NASCAR Holdings Inc., the U.S. stock car racing promoter based in Daytona Beach, Florida, has announced that Tracey Lesetar-Smith will become general counsel and senior vice president over the organization's legal and public affairs operations.

Lesetar-Smith will replace longtime general counsel Karen Leetzow, who has been with the organization for over 20 years. Lesetar-Smith is set to join the group Oct. 14 for a transition period until Leetzow leaves at the end of the year.

Lesetar-Smith told Corporate Counsel on Thursday that her first priorities include "getting up to speed with everything that Karen has been handling for so many years; getting to know and integrating with the legal team, and working with the senior leadership team."

She said the legal department has about 20-plus lawyers, and many of them are longtime veterans.

NASCAR chief legal officer Gary Crotty said in a statement, "We are excited to welcome Tracey to the NASCAR family. She brings a wealth of experience in sports and corporate law and a tremendous passion and enthusiasm for the future success of our sport."

Lesetar-Smith spent the past eight years as the first general counsel and vice president of business and legal affairs at Bellator MMA, the mixed martial arts promoter that is a subsidiary of Viacom.

"My Bellator work has been really fulfilling," she said, "so it felt like a good time for me to start a new venture. NASCAR is in a great position" for future growth.

While based in Hollywood, California, Lesetar-Smith also worked with Viacom's Bellator Kickboxing as well as other sports programming for Paramount Network.

A graduate of George Washington University Law School, she worked as an associate with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe from 2007 to 2011.

Bonnie Lau, a partner in the antitrust law group at Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, told Corporate Counsel she was "thrilled and proud" for her fellow lawyer and best friend.

Lau said Lesetar-Smith "did a phenomenal job building and leading at Bellator. I look forward to seeing what she will do to make us proud in the future."

Besides handling the usual sports business and promotional issues, Lesetar-Smith joins NASCAR during several major changes that will bring accompanying legal issues.

In May the organization announced a merger with International Speedway Corp. and its 12 major racetracks. That deal is pending and expected to close this year.

Also in May the organization announced a sports betting content partnership with The Action Network to provide editorial content and analysis to NASCAR.com, including recommended picks and value bets. It said the partnership would help it prepare for the spread of legal sports betting.

The organization also recently agreed to an exclusive deal with Genius Sports, a sports data solutions provider, to develop a NASCAR gaming offering for legal sports books.

Leetzow had announced her intention to leave NASCAR's general counsel job last year, but she agreed to stay to help with the negotiations and merger, according to the company.

Leetzow, who could not be reached for comment, said in a statement, "What an incredible experience it has been to work at NASCAR and with the [founding] France family over the past two decades. I am very proud of what we have collectively achieved and feel thankful to have led one of the best legal teams in all of sports."

She said she planned "to explore new challenges."

Crotty, the CLO, said, "Karen's leadership, legal expertise and operational acumen have been invaluable over the past 20 years. She has been a critical member of our senior leadership team and guided us through significant changes across our business operations. We wish Karen well … she will be dearly missed."