Miller Motorsports Park is making a change behind the wheel as it closes out its third season in operation.

Dan Davis, former director of motor sports for Ford Motor Company, was named as the new president and chief operations officer at the track on Tuesday, Sept. 30. He replaced Alan Wilson, the South African racetrack designer who helped design MMP and get it off the ground.

Davis, 59, arrives at Miller Motorsports Park after 32 years with Ford Motor Company, the last 12 of which were spent as the director of motor sports for the company. He has experience in several areas of motorsports around the world, including Formula One, NASCAR, Indy Cars, sports cars and drag racing.

MMP Media Manager John Gardner said the addition of Davis will help the track grow in the future.

“We are all excited to have him join our team here at Miller Motorsports Park,” he said. “Dan is a very well-known person in the world of international motor sports, and he has had many years of experience. His presence here is going to create an exciting time for us in the future.” 

Wilson, 62, left MMP to devote more time to a new racetrack-building company, the Bountiful-based Wilson Sahara Motorsports, which is a joint venture between Wilson and Sahara Inc., the development group behind MMP.

“I think Wilson’s greatest accomplishment for MMP has been the track itself, because the track here is one of the top designed and engineered racing tracks in the world,” Gardner said. “Another great accomplishment of his was getting the Superbike event here, when it had not been held in this country for four years before.”

Gardner said Wilson’s leadership was able to bring the American LeMans Series, Grand Am Rolex Series and AMA Superbike event to MMP.

“It’s quite impressive for a track to have had those three big events in its first year,” he said. “Wilson also helped start the local racing groups, which established racing locally and grew interest and participation in the sport locally.”

Gardner said he does not foresee any drastic changes at MMP with Davis as the new president, but that his status in the automotive world may bring new events to MMP in the future.

“I think Dan’s contacts in the automotive industry will attract other people to want to rent the track and do partnerships with us,” Gardner said. “He is very well-known in the automotive world, and it worked out so nicely that he was able to come here. We are very lucky to get someone like Dan Davis.”

Doug Radunich: dougrad@tooeletranscript.com