FORGING IDENTITIES Despite the deep relationship between his grandparents and what was then Elon College, Igdalsky lacked interest in higher education. As a high school senior, he sought discipline in the U.S. Marine Corps. That wasn’t an option, his family demanded, and out of defiance Igdalsky intentionally visited colleges near the beach. He toured Elon during a quick stop on a tour of the South and, after the university accepted him early decision, he decided to attend. According to his college friends, it wasn’t obvious that Igdalsky was the equivalent of NASCAR royalty. He arrived on campus driving a blue 1987 Camaro with handcuffs and tassels hanging from the rearview mirror and a California Raisin stuck on the dashboard. His first-year roommate, Shawn Laidlaw ’99, couldn’t believe what he saw when Igdalsky
Boston Speedway. At the same time, Igdalsky joined the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business board of advisors, visiting campus periodically to support development of the school and its students. He returned to Pocono Raceway in 2003 to handle business projects and soon was named senior vice president to oversee track operations. Like his grandfather, Igdalsky has put down roots in the Poconos, where he lives with his wife and child (with a second one on the way). And for fun, he started racing in the ARCA Racing Series, a minor league of sorts for stock car drivers. He competed against Danica Patrick in 2010 when the high-profile female star first dabbled in stock car racing. Four years younger than Igdalsky, Walsh knew of Elon through her brother and planned to attend from the start. Though her mother’s remarriage took her to California for high school, she felt it was only a matter of time until she’d call North Carolina home. Unlike her brother, Walsh spent much
regardless of what she’s doing in life,” says friend Cindy Beidel Aitken ’02. “At all of the key moments in life, she’s the first person with a phone call to let you know she’s thinking of you.” For Mary Kate Carpenter ’02, Walsh’s firstyear roommate at Elon, that generosity was never more apparent than a few years after graduation, when Carpenter’s family took her terminally ill father on a vacation in the Poconos. A quick stop to Pocono Raceway was planned for what everyone thought would be a final goodbye. Walsh, however, insisted that Carpenter’s father strap on a helmet and climb into the passenger seat of a NASCAR driving school vehicle. “‘We need to get you around the track!’” Carpenter remembers Walsh saying. “We knew it was probably the last time she’d see him, though it wasn’t. She actually came down when he was in Hospice and spent part of a day with him.”
THE FUTURE IS NOW
“[Pocono Raceway] gives our community national exposure, and national exposure is not something that’s easy to come by.” CHUCK LEONARD President of the Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corporation
stepped out in jean shorts and a navy blue Casper the Friendly Ghost T-shirt. “I’m thinking, ‘What am I getting myself into?’ Five minutes after talking to the guy, I knew we were going to be great friends,” Laidlaw says. “He really admired his grandparents growing up, and rightfully so. That wouldn’t surprise anybody. But his ability to be as fun and as outgoing and down to earth as he is? A lot of people are surprised by just how smart he really is.” “He has an amazing sense of humor. He’s self-deprecating, which I respect,” says another friend, Dan Haessler ’99. Haessler recalls how Igdalsky could flip an internal switch to be “very business-oriented,” which made him stand out among his classmates. “He understands that he has an important legacy to hold up.” Igdalsky didn’t move far from Elon after graduating with a business degree. For the next few years, he helped manage South
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of her time away from campus, working for vendors on race weekends to make extra money and partaking in hobbies like skydiving. Walsh also enrolled in the Winter Term NASCAR course. “She knew so much about NASCAR and racing. So often in the class I would look over and ask, ‘Ashley, is this correct?’” says Professor Emerita Janie Brown, the course’s original instructor. “She was just a really good person to have in the class. Even when we were traveling, she shared with other students in the class, and the students the year she took it really valued that.” Walsh graduated from Elon with a broadcast communications and film degree. She launched her career freelancing as an assistant director with SPEED, the Charlotte, N.C.-based television network focusing on motorsports. She returned to Pennsylvania in 2005 to help the family business. “The core of who she is never changes,
One of the highest profile projects taking shape at Pocono Raceway is The Village at Pocono, an all-season resort within sight of the racetrack. The resort was conceptualized, designed and built by Walsh, who now manages the property. When Walsh returned to the mountains from her job with SPEED, “Doc” tasked his granddaughter with handling the general contracting duties. The resort, decorated in the black, white, gold and red colors that Mattioli loved, features a tennis court, basketball court, giant play set for children, indoor pool, theater room, billiards, fitness room and lounges. This winter, Walsh will install an ice skating rink for guests, and the resort plans to host its first wedding in the spring. “I had to prove myself with this,” Walsh says. “I needed to read a million books on building and opening a hotel. I was selftaught, like (my grandfather). If I didn’t know something, I opened a book. … Who would give a 25-year-old with no experience a construction project? I worked extra hard to make sure it fit his vision.” The siblings also are planning several nonNASCAR-related projects. They’re considering bringing outdoor concerts, festivals, mud runs and other regional attractions to the speedway. A solar farm on the family’s 2,000 acres, approved by Mattioli before his death after encouragement from his grandchildren, powers the track. Excess energy produced by the solar panels is sold back to the grid to