RFK Racing under Brad Keselowski is a team on a mission. Slowly but steadily, it is working on regaining its former glory and becoming the NASCAR powerhouse that it once was. Unfortunately, though, it suffered a huge blow to this goal this week by losing its president of 15 years, Steve Newmark, to the University of North Carolina.
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It has been announced that Newmark will take up the role of an Executive Associate Athletic Director at the university later this summer. Notably, he was integral in leading the Jack Roush-owned team through its downsizing and its current rebuilding under Keselowski. Keselowski was asked about this in a recent interview, and he detailed his thoughts.
“This sport is always transitional,” he said. “Whether it be drivers, crew chiefs, or executives. You just hope that the time people spend in your organization is good for them and good for you. I think there is a lot to be said for that with Steve.” RFK Racing currently fields three teams with Keselowski, Ryan Preece, and Chris Buescher.
Losing a key member at this moment could prove to be harmful to RFK’s goals. However, Keselowski appears to have things under control. He continued to assure fans that he is not in a rush to find a replacement for Newmark and that he will take his time with it. But what are the qualities that he is looking for in the next president?
Keselowski said, “We are still working through that. We are not in a rush. We are in such a great spot. All our major contracts are locked up with drivers and crew chiefs, and most of our people. We have a few small sponsor contracts, but most of our big ones are locked up. So, we feel really good about taking our time and seeing what comes to us.”
Brad Keselowski on RFK Racing President Steve Newmark taking a new job as University of North Carolina athletics director: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/LjU1FisHvX
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 6, 2025
Where Newmark wants to see NASCAR go
Although he won’t be a part of the journey for a long time, Newmark has a certain vision as to where NASCAR ought to go. He explained the same in an episode of Backstretch Banter earlier this year.
He said, “I’ve heard Brazil thrown out on a number of occasions. Selfishly, from a personal perspective, I think it’d be a lot of fun to go down to Brazil. Obviously, they have got a long heritage of motorsports down there. That’d be fun.
“To me, a lot of these locations that are being talked, you hear the Middle East would love to host a race. Again, I am not on the inside of those discussions. I get a lot of it from our team presidents’ meeting or when NASCAR shares information. But I think those are all good signs for the sport.”
While Newmark desires to see the sport expand its presence internationally, he also reiterated that the core, traditional fans in the U.S. must not feel deprived. It would have been quite the advantage for RFK Racing had he chosen to stick with the sport in this journey. But as Keselowski put it, NASCAR is always transitional.
