"Three of us run it together" - Steve Phelps breaks down shared responsibilities with Jim France’s family in leading NASCAR

NASCAR President Steve Phelps shared this role in NASCAR leadership alongside the France Family and other board of directors.

This discussion comes amid an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and CEO Jim France. The two teams accusing the organization are 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA star Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports. They claim NASCAR has been using unfair practices that limit teams' financial opportunities.

In an episode of "The Varsity" podcast with the sports correspondent of Puck, Phelps explained how NASCAR is run alongside Jim France, the chairman and CEO, and his niece, Lisa France Kennedy.

"One of our owners, Jim France, is our chairman and CEO. So I would suggest that... Jim and I and then the other owner, Lisa France Kennedy, who’s his niece. I would suggest that the three of us kind of run it together. I do more of the day-to-day. They are on a board of five, and I am on that board as well," said Steve Phelps (05:00).

Jim France, whose father Bill France Sr. started NASCAR in 1948, has been its CEO since August 2018.

Phelps added that he is planning for the future to attract new fans to the sport.

"From a day-to-day standpoint, even from a strategic standpoint, as we’re thinking about three years, five years, ten years from now, those are important things that I am crafting at this particular point. So we are prepared for the next generation of fans," Steve Phelps said (04:25).

NASCAR leadership is also facing criticism from some drivers and fans after they were called "monopolistic bullies" in the lawsuit by the two teams that refused to sign the new charter agreement.

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"For us, it‘s going to be business as usual" - Steve Phelps commented on lawsuit

Steve Phelps also commented on the lawsuit that claimed the new charter system limits competition.

NASCAR argued that 23XI Racing was using a "baseless" antitrust lawsuit to try to get better contract terms in a court filing. It also denied the team's request to speed up the discovery process of documents related to the charter agreements for alleged unfair practices.

"I personally like Michael and think he‘s good for the sport. Do I like that he‘s taking this course of action? I don‘t. Would I like to put it behind us? Yes, I would. I‘m hopeful it can be somewhat speedy. But for us, it‘s going to be business as usual. We‘ve got races to run. We‘re looking to grow. We‘ve got new media partners. There‘s lots of momentum. I just want to make sure that this is not a distraction," Phelps said.

NASCAR says 23XI and Front Row can still race without a charter in 2025.