Cracks had begun to appear in the France family’s grip on NASCAR over the past few years. Declining viewership, weaker revenues, and a growing loss of trust among teams in the garage, largely fueled by the fallout from the antitrust lawsuit involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in late 2025, have only added to the pressure on the family that has owned NASCAR for more than 75 years. But with that longevity comes one key advantage: experience in navigating difficult times.
If the sport’s current CEO is to be believed, rumors of the France family preparing to step away from NASCAR may have been greatly exaggerated.
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Steve O’Donnell confirmed that NASCAR is open to partnering with real estate developers. That would allow the sport to share the upfront cost of building new tracks while also spreading the financial risk. This would allow focus on developing multi-use entertainment districts, which would take the NASCAR race weekend experience to a whole new level. However, addressing whether the France family could be looking to sell NASCAR, O’Donnell had a clear one-word response.
“No,” the NASCAR CEO commented on a statement shared by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal on X.
Therumors surrounding a potential sale first emerged in early 2026, when it was reported that the France family was in discussions with investment firms across the country. It was also reported that companies like Liberty Media (which owns Formula 1), TKO (which owns WWE and UFC), Ares, Arctos, and Sixth Street were interested in diving into the world of NASCAR, which Goldman Sachs valued at $5 billion in 2023.
Understandably, these companies wanted to get a stake while NASCAR appeared weak. And although it’s nowhere near the brink of collapse, the sport has been facing major challenges.
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Sponsors demand millions of dollars. During the trial, 23XI owner Denny Hamlin revealed that they had to generate $45 million in sponsorship revenue, just for a minor profit. And all this comes at a time when the fanbase seems to be getting disconnected from the sport.
Issues like race timings, duration, schedule, and broadcasting are all under scrutiny. NASCAR hasn’t answered them all, but has responded by trying to change formats, as they revamped the old Playoff format to re-introduce the Chase in 2026 to make the championship battle more open. There has also been instability in its leadership, which was best seen during the trial against 23XI and FRM.
Steve Phelps, who became President of NASCAR in 2018 and then commissioner, said some heavily demeaning words to Richard Childress, one of the most respected team owners in the garage, which affected the trust with the top brass. He was made to resign, and NASCAR decided to make active changes to its structure.
The sport currently does not have a President or a Commissioner, with O’Donnell, upon his promotion to CEO in 2026, becoming the first non-member of the France family to hold the position after Jim France vacated it. His great-nephew, Ben Kennedy, took over as COO, with many seeing him as the apparent heir to the company, which the family doesn’t seem to be abandoning anytime soon.
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NASCAR as a sport is set to undergo further changes as it evolves to modern consumer needs. CEO Steve O’Donnell, COO Ben Kennedy, and the France family recognize that bringing in outside real estate partners is a vital long-term strategy. By shifting from an ‘isolated racetrack’ model to a multi-use ‘sports and entertainment hub’ model, NASCAR can share the massive upfront capital and financial risks of venue development.
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