Story last updated Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 11:13 a.m.
Jim France has stepped down as CEO of NASCAR, according to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi. The job will go to Steve O’Donnell, a longtime NASCAR executive who was promoted to president in 2025. The change was officially confirmed Saturday morning after initially being reported on Friday.
“It’s something that I want to make sure that this sport is left in a better place than when I started, and the work is certainly not done,” O’Donnell said in a Saturday press release. “I think we’ve got a huge opportunity to build upon the foundation.”
Also reported Friday is a promotion for another France family member. Ben Kennedy, currently the sport’s executive vice president, is expected to be appointed chief operating officer. Jim France is reportedly staying on board as NASCAR’s chairman and maintaining his 54% ownership stake.
“Grateful for the opportunity to step into the new role and keep working in a sport that means so much to me,” Kennedy posted to X on Saturday. “Looking forward to supporting Steve and continuing to build alongside our leadership team and industry partners. Now, let’s go racing at Talladega!”
France was first promoted to interim CEO and chairman after his nephew Brian France stepped down in August 2018. The interim tag was later removed from his title, and he served in that capacity up until this year.
Steve O’Donnell Becomes CEO
Steve O’Donnell first joined NASCAR as a marketing professional in 1996. In 2014 he was named chief racing development officer, followed by promotions to chief operating officer in 2022 and president in 2025.
O’Donnell graduated Rollins College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Business Administration. After brief professional stints in the Florida sports world, he joined NASCAR ahead of the ’96 season.
“What I’m going to do is go out and do a lot of listening, especially the first 90 days,” O’Donnell continued. “We’ve got so many talented people in the industry — team owners, drivers, track, sponsors, even our own internal personnel that I want to go have some conversations with about what do they see and what are the opportunities? I think the great news is, we’ve got an unbelievable foundation, right? We’ve got a great broadcast deal. We’ve got charters in place, a strong schedule. So all those nuts and bolts are there, and it’s really taking that and looking at how do we make NASCAR an absolute must-have sport in the future.”
NASCAR and the France Family
Jim France’s as NASCAR’s CEO was transformative and consequential. He took the helm of his family’s stock car organization four years into the era of the playoff championship format and saw it through as it transitioned back to a Chase format this year. France was also a key figure in last year’s lawsuit against NASCAR by Cup Series teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The case settled on December 11.
The promotion of Steve O’Donnell to CEO marks the first time the job has been held by anyone outside of NASCAR’s founding France family. Bill France founded the organization in 1948 and stayed on as CEO until 1972, when he passed the role to his son Bill France Jr. Upon younger France’s retirement in 2003, the job was given to a third generation: Brian France. Jim France, son of Bill France Sr. and brother of Bill France Jr., then became fourth in his family to serve as CEO.
Lesa France Kennedy, daughter of Bill France Jr, owns 46% of NASCAR alongside Jim France’s 54%. As of Friday, she is expected to remain in her position as executive vice chair. Her son Ben Kennedy was a former Craftsman Truck Series driver before hanging up his firesuit to follow his family’s path as an executive.
“I think when you look at Ben, he’s done everything,” O’Donnell said. “He’s grown up in the sport, he’s driven, he owns race teams, he’s worked at tracks, but when he first started working for us, worked with me in competition and we put him in charge of the Truck Series, and I think anyone wondered, like, how’s he going to do? And we said one of the biggest challenges we have is the relationship with owners, and we need to go out and talk to them. In three days, he had talked to every single truck owner, had a plan, and it told me right away that this guy’s all-in, and he cares, and he has great style, and he’s continued to do that.”
