Mike Helton, King College (Tenn.)
Major - Accounting

As a child in Bristol, Va., Mike Helton loved to go to Bristol Motor Speedway with his dad and watch races.  He probably never imagined at that time that he would one day be the president of NASCAR.

Helton attended hometown King College (Tenn.) as an accounting major and worked for a local radio station while attending school.  As host of a Saturday morning talk show, Helton's favorite topic was racing.

Helton later became the public relations director at Atlanta Motor Speedway and kept on advancing up through the racing ranks, including stops at Daytona and Talladega.  In 1999 he was named senior vice president and chief operating officer for NASCAR.  Then in 2000, Helton became the first person outside of the France family to serve as president of NASCAR. 

In 2000, King awarded Helton with an honorary doctorate when he spoke at graduation.

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