Some drivers in NASCAR are unsure if Brian France will be able to return after his arrest, but they support interim CEO Jim France.
Team owners Joe Gibbs and Felix Sabates aren’t worried about the transition to Jim France as NASCAR interim chairman after the arrest of his nephew Brian France.
Kevin Harvick was victorious at Michigan and in doing so showed he’s already in playoff mode — with three races left in the regular season.
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“He certainly understands the dynamics of the sport going on today with the marketing of the sport … and a real rational guy,” Team Penske owner Roger Penske said. “He’s a good friend of the guys in the garage area, and at this time I think, for me, it was the right thing for him to do to step in.
“He probably wasn’t ready to do that, but as a leader, he would always be ready to do that, to step in.”
Brian took an indefinite leave of absence from the chairman and CEO role he has held since 2003.
“His love for motor sports, his love for NASCAR has always been very apparent to me,” seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said of Jim France. “With the decades of experience he has within motor sports, I feel very confident he is going to be able to get in there and lead us.”
Jim France attended the drivers council meeting Friday night at Michigan. He didn’t need any introduction. According to some of the drivers, he made comments in the discussions, but there wasn’t a main address on leadership plans for the sport.
“It was good to have Jim there. He spoke up, gave his two cents a few times, which is pretty cool,” council member Joey Logano said. “We were all glad to see that. Everyone was still business as usual in there. I don’t think we spent much time talking about that situation; we focused on still improving the sport, as usual.”
“His love for motor sports, his love for NASCAR has always been very apparent to me. With the decades of experience he has within motor sports, I feel very confident he is going to be able to get in there and lead us.”
Jimmie Johnson
Drivers and NASCAR typically do not discuss details of the drivers council meetings. The 2019 rules package was one of the topics.
Having France in there to hear those discussions was important.
“It’s something special and a big direction from the drivers’ viewpoint,” Johnson said prior to the meeting expecting to see Jim France. “Through all the councils I’ve been on … our senior executive staff has been doing an exceptional job.
“I have really enjoyed seeing how they make the tough decisions they do. I think we have a great executive group, and any interaction from the France family, I think, is only going to just help the whole cause.”
Ty Dillon said he got the impression that it would remain “business as usual” for NASCAR as Jim France serves in an interim role.
“I think Jim is going to do a great job of taking over while Brian gets his personal affairs worked out,” Dillon said Saturday morning following the meeting the night before. “I think everything is in good hands, and it seemed like just having Jim in the meeting — there wasn’t a whole lot said — but just his presence being there was really nice.”
Brian France had not attended a drivers council meeting in a couple of years, so just the presence from Jim mattered. While in attendance, Jim did not address drivers at their prerace meeting Sunday.
“We were all really pleased to see him,” Brad Keselowski said about Jim France’s presence at the council meeting while critical of Brian’s lack of visibility at the race track.
Most of the drivers have met Jim France. Kyle Larson, who has competed in sports cars at the Rolex 24, said he figures he has met him but doesn’t remember.
“I just hope that whoever who is in that position takes it serious and does a good job with it, because there are so many people in this industry that want to see it succeed,” Larson said. “I hope this is a good step to have a good change for us and get some good momentum back for our series.”
Speaking on SiriusXM, team owner Rick Hendrick said he doesn’t expect any hurdles in the transition while also lauding Brian France, who is credited with consolidating the NASCAR television deal into one major package starting in 2001 instead of individual tracks negotiating with networks.
“Brian France is a good friend and a great guy,” Hendrick told the network. “I’m not sure we have a TV deal if it wasn’t for him. I pray for him and I want him to get better.
“I’m there for him if he needs me. Jim France is a racer. He has been a racer all of his life, from motorcycles to IMSA to everything. He is a racer. And he’s going to be awesome in that role.”
Penske also echoed the accomplishments of Brian.
“it’s unfair to speculate in a situation like that,” Penske said when asked about NASCAR’s long-term leadership future. “Brian has done a terrific job with all the things he’s put together. An unfortunate situation occurred a week or so ago. Time will cure it.
“He’ll be a better man, and I think the sport has enough management in place that will make decisions.”
Jim used to have fishing trips where NASCAR owners and drivers would join off the coast in Florida.
“Jim France is my hero,” NASCAR team owner Richard Childress said. “Right now they’ve got some issues they’ve got to work through, and having him here is definitely a plus.”
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