••
THE NEWSPAPER OF AVONDALE, BUCKEYE, GOODYEAR, LITCHFIELD PARK & TOLLESON
David Leibowitz PAGE
FREE SUBSCRIPTION
17
westvalleyview.com
INSIDE
This Week
Raceway director leaving for Chicago BY SUMMER AGUIRRE
West Valley View Staff Writer
P NEWS .............. 8 Buckeye recognized for its wildlife guide
BUSINESS...... 18 Noodles & Co. hosts a fundraiser for local school
CALENDAR ... 22 Looking for something to do? Check out the calendar
OPINION ...............12 BUSINESS.............. 18 SPORTS ..................20 CALENDAR ............22 FEATURES ..............23 OBITUARIES ...........27 YOUTH ..................28 CLASSIFIEDS ..........29 WEST
September 7, 2022
The Voice of the West Valley for 37 years
hoenix Raceway’s track president is shifting gears as she relocates from the Valley to a new event in Chicago at the end of 2022. NASCAR announced Aug. 25 that its vice president of track marketing and the raceway’s president, Julie Giese, is departing for the Midwest to take the track president position at the recently established Chicago Street Course. In her four years at Phoenix Raceway, she grew motorsports’ presence in Phoenix and actively served her community. “I love living here in the Valley,” Giese said. “I love Phoenix Raceway, our fans, the team that we have here — absolutely, just a tremendous group. So, it made it really hard, it was a bittersweet decision and a bittersweet announcement that I would be departing at the end of the year to take on the role with the Chicago Street Course.”
Giese, who has over two decades of experience in automotive racing, began her position as Phoenix Raceway’s track president in 2018. She was a driving force behind the $178 million modernization project transforming the track into a contemporary facility, which was followed by her first race in November 2018 that saw sold-out crowds. Her proudest moment, however, was Phoenix Raceway’s historic first championship race in November 2020. The event gathered significant momentum and excitement due to NASCAR’s announcement of the race’s relocation to the Valley in March 2019. Although the original plans were affected by the pandemic, Giese and her team persisted. “We were still able to have a limited number of fans attend the race with us and we hosted it on schedule as planned,” she said. “So that was a significant moment,
Raceway...continued on page 4
The track president for Phoenix Raceway, Julie Giese, is leaving at the end of the year to take a position at a new road course in Chicago. (Phoe-
nix Raceway/Submitted)
Rep. Espinoza resigns seat for new opportunity BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI West Valley View Executive Editor
R
ep. Diego Espinoza of Tolleson resigned his seat in the Arizona House Sept. 5 — and will also forgo his victorious primary election win for a seat in the State Senate — to join Salt River Project’s government and communi-
ty relations team. Espinoza has served four terms in the House, and 14 years on the Tolleson City Council prior to that. As a lawmaker, Espinoza was instrumental in passing a bi-partisan state budget, a state referendum for in-state tuition for DACA recipients, and stronger tools for law enforcement to com-
bat catalytic converter theft. Espinoza is also the west region chair of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and a member with National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.
Espinoza...continued on page 7
What are you waiting for?
Apply for a seasonal job and get an offer today. No interview required.
Learn more Amazon is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
amazon.com/hiring