NASCAR is making one of the biggest business changes in the history of the sport, and for the first time since the series was founded in 1948, the chief executive role is going to someone outside the France family.
NASCAR announced Friday that Steve O’Donnell has been named Chief Executive Officer and Ben Kennedy has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, a move that shifts day-to-day executive leadership away from Jim France, who will remain Chairman. The change breaks a 78-year run in which NASCAR’s top leadership role was always held by a member of the France family.
The official announcement framed the transition as a planned next step following a period of strong business momentum. NASCAR said the leadership move comes after major developments that included new multiyear media rights agreements, long-term charter extensions, and continued sponsor relationships. That gives the organization a clean public reason for the handoff, even as the move still lands like a historic break from the way the sport has always operated.
O’Donnell is not arriving from outside the building. He has been part of NASCAR for roughly three decades and most recently served as president after previously holding the chief operating officer role. In that stretch, he has been closely tied to competition matters, race operations, and the overall fan-facing product. So while the family-name element is changing at the top, NASCAR is not exactly tossing the keys to a stranger. It is elevating someone who has already been heavily involved in how the sport runs.
Kennedy’s promotion matters too, especially because he is a member of the France family and has long been viewed as a major figure in NASCAR’s future. By moving him into the COO role, NASCAR is not removing the family from the power structure. It is reshaping the structure.
Jim France remains chairman, Kennedy moves up, and O’Donnell becomes the public face in the CEO chair. That makes this less of a clean break and more of a new arrangement in which the France family still holds real influence while stepping back from the specific CEO title.
Still, the symbolism is hard to ignore. NASCAR has been run by the same family since Bill France Sr. helped found the series, with leadership later passing through Bill France Jr., Brian France, and Jim France. The new move ends that unbroken chain in the CEO spot, which is why the “78-year tradition” line is not just headline bait. It is the central fact of the story.
The timing also lands after a chaotic few months for the sanctioning body. Earlier this year, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigned following fallout tied to inflammatory text messages that surfaced during legal proceedings connected to the antitrust fight with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. NASCAR said at the time there were no immediate plans to replace him. That backdrop adds extra weight to the latest leadership announcement, because it comes during a period when the sport has already been forced to defend its governance, decision-making, and public image.
That does not mean Friday’s move was a direct reaction to the Phelps mess. NASCAR’s official release described the transition as part of a longer-term plan, and outside reporting said Jim France had been thinking about stepping back from the CEO role for some time. But the larger truth is still there: this is happening during a year when NASCAR has already absorbed legal pressure, executive upheaval, and renewed scrutiny over how the sport is run.
For O’Donnell, the challenge now is obvious. He inherits a sport that still has major reach and strong television value, but one that also keeps dealing with questions about governance, revenue sharing, and how it wants to grow.
NASCAR says this transition is about the next phase of innovation and expansion. The part fans and teams will care about is whether the new structure actually changes anything beyond the business card.