This is not France’s first time holding the wheel. Son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., he joined International Speedway Corporation (ISC) in 1959 and spent time working in many areas of the company. In 1999, France founded the Grand-Am series, and he was a driving force behind the 2012 merger of Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series.

In recent years, France has had a hand in the Daytona Rising project and the acquisition of the ARCA Menards Series as well as the ISC/NASCAR merger. Since taking charge, France has also overseen the massive push with the Next Gen car, changes to the post-race inspection policy where teams can now be stripped of a race win, and continued work on the 2021 schedule.

“With him in charge right now, let’s just say things are calmer, I believe,” says Wood. “There’s less shenanigans going on. We have penalties [where] you could lose a race. We never had that before, so that makes you think not once or twice or three times, that makes you think about a dozen times, ‘I better not do something wrong’ because you could lose a race. I don’t want to be the guy that has to call his sponsor, Ford or John Menard, and say, ‘Hey, we messed up.’ But I think that’s one of the bigger improvements. It’s like getting back tighter the rules, and I think Jim was a big influence in that. I think he looks out for the sport.”

Kyle Busch is “really thrilled” and “pleased” to see France as involved and around as much as he’s been. It is also a big deal to have France and niece Lesa France Kennedy put in the investment they have, particularly in bringing together ISC and NASCAR.

The garage feels it is being heard. Joe Gibbs, another to praise France’s accessibility, said most of the time France picks up right away when called.

“I think he really cares about NASCAR, his family,” says Gibbs. “He looks at it as that’s their legacy, and so I think he’s what you want as somebody who really cares and is all over it, and I think he is.”

Wilson has found himself texting with France: something he did not do with Brian.

“Jim is just so engaging and so engaged, so he has in his relatively short period on board made such an impact to the sport,” admits Wilson. “From an OEM perspective, he’s already been to Texas, to our North American headquarters, twice in the span of about 90 days. He genuinely wants his OEMs to be happy with where they are in the sport, and this initiative he is driving, this next-generation car.

“Jim listened to us as a stakeholder; he took our point of view very seriously, and has worked ever since then to make sure we’re in a good place. We think a tremendous amount of him, and as a leader, I have developed a tremendous amount of respect for his style of leadership.”

For Mark Rushbrook and Ford Performance, working with France is just the continuation of a great relationship developed through the manufacturer’s participation in IMSA. France’s same basic approach of observing, understanding what is going on, and being able to relate to the different perspectives before making a competent decision is now in play in NASCAR.
Teams like Roush Fenway appreciate France’s renewed levels of engagement. Image by Harrelson/LAT

Taking into consideration and understanding all perspectives, from fan to manufacturer and others in the garage, was a point of interest to Marcus Smith, president and CEO of SMI.

“This is a really complex sport, and Jim has a great grasp of it all,” says Smith. “I think that’s been a huge positive impact.”

Says Steve Newmark, president of Roush Fenway Racing: “His engagement has been off the charts. He has a taken not just a business, but personal, interest in everything that is a part of the sport, and in particular, the teams and the team owners. Jim on his own has come here, and showed up and visited with Jack [Roush] and myself, just to talk about the state of the sport, what he could be doing better, and I have a ton of respect for that.

“He has been very engaged, and he is unbelievably accessible. Now that doesn’t mean we always agree with the direction that he goes, but if you go in and ask him, he’s going to give you a straight answer and explain to you why this is important.

“Quite frankly, it removes some of the suspicion or skepticism when you’re able to have a conversation and understand what the rationale behind something is. I think he’s done a brilliant job of coordinating with the teams and the team owners.”

Gibbs and Smith are two of those who are excited about NASCAR’s direction under France’s leadership. Go Fas Racing general manager Mason St. Hilaire is another.

“As weird as it sounds,[I] love the guy,” says St. Hilaire of France. “When you meet him, he’s just a regular guy. He is just a regular guy that wants the betterment of the sport, and he’s everywhere, all the time, at the racetrack. He’ll come up to me: ‘Mason, how we doing? Really love what you guys are doing with your program.’ Just having that guy there every weekend and then really pushing forward with both bringing Ben [Kennedy, Truck Series GM] in and having Lesa and everybody working together as a family.

“Jim cares, and he’s been doing a fabulous job. It’s good to have him there knowing that NASCAR cares as much as we do for the betterment of the sport. He’s understandable. The guy is quiet; he’s got a very quiet demeanor, but it’s a very strong demeanor. You know he’s there. He’s always listening, he’s always paying attention, and he’s easily relatable and easy to talk to. If you have a problem or an issue, he will talk with you, and he’ll go, ‘Oh yeah, that is a very good point,’ and he’s knowledgeable enough to be able to come back and be like, ‘What do you think of this?’ And you’re like, ‘Oh, this makes a lot of sense as well.’”

Liking those you’re in business with isn’t automatic. When it comes to Jim France, it appears the garage has found him not only likable, but easy to deal with.

“He has character,” says Wilson. “When you’re dealing with difficult issues, you never have to question his character and his motivation, his integrity. It’s beyond reproach. That’s pretty cool.”
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