That bridge was longer than we expected.
Call it a unique version of the seven-year itch, or maybe just a matter of comfortable timing, but Jim France’s seven-plus years as CEO of NASCAR officially ended this weekend. Given his nature, most thought this day would’ve come much sooner.
His tenure began amid turbulence and ended just a few months after more turbulence, and frankly was never exactly boring during those in-between years.
Jim was brought into the role, in August of 2018, after the messy departure of his nephew, Brian France, who’d taken over as CEO in 2003 after his father (Bill France Jr.) handed over the keys — Bill Jr. had taken over from his dad, who formed NASCAR in 1948.
Jim France originally had the interim label attached to his CEO role and everyone believed it. He’d always been the “sports-car France” and also the “motorcycle France.” We were always told he played an underrated and unheralded backroom role in the family’s high-profile NASCAR world, but few saw his CEO tenure lasting very long.
But he’d soon shed the interim tag, and a little over a year later, he was overseeing an executive team that saw NASCAR navigate the 2020 “COVID year” better than all other sports-entertainment entities. NASCAR was the first one back on the field, and while there was some heavy cobbling involved, all 36 Cup Series races were run that year.
The Next Gen car arrived on his watch, in 2022, though some suggest the negatives stack up alongside the positives with that machine.
The L.A. Coliseum, Mexico City and the streets of Chicago were temporary sideshows, possibly upsetting some purists, who were then treated to the returns of North Wilkesboro, Bowman Gray and Rockingham.
NASCAR’s latest media-rights deal, covering 2025-31, was finalized in late 2023, and like those before it, it was bigger than the last one — seven years, $7.7 billion, according to reports. And again, given how a five-race segment belongs to Amazon’s pay-to-play Prime channel, not everyone was 100% thrilled with that new deal.
After two Bill Frances, a Brian and a Jim, Steve O’Donnell steps in
Overall, it wasn’t the normal career arc for a man to take through the bulk of his 70s and into his early 80s.
“Jim came in at a time when this sport really needed it,” Steve O’Donnell, who now becomes NASCAR’s first non-France CEO, told NASCAR.com immediately after the announcement became official Saturday morning.
“ … Jim was just credibility right away. He’s still going to be involved, obviously, but for me, personally, he’s a guy who behind the scenes always listens, but always knew what was going on and does not get nearly enough credit for everything he puts into the sport.”
Everyone learned, this past year, just how involved he’d been.
All of the preceding mileposts were Page 2, small-headline matters compared to the antitrust lawsuit that hogged headlines throughout 2025 and finally came to a head in a Charlotte courtroom last December.
Perhaps channeling his father and older brother, the two men who ruled NASCAR for its first 55 years, Jim dug in his heels and leaned heavily toward status quo. The plaintiffs played hardball.
The trial ended on Day 8 with a settlement, and while many details are still sealed, the general consensus says the two race-team plaintiffs — and by extension, eventually, the other 13 team owners — got more than NASCAR wanted to give up, and certainly more than the teams had before. Permanent team charter status, for starters.
But Jim being Jim, in the trial’s aftermath, he joined the other courtroom players in offering statements to the media on the courthouse steps, where he stood alongside the biggest of the high-profile plaintiffs, Michael Jordan, co-owner of the 23XI race team.
Two months later, Jim would be among those offering congrats to Jordan and other 23XI members in Victory Lane after one of their cars, the No. 45 driven by Tyler Reddick, won the Daytona 500. Jim grew up in, and remained in, race garages, and learned early how to treat bygones.
The show goes on, you know.
No surprise: Jim France hands over NASCAR CEO role without big fanfare
O’Donnell now becomes Chief Executive Officer after working his way steadily northward during 30 years with NASCAR. He’s not blood, but if you want to talk about hiring from within, it gets no more within than the personable but businesslike O’Donnell, who now has a hefty title to match his husky frame.
But it’s still a family business, of course, as we’re reminded by the accompanying promotion of Ben Kennedy to O’Donnell’s former role as Chief Operating Officer, which should be a smooth transition given Kennedy’s advancing roles in recent years.
Kennedy is the 34-year-old great-nephew of Jim France who, like his great-uncle, also has a competitive driving background — Jim’s included both two and four wheels, however. Ben is certainly the future of NASCAR’s highest executive leadership, depending on the length of O’Donnell’s tenure.
O’Donnell would do well to last as long as the “interim” who’s just now stepping aside, and not publicly stepping aside in a manner he’d rather step. Prior to Saturday’s official press conference at Talladega, where O’Donnell and Kennedy would take questions, Jim stepped to the podium for some very brief comments, but only after a tribute video played in his honor.
He’s not necessarily awkward in moments like that, but he doesn’t exactly bask in it, either.
“I’m a little embarrassed by that because it’s difficult to take credit for other people’s hard work,” Jim said to the surprise of no one. “I happen to be lucky to be a part of a great team called NASCAR.
“We have over 1,400 employees. I go back to the day we probably had 14 employees. I was real young then. But I’ve been fortunate enough to see the growth of our sport and the caliber of folks that we’ve had in developing our sport, starting with my father, mother and brother.”
In his original statement, released several hours before Saturday afternoon’s gathering, Jim praised the two newly promoted NASCAR leaders, saying “they represent the future of the sport, and along with our world-class executive team and race team partners in the garage, they will guide NASCAR into its exciting next era.”
Hopefully he’s correct, but it’s not like the most recent era was a snoozer.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: A flashy NASCAR tenure for quiet Jim France ends as he turns over CEO role
Reporting by Ken Willis, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
