5 questions with Dan Davis, President and CEO of Miller Motorsports Park

After spending nearly a decade and a half heading up the Ford Racing Division, a job that involved him in all aspects of racing at its biggest stages from NASCAR to Formula One, Dan Davis came to Utah six months ago to become the President and CEO of Miller Motorsports Park. Our John Coon raced out to Tooele and caught up with Davis to discuss racing at Miller Motorsports Park and his role there. Here's what Davis had to say.

Question: What brought you out here to Miller Motorsports Park?

Answer: "I retired from Ford last fall and Larry (Miller) called me when he heard I was retiring and said, 'Come and work for me in Utah.' I said that was a nice gesture and I really appreciated it. He was serious. I said, "Well, thanks. I'll think about it.' I had another month and a half at Ford or so and this was just about the time Larry was in the hospital with his heart attack. I looked at some potential other jobs and I was here for a race at park and met Greg (Miller). I had known Greg. I met Greg and Larry and they (said), 'No, we really want you to come here and work.' So we worked something out and here I am."

Question: What are your impressions of the track after being here for six months?

Answer: "I was personally, not afraid but real tenuous, about really learning how to push a car to its limits in a lot of places. I came here and I'm not timid at all. I've been able to push a car as hard as you can push it here and feel that I'd be okay. I have spun here and gone off road and not had a problem. And I don't have any trepidation at all about inviting some of my world famous friends to come here and enjoy going to a driving school or enjoy getting into a race car."

Question: How has your background with managing the Ford Racing Division helped prepare you to manage this track?

Answer: "In no way am I an expert at running tracks and running the entertainment side of a racetrack, because that's something I don't know. What I do know a lot about is running a business. I know a lot about racers. A lot about what makes a race team tick. What makes sponsors tick. Just the whole interworking of a race team in a race series. At Ford, I started two race series. One was the USAC Focus Midget Series … It gave me a really good idea of how you start series, how you get them to work, what are the rules and how do the sanctioning bodies need to work."

Question: What factors go into deciding which series to bring in here?