NASCAR Rumor Mill: Could the France Family Finally Consider Selling the Sport?

After over 75 years of keeping NASCAR a stable ground for teams, drivers, and fans to satisfy their thirst for speed, the France family finds itself in a predicament like no other. The recent lawsuit settlement, public dissatisfaction, and the resignation of the organization’s commissioner have all presented hurdles that it has never faced before. Could being pushed into this corner result in an extreme decision?

In other words, could the family finally sell the NASCAR brand after creating and protecting it for decades? Well, that’s the word around the block for now.

Founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, the promotion is now being run by his 81-year-old son, Jim France, and his granddaughter, Lisa France. As we battle this question, a report from puck.news states that serious talks have already been held.

The family had hired Goldman Sachs back in 2018 to explore a potential sale. NBC Universal was also interested in purchasing a stake eight years ago, but it went nowhere after its parent company, Comcast, chose to invest nearly $40 billion in Sky instead. With the result of the lawsuit and the fiasco that it generated, rumor has it that these talks could appear again.

Unlike most other owner-sports relationships, the France family has complete control over NASCAR. It has sustained the sport for so long as the sole decision maker, and that deserves credit, despite the current sentiment against it. But for the sake of the future growth of the sport, there is a great need for it to become more accommodating and let other players inside the field. 

NASCAR has allowed private equity investors to invest in team charters in the past. According to the report, media companies and key members of the private equity world are in discussions over what having at least a minority control in the platform would be like. It is also quite probable that companies like Liberty and TKO, which already own other sports platforms, could be interested. 

Interestingly, Race Team Alliance executive director Jonathan Marshall had testified that even some Cup Series teams would be interested in purchasing stakes in the racing series if they had the chance. All we have right now are rumors. The sanctioning body is firmly cruising towards the 2026 season. At this point, there is no way of knowing if a foot is already in the door and if the France family is finally willing to let go of the control it has enjoyed for so long.