For the first time in NASCAR’s 78-year existence, someone not carrying the France surname is in charge. That alone makes this less of a routine executive shuffle and more of a landmark moment, even if the day-to-day reality doesn’t immediately feel all that different.O’Donnell, for his part, was quick to frame it less as a revolution and more as a continuation. “I am incredibly honored to be in this position and continue working with the France family,” he said in a press conference Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, signaling that while the name on the office door has changed, the DNA of the sport very much has not.O’Donnell replaces Jim France, the last surviving child of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. who served as NASCAR Chairman and CEO since 2018.Jim France was never really supposed to be the long-term answer.

When he stepped in, it was as “interim” CEO, a sort of the reluctant de facto choice after his nephew Brian France was hurriedly rushed off stage in large part due to some dubious behavior. What followed wasn’t so much a bold new era as it was a holding pattern.At 81, Jim France has always cut a quieter figure. Not a headline chaser.

Not a podium pounder. In fact, during his tenure, he never formally met with the media, skipping the annual “state of the sport” addresses that had once been standard fare under Brian France. Those duties increasingly fell to others, most notably O’Donnell.That arrangement worked well enough.

Until it didn’t.DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 15: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France attends his Chairman’s Breakfast prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe NASCAR lawsuit late last year pulled back the curtain in a way the sport rarely allows. France was called to testify, and the image presented wasn’t exactly one of commanding authority. Questions had to be repeated.

Details were hazy. At one point, he couldn’t recall his own compensation. What the public saw was less a corporate heavyweight and more a soft-spoken grandfather who sometimes couldn’t remember what he had for lunch and who looked like he’d be far more comfortable in a rocking chair than a boardroom.Behind the scenes, of course, the sport wasn’t drifting aimlessly.

The real operational muscle had long been split between O’Donnell, former NASCAR President Steve Phelps, and Ben Kennedy—the 34-year-old great-grandson of Bill France Sr. Phelps, who had been named NASCAR’s first commissioner in March 2025, exited earlier this year following the fallout from text messages revealed during the same legal proceedings.In stepping aside, Saturday France made clear what he feels he’s leaving behind. “I believe we have the finest team of people working and running NASCAR that we’ve ever had in our entire history,” he said.

It’s a line that says as much about his leadership style as it does about his exit, less about commanding the room, more about trusting the people in it.Kennedy, meanwhile, has continued his steady climb. From Truck Series driver to executive, he has worked his way through NASCAR’s ranks; racing development, strategic initiatives, and most recently as senior vice president of strategy and innovation, before landing in the COO role. It’s been less a meteoric rise and more a carefully plotted ascent.And if there was any doubt about who had been steering during the most critical moments, Jim France provided the answer himself.

Reflecting on the early days of the pandemic, he pointed squarely at his successors. “Steve and Ben went to work… and got us back to the racetrack, led the way for a lot of major sports getting back in business,” he said.DAYTONA BEACH, FL - 1947: NASCAR's early leaders meet in the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach. Seated (L-R): Bob Richards, Freddie Horton, Jack Peters, Ed Bruce, Chick DiNatale, Harvey Tattersall Jr., Tom Galan, Alvin Hawkins, Bill Tuthill, Bill France Sr., Mildred Ayres, Joe Littlejohn, Jimmy Cox, Eddie Bland, Joe Ross, Sam Packard, Bill Streeter, Lucky Sauer. Standing (L-R): Larry Roller, Fred Dagavar, Bob Osiecki, Jimmy Quisenberry, Ed Samples, Marshall Teague. (Photo by ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images)ISC Archives/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty ImagesO'Donnell and Ken