CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s trial of the century was settled on Thursday, with the combatants from both sides joining to link arms and present a unified front to the public.
But during 56 hours of testimony over the previous eight days, and in the months leading up to the trial, NASCAR’s public perception with its own fans reached a new low.
The discovery process revealed text messages and email communications among NASCAR executives that damaged their credibility with fans and outraged team owners and sponsors.
Accordingly, much of the ire during the trial was directed at NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps and NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell.
But when taking a deeper dive past the spicy language of text messages never intended to be public, many of the communications revealed Phelps and O’Donnell to be moderates who were in favor of striking a compromise with the teams.
Yes, they absolutely had moments of frustration as France pushed for negotiations to end. Prior to that, however, they were the ones fighting internally to give the teams a better deal — at least until meeting someone described as a “brick wall.”
That would be NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France, the soft-spoken son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and the brother of longtime NASCAR leader Bill France Jr. — both of whom are regarded as influential pillars of NASCAR’s growth.
Jim France obviously had their legacy in mind during the negotiations and was dead set on not doing anything to give the race teams more power. The France family has always had the upper hand in its iron-fisted rule over the sport, and Jim wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that.
So he held firm. “No bueno” on permanent charters, as one text message described his thinking.
Even as Phelps and O’Donnell made a passionate case for helping the teams gain a better and more sustainable financial situation, even as some of his closest friends in racing begged him for permanent charters — both in person and in letters — France continued to refuse.
He described himself as a “consensus builder” who doesn’t want to be surrounded by yes-men and said he was open to new ideas despite being an old-school guy. Except when France heard a consensus of new ideas from people brave enough to speak their minds, he ignored them for three years of charter negotiations.
France was so steadfast, it resulted in two teams filing this antitrust lawsuit that ripped NASCAR apart from the inside out. And for a year he still refused to settle, costing untold money, time and lost trust with teams, sponsors and fans.
Finally, on Thursday, France gave in. The teams got what they were asking for all along. A commonly referred to document in the trial described “no wins for teams,” but this settlement was essentially “no wins for NASCAR.”
France badly miscalculated, and the sport is worse off for it. While the settlement marks a great step forward for the teams’ financial situation, the same terms could have been given two years ago.
Yet, as previously stated, much anger from the fan base has been directed at Phelps and O’Donnell. It’s almost as if they already knew what to expect from France, so he’s somehow less culpable.
But in any other circumstances, if this wasn’t a family-owned business, any CEO of a company who made such a major misstep would be gone. It’s not as if France does this for free, either; in addition to his family’s trust, he takes in more than $3.5 million a year in salary.
Much of the talk now is regarding the ways NASCAR can move forward, but can anything really change as long as France is still at the helm? At age 81, it’s time for him to step aside and pass NASCAR down to the next France family member.
And whom would that be? Ben Kennedy, the 33-year-old great-grandson of Bill France Sr. and the son of Lesa France Kennedy (Jim France is his great uncle).
Ben Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., has worked his way up the NASCAR ranks at just 33 years old. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
Kennedy is certainly young for a CEO. But he’s spent a lifetime around the sport and each year has been tasked with more and more responsibilities.
He is well-liked by various stakeholders and has already shown he’s capable of creative thinking (like with running an exhibition race inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was his brainchild).
France should stick around as chairman emeritus. He steadied the sport after his nephew, Brian France, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in 2018 and left NASCAR without leadership. Jim France stepped into the CEO role on an interim basis and has ultimately remained.
But if this trial showed anything, it’s that France should begin the transition out of the lead role. It’s time to give the next generation a chance, and Kennedy would excel with mentors like Phelps and O’Donnell still around to guide him.
Perhaps one of those men will become the fall guy, taking the brunt for all that’s happened with this trial. Certainly, Phelps’ text messages about Richard Childress will take him a long time to overcome if he sticks around.
But for the fan base to really start regaining trust again, change needs to start at the top.
It’s time for the next France to take the wheel.