The recent photo of the 48 people standing on risers in the Daytona sun represents a rare piece of NASCAR history that should be framed on walls wherever the story of the sport is told.
The photo, featuring the inaugural charter owners of the Sprint Cup Series, showcases the broad representation needed to complete such a complicated agreement. I had fun going row by row, seeing the faces and thinking of the role each person played in getting the charter agreement done. There were people like
Rob Kauffman and
Steve Newmark, who handled so much of the day-to-day details from the team and ownership side; there was
Brent Dewar, Steve Phelps,
Eric Nyquist and
Steve O’Donnell, who did so much heavy lifting from the NASCAR perspective. There were the key team owners:
Roger Penske,
Rick Hendrick,
Joe Gibbs,
Richard Childress,
Chip Ganassi and
Jack Roush, among others, longtime vested elder statesman who had to be collaborative and flexible to chart a new course for their motorsports investment.
But the person I kept coming back to was standing just left of center, in the first row: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. While so many constituencies had to be on board during this difficult negotiation, a charter system never even gets off the ground if Brian France doesn’t advocate for it. The two key stakeholders to his left — NASCAR Vice Chairman Jim France and Vice Chairwoman Lesa France Kennedy — would never, ever have supported even discussing this concept had Brian France not shown a willingness to explore such a transformative change in the family business.
Some have told me they believe that France has made the biggest mistake in the family’s 68 years of running NASCAR, dramatically altering the economic model and balance of the sport. But a larger number of people in the sport speak optimistically of a new path to economic stability and a way for new money to enter into NASCAR.
Conversations for years have centered on the next generation of NASCAR team owners. Who will be there to fill the big shoes of Penske, Gibbs, Hendrick, Roush, etc.? I never had an answer to this, as I found the economic model so broken that no matter how wealthy and smart the executive, it would be a challenge for that newcomer to make it work (see Rob Kauffman). Now, that has changed, and I credit Brian France, whose name doesn’t often come up in discussions on sports’ most progressive leaders.
Living in Charlotte, I’ve heard for years from those wishing for a more-engaged steward of the sport and one more visible at the track. And I question if France’s visible and public endorsement of Donald Trump in such a polarizing election year was the right thing for the organization he oversees. But in talking to sources closely involved in this agreement, no charter deal gets any bit of traction without the open mind and willingness of France to consider it — and then to see it through.
More than one of these sources talked about his persistence during times of stalemate and impasse, when he said time and again, “We want to get this done.” Sources said that leadership and direction immediately changed the tone toward progress.
When announcing the deal on Feb. 8 in Charlotte, France was visibly more in command of this issue than other topics I’ve seen him speak on in the past. He spoke firmly and confidently of changing “60 years of history doing business a certain way.” What was accomplished by NASCAR, teams and stakeholders to establish a long-term, predictable economic model with greater financial stability is a big, big story and shouldn’t be overlooked. As the historic photo in Daytona showed, many people deserve credit — but none more than Brian France.
Abraham D. Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
