HE IS LEAVING: NASCAR announced that William Byron is Leaving immediately after Facing…..

HE IS LEAVING: NASCAR announced that William Byron is Leaving immediately after Facing…..

NASCAR today announced the appointment of Steve Phelps as Commissioner of NASCAR, the first to be named to this newly created role overseeing all aspects of America’s top motorsport, including the International Motorsports Association (IMSA) and all 15 NASCAR-owned or operated tracks.

Additionally, Steve O’Donnell, long-time industry leader and current Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Phelps in the critical role of NASCAR President with day-to-day leadership of all three NASCAR National Series and all NASCAR commercial, media and track operations, as well as its four international series and multiple local and grassroots properties. Both roles are effective immediately and will be based in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR’s first Commissioner. His leadership, professionalism and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport,” said NASCAR Chairman & CEO Jim France.

“With more than 50 years of expertise between them, both Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell bring tremendous expertise, stability and a commitment to the bold racing innovations that will continue to serve fans, teams and stakeholders for many years to come.”

Currently in his 20th season in NASCAR, Phelps will lead all functions of the sport with a specific focus on strategic growth and international expansion while continuing to work directly with NASCAR owners, Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy.

Commissioner Phelps will work across the NASCAR ecosystem to provide value to all stakeholders while increasing global fan engagement. Phelps joined NASCAR in 2005 and has served as the fifth president in the sport’s 77-year history since taking the position in 2018.

“I’m honored to take this next step in helping to guide NASCAR, the sport I’ve loved since my father took me to my first race at 5 years old, continue to grow and welcome new fans, competitors and partners that together create some of the most extraordinary moments in sports,” Phelps said.

“I cannot thank the France family enough for their unwavering commitment to our fans, their steady leadership, and most importantly, their stewardship of stock-car racing since its inception nearly eight decades ago.

This sport is truly one of the great American business stories and I’m privileged to continue as part of that legacy – and especially its bright future.”

As only NASCAR’s sixth President, Steve O’Donnell will take over everyday management of the sport with a focus on continuing to deliver historically exciting racing, exceptional partnership value and a world-class fan experience at every NASCAR national series event throughout the season. Leveraging more than three decades of experience at NASCAR where he has held many roles throughout the company from Marketing to Competition, O’Donnell’s scope will be expanded to include all operations, competition and commercial business for the sanctioning body.

“In my 30 years in NASCAR, I’ve been most inspired by the passion of race fans at tracks across the country. It has been a privilege to help bring our sport to those fans through incredible new venues and innovative engaging content that showcase the best racing in our storied history,” said O’Donnell.

“I believe we’re the best in the world at creating ‘Bucket List’ events that merge sports and entertainment with tailgating, camping and the most immersive fan experience in sports.

I’m honored to continue that mission and build upon the collaboration and innovation with our teams and partners to deliver the best racing to sports fans everywhere.”

With his increased leadership responsibilities, O’Donnell will drive continued innovation and engagement for NASCAR’s key stakeholders, fans and employees, creating a center of excellence for ongoing growth and mutual success across the sport and its increasingly global audience.

He will also oversee the sport’s major investments in content creation and distribution through the new NASCAR Production Facility in North Carolina and the Emmy-Award winning NASCAR Studios team with its upcoming slate of scripted and unscripted content aimed at bringing fans even closer to the stars and stories of NASCAR.

If you go there today, there are weeds growing on the very track where cars once went over 200 mph. And there’s little chance of revival.

First it was NASCAR journalist Jordan Bianchi who expressed a heart-breaking hurdle

“I will say this, from the conversations I’ve had with people in the very high levels of NASCAR; they want to be in southern California, they want the Fontana project to happen.

Like, they want that to come to fruition. But it is so expensive.

Not only do you–normal operating costs to build a race track, it’s expensive, right? But in California alone, it’s more expensive…unreasonably high.

To such a degree that it handcuffs you. So, you almost have to overspend to do what you want to do, and it comes down to money.

when you look at the wheel, it’s super complicating and all that, but once I realized like, once I got in the car last year, I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re really only worried about one dial, maybe, and couple buttons.’ But this year with the hybrid, I feel like you’ve got a little bit more maybe going on, you know, throughout a lapse, so we’ll see.

“I’m just excited to get some laps and get familiar with the visuals, the clutch, leaving the pit stall, the coming into a pit stall, like, all the little details that it takes to be good in the race, so kind of just getting back into the flow of things there.”

Pit road execution will certainly be key for Larson, whose lap-130 speeding penalty took him out of contention in last year’s Indy 500. Restarts will be key, too. On the race’s first restart last year, lap nine of 200, Larson missed second shift and tumbled from sixth to 14th down the leaderboard.

Gordon, the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, can’t over-stress the importance of details.

“I think he learned the Indy 500 is all about the small details and executing that,” Gordon said. “I know it’s a hybrid (engine) this year, so maybe there’s a few different differences there, but 500 miles in the Indy 500, you can’t make any mistakes.

“I’m super curious to see where the speeds at because, I mean, he was right up there in speed.”

Larson’s takeaway from last year’s Indy 500 race dynamic was that “it wasn’t too different than a Cup race, especially at Indy.” He won’t have race strategist Brian Campe back in his corner coaching him along like last year — Campe has been the technical director for Legacy Motor Club since October — he’ll have 2013 Indy 500 champ Tony Kanaan, team principal of Arrow McLaren, back on pit box of the No. 17 team.

“Obviously I would love to win the Indy 500, but I know how difficult that is,” Larson said. “I mean, I felt like the experience I had last year and living through it, I’ll be better prepared for this year and, you know, I felt like the race was pretty straightforward.

“I think there was a lot that I learned throughout the couple weeks there last year that I think balance-wise looking for this year to be a little bit better in the race, so I think there’s definitely opportunity to do even better than we did last year. And I thought last year went great.