It’s expected that on Saturday, NASCAR will make the official announcement that 81-year-old Jim France will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer and that NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell will become the leader. And for the first time in NASCAR’s 78-year history, a member of the founding France family will soon no longer be in control of the sanctioning body.

To date, NASCAR’s CEOs have been founder William France Sr., followed by his son, William “Bill Jr.”, Bill Jr.’s younger son Brian, and then the youngest of Bill Sr.’s two sons, Jim.

Mike Helton was the first non-member of the France family to become NASCAR president, but he still served under both Bill Jr. and then Brian during their tenures as CEO before going into semi-retirement (although he still carries the title of NASCAR vice-chairman). Helton was then replaced as president by Steve Phelps after Brian France stepped down as CEO in 2018. Phelps carried the title of the sanctioning body’s fifth president for seven years before being promoted to the sport’s first-ever Commissioner ( he still answered to Jim France) in early 2025.

However, Phelps’ most recent role didn’t even last 11 months before he abruptly quit after being ensnared in the controversial lawsuit with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which was ultimately settled in late 2025.

Two other members of the France family lineage could have replaced Jim France: Bill Jr.’s daughter, Lesa France Kennedy, who is Executive Vice Chair of NASCAR and was the CEO of now-merged International Speedway Corporation. Then there is Ben Kennedy, Lesa’s only child and current NASCAR Executive Vice President and newly-appointed Chief Operating Officer.

It is somewhat of a surprise that Lesa France Kennedy did not replace her Uncle Jim. Yet, at nearly 65 years old, it’s questionable whether she wanted to take on such a challenge and the extra work that came with it. For now, the France family’s direct hold over NASCAR’s top executive role has shifted, even as Ben Kennedy could still eventually ascend to President, Chairman, and ultimately CEO.

Jim France had quietly and uneventfully served in his role as NASCAR chairman since 2018, when his nephew Brian was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Brian then took a temporary leave of absence, which ultimately became permanent. Jim took over, and Brian has not been involved with NASCAR ever since.

Technically, Jim France will still hold the title of NASCAR Chairman, and his majority ownership stakes remain unchanged (54% vs. Lesa’s 46%). But his role will be more of a figurehead role, while O’Donnell will become the first non-France family member to lead the sport. In other words, whatever happens in NASCAR from now on will directly go through O’Donnell’s office.

To his credit, and in much the same way Helton climbed the NASCAR ladder, the 57-year-old O’Donnell has dedicated nearly 30 years to the sport, beginning in its marketing department. From there, O’Donnell quickly climbed stock car racing’s corporate ladder, working in a variety of roles, including Events and Operations of NASCAR’s weekly series, Vice President of Racing Operations for the national series, and Chief Racing Development Officer.

O’Donnell was the architect of the NASCAR Playoff System, stage racing, and further played a key role in the development of the Next Gen/Gen 7 car – followed by tenures as Chief Operating Officer in 2022 and President in 2025 (succeeding Phelps when he was named Commissioner).

WHAT DOES O’DONNELL’S ASCENSION TO CEO ULTIMATELY MEAN?

Although O’Donnell has been true-blue to the France family for three decades and turned down several job offers from both within racing and other sports ventures, his ascension to his new role as CEO and continuing as President couldn’t have come at a better time. NASCAR will likely continue to feel the aftereffects of the Jordan lawsuit and settlement. But O’Donnell could play a key role in helping the sport turn the page.

Plus, O’Donnell will make a good pairing with Ben Kennedy, putting older experience with younger ingenuity and ideas to hopefully put NASCAR back on the road to where it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when it overtook IndyCar as the most popular motorsport series in the U.S.

One of O’Donnell’s best attributes has long been that he’s not afraid to try something new. Rumor has it he’s already involved with the Gen 7’s successor, likely to be called the Gen 8, which is expected to launch in 2029 or 2030, perhaps sooner if a fourth manufacturer comes into the Cup ranks.

O’Donnell – nicknamed around the NASCAR garage as Steve O. or simply O’D – will likely be the point man for other key changes still to come to the sport. Among things that could potentially be on his radar include expansion to as many as 40 races per season and new markets.

He played a key role in the three years of the Chicago Street Race deal, as well as the upcoming Naval Base Coronado road course race this June, the return to Chicagoland Speedway after a seven-year hiatus, and will likely soon lead what fans have asked for years: in-week races to be televised in prime time (likely either Wednesday or Thursday, much like the NFL has Monday Night and Thursday Night Football).

O’Donnell will also have to help lay the groundwork for not only the next generation of drivers but also the next generation of team owners, from a monetary perspective. With many current owners in their 70s and 80s, such as Jack Roush, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, the Wood Brothers, Roger Penske, and others, the next generation of owners is likely going to have its own way of wanting to do things, with bigger and more significant changes that current old-fashioned ownership has been reluctant to make.

Another thing O’Donnell will have to prioritize is bringing the corporate world back to the sport. NASCAR has lost several high-dollar sponsors in the last 20 years and has not been able to replace them. Instead, we are seeing more and more smaller sponsorships, including one-race sponsorships from local businesses from areas near the particular host racetrack that week.

One thing that O’Donnell must guard against is playing favorites with owners or drivers. If he starts doing that in his new position of authority, it will quickly draw disfavor from owners or teams that may not initially be on his bad side, but will quickly learn what to expect if they draw O’Donnell’s ire or if they criticize his actions. He MUST treat everyone equally.

When Phelps stepped down, it was just a matter of time before Jim France would follow suit, not because he had to the way Phelps did, but more so because NASCAR is a young man’s game, not an 81-year-old senior citizen’s game.

And when guys like Jim France, Roush, Childress, Penske, Hendrick, Gibbs, the Wood Brothers, and others ultimately turn over the reins of their race organizations to others – much like Hendrick has picked Jeff Gordon to be his successor – the sport has to be ready and prepared to take a much more decisive youthful approach and operate with a youthful mindset. After all, much of today’s fanbase is well into its 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even older. Youth is the key to greater success and growth.

That’s why the NFL, MLB, and NBA have all become more successful in recent years. They’ve proportionately segued from older fans to younger fans who know what they want and that their game today is not like their father’s and grandfather’s. O’Donnell must keep in mind that even if things worked back in the day, it doesn’t always mean they will still work today.

One other thing O’Donnell needs to keep in mind, particularly with the way Jordan and Co. won the lawsuit vs. NASCAR, is to end what has been NASCAR’s unofficial motto for the last 78 years: “It’s our way or the highway.” O’Donnell cannot rule with an iron fist like Bill Sr. and Bill Jr. (and to a lesser extent Brian).

While Jim France was more of a quieter leader than his father and older brother were, the perfect way for O’Donnell to quickly lose friends among owners, drivers, and fans is to rule without being willing to give a little or a lot if it is for the betterment of everyone as a whole, not just O’Donnell and NASCAR’s executive branch.

To that end, we wish O’Donnell the best of luck in his new position. He joined NASCAR at the height of its popularity and has endured its low point and its struggle to remain popular and relevant. To be given such lofty responsibility – knowing that the future and hoped-for growth is riding upon his shoulders – is a heavy task, indeed.

After the settlement with 23XI Racing and FRM, there were some rumors that NASCAR may, for the first time in its history, be willing to sell to either a major TV outlet or a well-heeled private investment or equity group. With O’Donnell’s promotion, that seems an unlikely possibility for now and the near future.

But if O’Donnell doesn’t do enough to change the sport and turn it around in a more positive direction, NASCAR may very well want to keep the “for sale” sign handy in the closet, just in case.