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Few saw Covid-19 coming. Then there was the racial and social justice reckoning that emerged amid George Floyd’s murder. NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its events and properties after Floyd’s death.

“Some of the world’s rawest instincts and wounds were all accelerating to a head just as the world’s brakes ground to a halt,” Lesetar-Smith said. “Sports became a visible proxy for that collision.”

Stuck at home near NASCAR’s Daytona Beach, Florida, headquarters during the pandemic, Lesetar-Smith began to experience the burnout felt by many who juggle job duties and virtual school schedules. But she also found that her two children thrived with both of their parents present in the house, despite the chaos.

Lesetar-Smith was grateful to witness moments—such as her kids playing soapbox derby in the kitchen or running through sprinklers outside—that she had previously missed while working.

“Over time, with the intensity of the pandemic and the urgency of business, I had begun to give my family only a fraction of my present moment,” she said. “It’s alright for everyone to admit when things have fallen a bit out of balance and acknowledge the need to tip the scales back.”

After starting her career as a legislative aide to former Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Lesetar-Smith spent three years as a labor and employment litigator at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in…