New CEO Steve O'Donnell vows to unite NASCAR and return the fun

NASCAR France Auto Racing

FILE - Steve O'Donnell, executive vice president of NASCAR, talks about the Next Gen Cup Cars that will be used in the 2022 season during the NASCAR media event in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NASCAR France Auto Racing

FILE - Steve O'Donnell, executive vice president of NASCAR, talks about the Next Gen Cup Cars that will be used in the 2022 season during the NASCAR media event in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NASCAR France Auto Racing

FILE - Jim France, right, chairman and executive vice president of NASCAR, talks with sponsors in Victory Lance after the second of two NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File\_ (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NASCAR France Auto Racing

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2019, file photo, Jim France, executive vice president of NASCAR, stands on pit road as he watches auto racing at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Fla.. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Steve O’Donnell wants to bring some fun back to NASCAR, which he calls a “badass American sport.” O’Donnell was introduced as the sanctioning body’s chief executive officer at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday and vowed to “make some moves” that will return the storied racing series to its roots. “We lost that in recent years,” O’Donnell said. Majority owner Jim France stepped down as CEO but will remain NASCAR’s chairman, and his majority ownership stake will not change. O’Donnell will become the first person outside the France family to hold the CEO title. Bill France Sr. founded the racing series in 1948 and always had a family member in the top role. Ben Kennedy, France’s great-nephew and the son of NASCAR executive Lesa Kennedy France, was promoted to chief operating officer. “They’re going to take this thing even further,” Jim France said. Jim France had been chairman and CEO of NASCAR since the 2019 resignation of his nephew, Brian. It marks the second promotion in nearly a year for O’Donnell, who has spent 30-plus years guiding NASCAR’s marketing and later competition departments. He was named president in March 2025. France took a hardline stance in negotiations for the 2025 revenue-sharing agreement, triggering an antitrust lawsuit by Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The sides reached a settlement in December that granted NASCAR teams the permanent charters they had sought. France struggled to remember several topics during a shaky first day of testimony and needed several questions repeated. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps resigned earlier this year after inflammatory texts he sent during contentious revenue-sharing negotiations were revealed during the trial. O’Donnell escaped unscathed and now gets tasked with NASCAR’s next phase, which he suggested was to make sure everyone knows it’s a “badass American sport.” He vowed to unite the industry, listen to every stakeholder — including fans — and address matters with urgency. “It’s what we have to do each and every day,” O’Donnell said. “We've got to showcase that.” \\\_ AP auto racing: