NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has addressed growing questions surrounding private equity’s expanding role in the sport. He also clarified that outside capital is welcome within race teams, and it does help improve the quality of the product overall.
However, the France family has no intention of relinquishing control of the sanctioning body itself. The family has owned and operated NASCAR since its founding in 1948 by Bill France Sr.
NASCAR Commissioner Shuts Down Ownership Rumors
Speaking candidly in an interview, the commissioner explained why private equity involvement in race teams is bringing structure and expertise to NASCAR’s race teams.
.@StevePhelps: “We’re either gonna settle or we’re gonna go to court. Do I think we’d be willing to entertain a settlement? Yeah. To date, they have not come with anything. I don’t even know what their demands are. I don’t even know what they’re suing for.”https://t.co/1pjW5AwivO
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 15, 2025
Phelps explained, “They’re (P.E. firms) providing three things to the race teams. They’re providing expertise that the race teams don’t have. A lot of these private equity folks that are coming into NASCAR own part of NFL, NBA, NHL, or Major League Soccer franchises, and they’re bringing different ideas to those race teams. They’re also providing capital, which is a good thing for the owner of these particular charters.”
Phelps also explained why private equity firms have become increasingly drawn to NASCAR’s teams. “For starters, we had charter extensions last year. The amount of money that NASCAR provided as part of these extensions really went up significantly,” he said.
“Every dollar that we got incremental to our new media deals went to our race teams — every single dollar, plus money that came out of NASCAR’s pockets and the tracks’ pockets to give to the race teams.”
This financial boost was part of a deliberate effort to make race teams more profitable, a strategy the commissioner believes leads directly to better racing.
However, Phelps firmly shut down any speculation that P.E. could eventually have a stake in NASCAR itself, similar to evolving models in college conferences.
“We are privately held by the France family, and we’re not interested in selling,” the NASCAR commissioner confirmed. “We’re thrilled that P.E.s are coming in with the race teams. That’s certainly not something that we are entertaining at this point.”
With private equity’s presence continuing to reshape race team operations, the commissioner’s remarks clarify that while NASCAR welcomes private equity investment at the race teams level, ownership of the series itself remains off the table.