Only a few months ago, Denny Hamlin was locked in a very public fight with NASCAR and the France family as 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports pushed forward with their antitrust lawsuit. The tension was unmistakable, though Hamlin made clear there were limits to the dispute after distancing himself from a text message within his circle that read, “Jim dying is probably the answer.” Now, as the France family steps back from day-to-day control of NASCAR after nearly 80 years, Hamlin has oddly sounded supportive of the sport’s new direction.

“It (the lawsuit) was an unfortunate situation that it went as far as it did,” Hamlin said in a recent interview. But I think everyone learned a lot from that. You know, and it’s what matters. He had to come into a challenging situation and step in. Obviously, COVID was something that he had to navigate. I thought he did it very well.

“There are just a lot of things that he wanted to see our sport head down a certain path, and some were successes, and some were not. That’s really what you’ll have no matter who’s in charge. Not everyone’s gonna bat 100 percent, and certainly feel like it was time to get some fresh blood in there.”

Let’s not forget the circumstances that led to Jim France taking over NASCAR.

His predecessor and nephew, Brian France, was arrested on drug charges, and NASCAR was in total disarray due to his decisions. France stepped into the dual role of chairman and CEO in 2018 largely as a stabilizing presence during that turbulent stretch, and at the time many inside the industry viewed the move as a temporary solution rather than a long-term transition.

Although he had been involved in the family business since the late 1950s, France had long preferred operating behind the scenes, rarely giving interviews and maintaining a low-profile presence in the garage even after assuming the sport’s top executive role.

With television ratings dropping to record lows in 2018 and the sport losing more than 700,000 viewers over the year, France and NASCAR had to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, everyone thought that it was all over for NASCAR. A sport that was struggling to retain an audience was now struck with a pandemic that completely prohibited contact between people. Not many thought France would be able to match the tenure of his father or his brother.

That said, Hamlin’s comments further establish that France’s stepping down is not a direct result of the lawsuit. Moreover, in recent years, NASCAR has checked off several milestones by acquiring a new media rights deal, locking in a long-term charter extension with teams, resolving its legal disputes (of course), and reshaping the championship playoff format. France felt that the sport was now at a stage where it could enjoy an unprecedented period of stability, making the transition in leadership feel both timely and seamless. Those media rights agreements extend the sport’s broadcast future through the 2031 season, one of the key indicators leadership pointed to when describing the timing of the succession as deliberate rather than reactive.

And France never wanted to be in the spotlight anyway. Before 2018, he worked in executive roles behind the scenes, never really stepping into a public-facing role. So, it was time for “fresh blood” indeed.

Hamlin’s support doesn’t seem that shocking when you consider that, after the lawsuit, Hamlin and France were spotted together on cordial terms, suggesting that, despite the intensity of their courtroom clash, both viewed it as part of doing business. After several parties emptied the courtroom, Hamlin even stayed behind to share how France’s leadership moulded him into the person he is.

“That’s why we were willing to shoulder the challenges that came with taking this stand. We believed it was worth fighting for a stronger and more sustainable future for everyone in the industry,” Hamlin said.

His business partner and NBA GOAT, Michael Jordan, echoed the same feelings, saying that the lawsuit was never to simply criticize the leadership, but to move towards what he called “progress”. When speaking alongside France after the settlement, Jordan added, “I think level heads have gotten us to this point where we can actually work together and grow this sport. I am very proud about that, and I think Jim feels the same”.

The Jim France effect in NASCAR

How can a team sport with a crew of more than 10 members survive the circumstances France faced during COVID? As it turns out, in NASCAR’s case, it can not only survive but also end up growing. In a country where people literally worship the NFL, NBA, and other leagues like the MLB, NASCAR became the very first sport to resume its operations and successfully complete its entire schedule without a delay or cancellation.

The most impressive part was the fact that they strategically invested in eSports to retain partners during this new era and ended up losing only 2% viewership compared to the previous year. As disclosed by their official site, they earned 2M new viewers who were tuning in to watch eNASCAR.

Jim France and his team further completed 94 national events throughout the year with three new teams (including Denny Hamlin’s own 23XI Racing) and four new major sponsors.

France will remain NASCAR’s chairman and majority owner even after stepping down as CEO, retaining his 54 percent ownership stake in the sanctioning body, while Lesa France Kennedy continues to hold the remaining 46 percent.

Hamlin fought tooth and nail for the survival of his team in 2025, but deep down, he inadvertently knew that Jim France was the savior who brought NASCAR back from the brink of destruction. With Steve O’Donnell now becoming the first non-France family member to oversee NASCAR’s day-to-day operations since the sport’s founding in 1948, the transition represents one of the most significant leadership shifts in the sanctioning body’s history. Now, Steve O’Donnell and Ben Kennedy will be continuing his legacy as the sport begins another era of rebuilding with fans at the center.

What’s more interesting is that this new change has brought NASCAR the youngest set of executives among all major sports in the world. O’Donnell, who is 57, and Ben Kennedy, who is 34, lead the way among executives from Formula 1, IndyCar, PGA, NFL, NHL, etc. Kennedy’s expanded role follows several recent competition and scheduling innovations he helped introduce, including marquee events like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum exhibition and the Chicago Street Race, both of which signaled NASCAR’s push toward a more modern calendar.