Steve O'Donnell interview: Why the time was right for NASCAR's leadership change

After an eventful last couple of years under Jim France, Steve O'Donnell now takes over as NASCAR's CEO. "Just about everything has been accomplished," he said of the handoff. Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images Share articleTALLADEGA, Ala. — Sitting inside the NASCAR hauler, the league’s newest CEO, Steve O’Donnell, demurs when congratulated on his climb up the corporate ladder. It’s been a journey, one that now sees him lead every aspect of NASCAR, from the array of tracks and series it owns and operates to its various other business dealings. On Saturday, NASCAR named O’Donnell just the fifth CEO in its 78-year history and now the first person outside of NASCAR’s founding France family to serve in the role. “I started out in NASCAR, in victory lane and doing pre-race, in awe of all the people that were in the sport,” O’Donnell told The Athletic. “And I still am, but that’s what I love. I love the people, and I’m looking forward to hopefully driving the sport forward with the great people that are involved.” That O’Donnell finds himself in this position isn’t surprising. He is in his 31st year at NASCAR, and his path to the top has been apparent to those familiar with the league’s inner workings. Last spring, he was named NASCAR’s president, and before that, he was chief operating officer. If someone was going to replace previous CEO Jim France — son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. — O’Donnell was an ideal candidate. (Jim France is retaining his position as NASCAR’s chairman.) But while the announcement may not have been surprising, the timing struck some as linked to the recent legal battle that at times prompted questions about whether 81-year-old Jim France should be leading NASCAR. NASCAR is just months removed from settling a high-profile lawsuit filed by two teams, and some wondered if France’s decision to step down was another aftereffect from the settlement, a fallout that also included then-NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigning his position in January. O’Donnell, though, says that’s not the case, at least not in the way some might think. Over the past few years, NASCAR has entered into a new media rights deal, signed a long-term extension to its charter agreement with the teams, settled the lawsuit and revised its championship playoff format. With all this now put to bed, France felt NASCAR was ushering in an era of stability it hadn’t experienced in some time, thereby making a handoff rather straightforward. “Just about everything has been accomplished,” O’Donnell said. “… (France) did a hell of a job. And I think he looks at the team he put in place and says, ‘We’ve got a good group to continue on.'” There were other contributing factors to the timing. When France took over in 2018 as NASCAR CEO and chairman, few expected him to match the lengthy tenures of his father and his brother, Bill France Jr., who served in the dual roles from 1972 to 2003. Part of that was Jim France’s age; another factor was that he preferred to remain in the background. Before 2018, he had served in a variety of behind-the-scenes executive roles with NASCAR. France was not comfortable being a front-facing executive, and he only became one because NASCAR was experiencing a leadership void after then-CEO and chairman Brian France relinquished his positions. “I feel like when Jim came in, we all knew that was kind of like, ‘Hey, this is the right guy and the right time to take NASCAR to the next level,'” RFK Racing owner-driver Brad Keselowski said. “And I feel like he did a lot of things that he’ll probably not get credit for. The last year was obviously very tough with things that were going on in the sport and lawsuits and beyond, but I think everyone pretty much knew that was not going to be a 20- to 30-year run. “He and I had a good relationship. I like talking to him. I like Jim a lot, so there’s part of me that is sad to see him go, but I think everyone understood the dynamics and that he kind of took his turn, and it wasn’t meant to be long-term.” The changeover doesn’t mean that France is entirely walking away from running a sport he’s been around his entire life. In addition to continuing as chairman, he owns a majority of the company and remains on NASCAR’s board. But O’Donnell will now be tasked with making the big decisions, imparting his vision, and pushing NASCAR in the direction he sees fit. He takes over a league in transition, trying to reestablish a connection with a core fan base that has grown increasingly disillusioned with a sport they feel has strayed from its roots, while also hoping to push the sport forward to expand its fan base. How O’Donnell toes this thin line is something many within the industry are curious to watch. Already, NASCAR has taken steps to win back fans who feel the sport is too dissimilar from the one they used to know, with the most notable change being the eradication this offseason of the controversial “win-one-race-and-qualify” playoff format. “We chased some other sports,” O’Donnell said. “And the reality of it is, we have an unbelievable sport right now, and we need to be ourselves and just let others know how great the sport is. We’ve got a group of young drivers that are potential superstars. The foundation is great. We’ve got great broadcast partners, great tracks and facilities. So it’s just bringing all those stakeholders together to say, ‘Hey, let’s go and let’s make this sport into an even bigger, bigger sports property than it is today.'” Many within the industry believe that O’Donnell, along with newly minted chief operating officer Ben Kennedy — the great-grandson of Bill France Jr. — are better suited to lead NASCAR forward. On Friday, O’Donnell and Kennedy, along with NASCAR co-owner Lesa France Kennedy, conducted calls with drivers, team owners and executives to inform them of the change. The reaction was almost universally positive. Together, O’Donnell and Kennedy make a leadership duo that has strong ties to the essence of what makes NASCAR unique but is also not afraid to think creatively. They’re a blend of old and new that inspires confidence throughout the garage. And that wide respect, combined with the relatively smooth waters NASCAR is currently in, is why the time had arrived to make official what had been planned for some time. “This sport competes on a national scale — it’s incredible, and people look at it the opposite way at times,” O’Donnell said. “And so what tends to happen is, they’re always going to just think this is a family-owned business, but we are still open to new ideas and embracing new people. “I don’t want owners and drivers to think this is just kind of the next thing and we’re going to be on the bubble. We recognize that we’re a big-time sport, and we’re going to act like it.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms