Jim France leading NASCAR change from shadows

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Jim France is running NASCAR the same way he lives his life — quietly, in the background, away from the spotlight he never craved.

The youngest son of NASCAR’s founder carved his own path in the family business, leaving leadership roles to his father, Bill France Sr., and older brother. Jim France ran sports cars, served on NASCAR boards and was content when nephew Brian France replaced Bill France Jr. as chairman in 2003.

Brian France made radical changes to the playoff system, approved a new car and stage racing, pulled NASCAR out of some of its traditional markets for big-city exposure and, along the way, managed to alienate a chunk of the series’ aging fan base. He showed little interest in calls for a condensed season, shorter events, weekday races and a greater variety of tracks even as NASCAR spent much of the last decade unable to stop a slide in attendance and TV ratings or an exodus of top sponsors.

Then Brian France was arrested in August in New York, hundreds of miles from Chase Elliott’s first Cup Series victory that same day, on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He immediately took a leave of absence and uncle Jim France stepped in as interim chairman and CEO.

Jim France has been at almost every NASCAR race since, available for drivers and teams and walking pit road, sometimes summoning officials to look things over. The “interim” label is gone, and it’s clear Jim France is running the show.

“I think Jim is doing a good job, just in being around,” said 2015 champion Kyle Busch. “He’s always got a pen and a notebook, he’s in the trenches, he’s asking questions and he’s listening.”

Still, he has offered no public insight as to how he plans to end NASCAR’s slump and given no interviews during his six months at the helm. France was highly visible last month during the Rolex 24 at Daytona. He was late to a news conference to promote IMSA’s 50th anniversary season and took three pre-screened questions after a moderator warned he would not discuss NASCAR.

There was a brief moment in his remarks, while discussing Ben Kennedy’s emergence in the family business, when France seemed to be talking in broader terms.

“This is what we do, and we’ve got the next generation coming,” he said. “We plan to keep it a family.”

This comes a year after reports suggested the France family was looking to sell NASCAR, reports that have not been specifically addressed by the current leadership, including Lesa France Kennedy, an executive vice president and the CEO of International Speedway Corp.

NASCAR late last year began acquiring the remaining public stock in ISC, which owns a majority of the NASCAR-sanctioned tracks. Layoffs began after the start of the year and many longtime employees, some who started with the company under Bill France Jr., were let go.

NASCAR could, at minimum, be seeking investors. The silence has only fueled speculation.

“I think what Jim has probably done is he’s sat back for a long, long time,” said three-time NASCAR champion and Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip. “When he was put in the position that he’s in, he knew that there needed to be sweeping changes. When the rumor went around that NASCAR could be for sale, there were probably a lot of questions about, ‘Well, what am I buying?’

“I think what Jim is trying to do is trying to get everything under one umbrella where you can quantify, ‘Am I buying the sanctioning body? Am I buying racetrack real estate? (Race) dates? What am I getting if I was to buy NASCAR?”’

Sunday’s Daytona 500 opens the new season. A new rules package designed to slow and keep cars closer together and improve competitiveness on the track will be introduced a week later at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

There is a new car in development, NASCAR is actively courting additional manufacturers, and officials are taking a hard stance with drivers and teams to play by the rules. If a winning car fails post-race inspection it will be disqualified and stripped of the victory. NASCAR also plans to fine drivers who skip their commitments to talk with reporters, another change after years of using the motorhome lot as a refuge.