Lesa France Kennedy Tops Forbes' List of Most Powerful Women in Sports

Lesa France Kennedy, the CEO of International Speedway Corporation and heiress to NASCAR's founding family, received another prestigious distinction Wednesday. Forbes named Kennedy No. 1 on its list of "The Most Powerful Women in Sports," as reported by Jason Belzer.

Jerry Bonkowski of NBC Sports' NASCAR Talk passed along the news as well as a statement from Kennedy:

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As we celebrate the 2015 NASCAR season, it's an honor to be recognized by Forbes alongside so many other women in sports. I'm very proud of what we're doing at International Speedway Corporation and NASCAR. Exciting changes are ahead throughout our industry, more fans than ever are consuming our sport, and we're all eager to unveil a re-imagined Daytona International Speedway in 2016.

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Kennedy referenced the $400 million renovation and upgrades underway ahead of February's Daytona 500 (h/t Motorsport.com's Jim Utter). The ambitious project, dubbed "Daytona Rising," is one of the cornerstone achievements in NASCAR in recent years, executed with Kennedy in a prominent leadership role.

Kennedy serves on NASCAR's board of directors, and her company employs over 1,000 people and has annual revenues of approximately $700 million. Per Belzer, International Speedway Corporation owns 13 of the biggest race tracks in the United States.

Considering she is the granddaughter of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and sibling to current NASCAR chairman Brian France, Kennedy, 54, has managed to carve out a unique individual legacy.

The highest-ranked athletes on Forbes' list are tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams, who occupy the No. 4 spot together. They are definitely deserving of such recognition for their staying power in tennis and the excitement they've added to the game during their lengthy careers.

Ahead of the Williams sisters are ESPN executive vice president and chief financial officer Christine Driessen in third along with National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts at No. 2.