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Three members of Richmond Raceway's track services staff were honored at the 19th annual NASCAR Safety & Operations Summit in Concord, N.C. recently. Chris Alberta and Ivan Lawson earned the Security Award of Excellence, while Jeffrey Ferguson of VCU Health received the Medical Director Award.
“It is an honor for our dedicated, hardworking track service professionals to be recognized by NASCAR for their outstanding support keeping our loyal fans and motorsports family safe and healthy,” said Richmond President Dennis Bickmeier. “We are thankful for Chris Alberta, Ivan Lawson, and Dr. Jeffrey Ferguson’s service representing the best in their field at Richmond Raceway.”
Richmond's redesigned infield presented a variety of new challenges for track staff, and Alberta (the manager of security) and Lawson (security supervisor) led the security efforts.
Alberta has supported the track's security efforts since 1977. He served the Henrico County Division of Police for more than four decades, retiring as a captain. Lawson has supported the Richmond security team for more than 25 years and recently retired as a Henrico Police lieutenant.
VCU Health, under Ferguson’s leadership, began its operational oversight and management of the track's infield care center in 2017. Ferguson is an associate professor at VCU School of Medicine and an emergency medicine physician at VCU Medical Center, the only academic medical center and Level I trauma center in the region. Ferguson completed his undergraduate education at VCU in 1997.
“We are grateful to Chris Alberta and Ivan Lawson for devoting their lives to the protection of the citizens of Henrico County and loyal fans at Richmond Raceway,” said Jeff Hedrick, the track's senior director of operations.
