NASCAR has a new CEO and COO. It was big news revealed Saturday, made bigger by the fact that although he started in NASCAR in 1996 Steve O’Donnell has no ties to the France family, marking the first time in the sport’s history that a member from outside the family will be running the show.
And while it may be big news outside the sport, the reality inside the sport is that this wasn’t a takeover. It was a confirmation.
Teams and drivers were briefed a day earlier via a teleconference led by O’Donnell, the new COO Ben Kennedy, and Lesa France Kennedy. The reaction was less shock and more quiet acknowledgment. From where the industry sits, the people now holding the titles have already been holding the reins.
Team Penske driver Austin Cindric hovers between a new guy, and a veteran. He was listening in on the call and came away with a pragmatic takeaway.
“I think, for me, does that change my day-to-day? Probably not directly right away,” he said Saturday. “But, otherwise, from just afar it definitely makes sense.”
Brad Keselowski is not only a veteran driver, but a team owner. And to him the shift feels more like a formality than a revolution.
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Brad Keselowski: I don’t know if I see it as a massive change… I feel like Steve O’Donnell has kind of been running a big part of the show for a while now
“I don’t know if I see it as a massive change,” Keselowski said. “I feel like Steve O’Donnell has kind of been running a big part of the show for a while now, but just probably more official is kind of how I feel about it.”
That sense of inevitability extends to the departure of Jim France from the CEO role. When France stepped in back in 2018, it was widely viewed as a steadying move rather than a long-term appointment.
“I feel like when Jim came in circa ‘18, ‘19, I think we all knew that was kind of like, ‘Hey, this is the right guy and the right time to take NASCAR to the next level.’” He said. “And I feel like he did a lot of things that he’ll probably not get credit for. The last year was obviously very tough with things that were going on in the sport and lawsuits and beyond, but I think everyone pretty much knew that was not going to be a 20-30 year run. “
If there is a tangible shift, Keselowski points to something less dramatic but far more important: clarity.
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“I think there’s a lot of positives to having role clarity,” he said. “It’s been my business experience at least that having role clarity is so, so important when you’re trying to pull an entity together. I sense that with that announcement that’s what was achieved as much as anything, which I can really strongly get behind.”
Kennedy’s rise adds another layer to the transition. A great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., he also brings something rare to the executive suite: recent experience behind the wheel. He competed in the NASCAR Truck Series from 2013 to 2016, even picking up a win along the way.
That’s not lost on Tyler Reddick, who raced against him during those years.
“Well, it’s hard for me to say one or the other, and I think that’s what makes him great for the role,” he said. “I remember back to Truck days, we were battling, week in and week out. He’s done a really good job; with the positions he’s held.”
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Ben Kennedy competed in the NASCAR Truck Series from 2013 to 2016, even picking up a win along the way.
So while the org chart has changed, the people behind it have not suddenly appeared. O’Donnell and Kennedy have been central figures in NASCAR’s recent evolution, not spectators waiting for a promotion.
Which is why, across the garage, the prevailing mood isn’t uncertainty, it’s a quiet continuity.
“it definitely makes sense,” Cindric said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of experience from those ends for those moving up into new roles, and I don’t think it’s going to impact anything directly right away, just curious to see where everyone takes it from here.”
Reddick, meanwhile, sees even less reason to wait and wonder.
“I’m excited about what the future looks like,” he said. “Steve’s (O’Donnell) been committed to the sport for a very long time, been a part of it in a lot of ways. Yeah, I’m excited about the future. I think the future is bright for NASCAR.”
Big news, sure. Just not a big surprise.
I have been around and written about the sport of NASCAR for over three decades and previously worked fulltime for the Sporting News and Scripps-Howard News Service. I am also a contributor to two Chicken Soup for the Soul books including the NASCAR edition, published in 2010 and the author of “The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers’ Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing.” I am a multiple National Motorsports Press Association award winner. Early in life I spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community serving in support of Operation Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm and ended my military career in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.