NASCAR announced the appointment of Craig Stimmel as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) on December 2, 2024.
In this role, Stimmel will oversee all sales activities, including premier and official partner categories, race entitlements, track partnerships, and media sales across NASCAR-owned channels.
He will also collaborate closely with NASCAR’s media partners, teams, and non-NASCAR tracks to identify new commercial opportunities.
Stimmel will report directly to NASCAR’s Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Media & Revenue Officer, Brian Herbst, who expressed confidence in his appointment, saying:
Craig’s proven track record of driving results and building billion-dollar brands in a multi-faceted environment like ours was one of several reasons why we felt he was an excellent fit for this role.
Via NASCAR
Herbst continued,
NASCAR has the most brand-loyal fans and many of the most recognized sponsorships in professional sports, and Craig brings all the acumen to build upon our roster of tremendous partners and continue to deepen the engagement with our fans.
Via NASCAR
NASCAR has hired Craig Stimmel as its Chief Commercial Officer. Stimmel recently was the Senior Vice President of Commercial for @F1LasVegas.
— Jonathan Fjeld (@Jonathan_Fjeld) December 2, 2024
He has experience leading global sales and partnerships for the WWE and similar roles at Snapchat and Procter & Gamble. #NASCAR
Craig Stimmel expressed his admiration for NASCAR’s recent efforts to grow the sport, saying,
In recent years, NASCAR has taken some impressive and successful steps to grow the sport, authentically tell the brand story and build momentum for the future. When you combine those factors with all the ways small and large brands alike can engage fans, new customers or new partners, it makes this opportunity extremely desirable, and I’m eager to continue building on the foundation already in place.
Via Sportskeeda
Starting his role on Monday, Stimmel will be based in NASCAR’s New York office and oversee a team spread across more than 20 office and race-track locations nationwide.
Craig Stimmel’s Leadership Journey: From Snap Inc. to WWE and the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Craig Stimmel brings extensive experience in sports marketing and media, having held leadership roles at prominent brands in the sports and entertainment industry.
He began his career in January 2005 at NCR Corporation in Corporate Finance, working there until July 2009.
From July 2009 to March 2010, he transitioned to Home Depot as Finance Manager.
He then became Client Finance Director at Viox Services, serving from March 2010 to June 2011.
Stimmel worked at Procter & Gamble for over eight years, holding various leadership roles, including Manager of Chemicals and Ingredients (2011-2013), Senior Manager of Flavor and Fragrances (2013-2016), and Media Investment and Partnerships Lead – NA Marketing (2016-2018).
In April 2018, he was appointed Head of Digital Media and Global Partnerships at P&G, where he managed digital strategy and global business partnerships.
He also led Media Partnerships at Woven Collaborative, P&G’s creative agency, from July 2018 to July 2019.
In 2019, Stimmel was appointed Head of Global Brands at Snap Inc., where he built and led the Global Brand organization, executing brand strategy and fostering partnerships with Snap’s top 17 global advertisers.
Under his leadership, the team achieved remarkable growth, with a 69% increase in year-over-year growth in the first year and 174% growth in the second year.
Following his success at Snap, Stimmel served as SVP and head of Global Sales and Partnerships at WWE from 2022 to 2024.
In this role, he led a 42-person team and played a key role in securing the largest deals in WWE’s history, boosting sponsorship revenue by 42%, increasing client spending by 41%, and growing new client spending by 36%, all while doubling the number of seven-figure deals.
Since January 2024, Stimmel has served as SVP and Head of Commercial at Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc., leading a team of 40 across departments such as ticketing, marketing, sponsorship, data analytics, and PR.
He oversees the commercial P&L and revenue strategy and works closely with Las Vegas casino executives to negotiate business contracts, licensing agreements, and VVIP deals.
As of December 2024, Stimmel is the Chief Commercial Officer at NASCAR, where he leads the company’s commercial strategy, partnerships, sponsorships, and revenue growth initiatives.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Craig Stimmel earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting and Finance from the University of Dayton.
- He served as a board member at St. Joseph Orphanage from August 2015 to August 2019, dedicating four years of his time.
- He resides in New York at the moment.
 on December 2, 2024.){kind=link}