Bloomberg Hot Pursuit! · Oct 2, 2026 · 45m · 37m saved
With Steve O'Donnell, CEO of NASCAR
Photo: Pfc. Deviana M. Rodriguez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Steve O'Donnell took an unpaid internship with a minor-league baseball team for eight months, then made about $14,000 a year for three or four more, before becoming the first person from outside the France family to run NASCAR.
Most of NASCAR's leadership has come up through that family's own bloodline. O'Donnell got there from a baseball front office, and says the habit that explains his three decades at the top is hiring people who know more than he does.
"I'd say the biggest lesson I've learned is, hire people who are smarter than you." — Steve O'Donnell
O'Donnell has run NASCAR's competition and business operations for 30 years by his own account, and is overseeing the sport's push to add manufacturers, modernize its playoff and fix a fractured TV deal, on Bloomberg's Hot Pursuit.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 45 minutes of audio, 8 minutes of reading.
Here are the 8 lessons that matter.
Key Takeaways
NASCAR's modified race car ran 24 hours at Le Mans to prove a point about itself
The Garage 56 entry raced against European crowds who had never seen a stock car
NASCAR is trying to re-earn a spot among America's "big four" sports
O'Donnell says people forget NASCAR until asked directly, then respond "Oh yeah. NASCAR."
NASCAR is copying Formula One's playbook on team principals and pit crews
Former D1 athletes staff pit road, and NASCAR wants to tell their stories
The playoff resets to 10 races because the old point system let whole races stop mattering
Dodge could return to the Cup Series, but O'Donnell will only say he's "cautiously optimistic"
A woman could return to a prominent Cup seat, and NASCAR's own female racers rejected a separate series
"Hell no," was the answer when NASCAR asked whether they wanted their own series
Splitting the Cup Series across five networks was, in O'Donnell's words, "an education" for fans
Trucks are all on FS1, but Cup races this year run on Fox, Amazon, TNT, USA and NBC
1. Proving Americana at Le Mans
Asked what NASCAR offers a fan who has never watched a race, O'Donnell said the pitch is raw speed and access, not polish.
"We want it to be about that Americana, the Mustangs of the world, and folks coming in and really experiencing the sport." — Steve O'Donnell
The Garage 56 entry at Le Mans was the clearest proof of that pitch
NASCAR took a modified Next Gen car to the 24-hour race with Jimmie Johnson and Jenson Button driving, built with Hendrick Motorsports and Goodyear to survive a full day of racing instead of a few hundred miles. O'Donnell said the European reaction to the car confirmed what the sport should be selling.
"This is who we are. We're loud." — Steve O'Donnell
The car's pit crew also recorded the fastest stop of the event using manual jacks, which O'Donnell said surprised people. He would not rule out NASCAR racing a points race at Le Mans or in Europe one day.
