{"id":403402,"date":"2026-01-11T22:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/403402\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T22:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:20:11","slug":"nascar-enters-new-and-challenging-era-after-departure-of-steve-phelps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/403402\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR enters new and challenging era after departure of Steve Phelps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

NASCAR isn\u2019t stronger without Steve Phelps<\/a> as its commissioner. I know Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy and respect them; they have total authority on doing what they feel is best for the sport. Despite damaging and unfortunate comments that came out during NASCAR\u2019s recent antitrust trial<\/a>, there should have been a path for Phelps to continue to lead the sanctioning body. The move isn\u2019t a shock, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s in the best interest of NASCAR. Parting ways with the top business executive and culture force in your organization is a questionable strategy, but that\u2019s the void the sport must fill. It\u2019s fair to be concerned about NASCAR\u2019s future, because it will be an immense challenge to find a worthy successor to step in. <\/p>\n

First, one must manage the family dynamic, which Phelps adroitly handled over so many years. Second, there are the external pressures of team owners, who have always viewed NASCAR as adversary rather than ally, and Phelps worked hard to build credibility among that group. Third, there is balancing the sport\u2019s road map with an eye on the future and progress, while recognizing and appreciating its history and tradition. Finally, all this comes while many in the industry question its overall growth prospects. Add that all up, and it takes a special executive to lead such a complicated enterprise. <\/p>\n

Through his 20 years at NASCAR, rising to president in 2018 and becoming its first commissioner last year, Phelps was indefatigable in trying to push through those obstacles. He loved, loved racing \u2014 which can\u2019t be said about everyone in motorsports. When he was CMO, he volunteered to be on CBS\u2019s \u201cUndercover Boss\u201d<\/a> in 2010 to put a spotlight on NASCAR by working as a pit crew member for Mark Martin and as a track sign painter at Daytona \u2014 neither of which he did very well. Phelps was the sport\u2019s biggest cheerleader, consistently messaging to staff, colleagues and the industry that NASCAR would be mentioned in the same breath as the NFL, NBA and others; that NASCAR executives would be present at industry events; that NASCAR leadership would be positioned as thought leaders and out front on industry trends. <\/p>\n

Phelps changed the narrative around a sport in decline to one taking new approaches in technology, data and analytics and social\/gaming platforms. Across NASCAR, current and former employees praised Phelps as transparent, firm, candid, strategic and accessible, and someone who put time and effort in establishing relationships. To that end, he was a known, trusted, well-liked confidant in the insular world of sports business, with friendships at the highest levels of leagues, media and agencies. <\/p>\n

In the emotionally fueled environment of business, Phelps maintained a calm comportment that settled those around him. In his farewell, Phelps wrote to staff, \u201cWe have strengthened this sport and energized our entire NASCAR community.\u201d They certainly did, as evidenced by NASCAR\u2019s recent resurgence and its League of the Year honor at the 2021 Sports Business Awards. Phelps developed a solid executive team \u2014 it could be the deepest at NASCAR that I can remember \u2014 and he engendered great loyalty. I\u2019ve rarely seen an organization so sad, disappointed and confused as in the days after his departure. As he left, he stressed NASCAR has the right people in place for future leadership, and I don\u2019t doubt that \u2014 but it is fair to wonder whether they all remain without the leader who may have recruited, developed or even inspired them. <\/p>\n

No, Phelps wasn\u2019t perfect. He could be pointed, some thought dismissive; and his fury over what he believed was right got the better of him during an emotional and stressful time in the sport. People who know him understand that the messages uncovered during litigation is not the Steve Phelps they know and respect. Going forward, he will be fine, with plenty of high-profile opportunities in sports, but I\u2019m sure he\u2019d do anything to not hit send on those messages<\/a>. Surely Phelps realized how hard it would be to come back from those texts, but he \u2014 and many others \u2014 would have welcomed the chance to see it play out. It\u2019s clear the France family felt the damage caused by his comments was irreparable \u2014 to the sport, its stakeholders and fans. That\u2019s fair, and their decision and their right, and many will agree, especially as the sport aims to unify after such divisive litigation. Perhaps they felt they had no choice, but it couldn\u2019t have been easy for a duo \u2014 Jim and Lesa \u2014 that had put so much trust in Phelps and even called him one of NASCAR\u2019s most impactful leaders. <\/p>\n

Phelps\u2019 departure comes at a terrible time for a sport needing stability and vision. The search for a new commissioner who can win over stakeholders and push a family business forward is going to be an immense challenge, and my concern is all the hard work and progress that has been made gets stymied, or even worse, regresses \u2014 further imperiling NASCAR\u2019s place in the American sports hierarchy. NASCAR isn\u2019t stronger without Phelps as commissioner, and that\u2019s not a good thing.<\/p>\n

Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR isn\u2019t stronger without Steve Phelps as its commissioner. I know Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,41209,12716,634,39932,82],"class_list":["post-403402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-forum","tag-motorsports","tag-nascar","tag-print","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}