Jim France stepping down as NASCAR CEO, paving way for first non-France family member to lead the sport
Steve O'Donnell is taking over operations of America's leading auto racing series.
NASCAR CEO Jim France is stepping down. Taking his place will be longtime NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell, sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports. O’Donnell will become the first non-France family member to lead the sport.
France, 81, has been in charge of NASCAR since he took over as the sanctioning body’s interim CEO in 2018 following the arrest of his nephew Brian France. Before running NASCAR for nearly the past eight years, Jim France was a president of ISC, the former publicly-owned subsidiary of NASCAR that owned tracks across the country and was also a member of NASCAR’s board of directors. Jim France will reportedly remain as chairman of the board.
O’Donnell, 57, has been with NASCAR since 1996 when he joined the marketing department. He has risen through the ranks from leading racing operations to the COO to president and now its Chief Executive Officer. According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, the transition will take place immediately.
The France family has led NASCAR since Jim’s father, Bill France Sr. , founded the stock car racing series in a Daytona Beach hotel in the 1940s. After Bill France Sr.