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University Communications

PAUL C. SAWYER, CHAIRMAN OF RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE FROM UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND

Jan. 12, 2001

Paul C. Sawyer, chairman of Richmond International Raceway, received an honorary doctor of commercial science degree today at a surprise luncheon in his honor at the University of Richmond.

The university's trustees authorized the degree in recognition of the raceway's "dramatic impact on the economy of the metropolitan Richmond area and all of Virginia" under Sawyer's direction, as well as Sawyer's many personal contributions to the Richmond area.

Richmond President William E. Cooper conferred the degree before a gathering of Sawyer's family, friends, local business leaders, and university trustees and administrators.

"Paul Sawyer's visionary leadership has given the Richmond area, and all of Virginia, a measure of steadily increasing prosperity and recognition," Cooper said. "This degree is a sign of our gratitude for sharing his insight and energy with this community."

Sawyer, a World War II veteran, took over operations at the raceway in 1955, several years after buying his first race cars and entering the business of promoting auto racing. Subsequent improvements to the track and stands attracted NASCAR races and kept Richmond a major stop on the circuit. Today, two annual NASCAR events bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area, boosting tourism and promoting central Virginia. Eventually the track's owner, Sawyer sold RIR to International Speedway Corp. in 1999.

An economic impact study prepared in 1998 by the Center for International Urban Management at Virginia Commonwealth University found RIR contributes $162 million annually to Richmond's economy and is the source of 3,321 full-time equivalent jobs. The study said RIR brings an additional $5.8 million to the commonwealth each year.