Overview
- Introduced Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, O'Donnell becomes the first NASCAR chief executive from outside the France family in the sport's 78 years.
- Jim France remains chairman and the sport’s majority owner, with his reported 54% stake unchanged.
- Ben Kennedy was promoted to chief operating officer, a role that puts the fourth‑generation family executive over day‑to‑day operations and competition, as Julie Giese takes over long‑range schedule work for 2027.
- The leadership shift follows a December 2025 settlement of an antitrust suit by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports that secured permanent team charters, after which commissioner Steve Phelps resigned when private texts surfaced in court.
- O'Donnell said his first goals are to unite the industry, listen to teams, tracks, sponsors and fans, and move with urgency to bring back the fun, which could mean quicker calls on rules, cars and events.