CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR majority owner Jim France is stepping down as chief executive and will be replaced by president Steve O'Donnell, according to multiple reports.
France will remain as NASCAR's chairperson, and his majority ownership stake will not change.
O'Donnell will be the first person outside the France family to hold the CEO title of NASCAR. Bill France Sr. founded the United States' most popular racing series in 1948 and always had a family member in the top role before the changes expected to be announced at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama on Saturday.
Ben Kennedy, Jim France's great-nephew, will be promoted to chief operating officer.
Jim France had been chairman and CEO of NASCAR since the 2019 resignation of his nephew, Brian France.
Jim France took a hard-line 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 was soft-spoken, needed several questions repeated and struggled to remember several topics during his first day of testimony in the antitrust trial before a stronger second day.
Steve Phelps resigned as NASCAR commissioner earlier this year after inflammatory texts he sent during contentious revenue-sharing negotiations were revealed during the trial.
