Steve O’Donnell On Becoming The First CEO Of NASCAR + The Future Of Of NASCAR | Racin'

Recorded: July 21st 2026 | Welcome back to another episode of Racin’ With The Boys. This week we have a very special guest and the first CEO in the history of NASCAR, Steve O’Donnell. The boys immediately start off the pod on Steve’s journey to becoming the first CEO of NASCAR and all the “luck” that went into his rise to the top. He reflects on some decisions he’s made that were wins as well as some decisions he made that may have not been the best. Will and Taylor then ask Steve what it will take for NASCAR to reach the dominance it had during the 90’s and early 2000’s. Steve gets into how every decision he makes, he tries to listen to the core fan base of NASCAR and make sure that they like the direction the sport is heading. Will and Taylor end up giving some ideas to Steve that may actually help. One of which being a ranking system sort of like how high school football uses the star system.  Finally the guys get into what the possibility of NASCAR free agency could look like. Also what it would look like if there was an F1 v NASCAR series or what it would take in order for NASCAR to reach the same height as F1. Steve is unlike any CEO/Commissioner of any other sport. He seems to have his fingers on the pulse and is not your typical corporate CEO. With Steve at the helm of NASCAR, there is no place for the sport to go other than up. Enjoys fellas.   0:00 Intro2:48 Getting To Bring The First CEO Of NASCAR6:37 The “Luck” of Getting To Where He Is8:57 Big Decisions That Were Wins 11:18 Mistake That Were Made13:32 What Needs To Happen To Bring NASCAR Back14:50 Bring Back Rivalries19:54 Listening To The Fans When It Comes to Decisions26:46 Who Is NASCAR Competing With? 29:44 Barrier Of Entry Of NASCAR 39:11 Getting Back To The Old Practice Ways40:20 F1 vs NASCAR?44:04 NASCAR Free Agency?48:54 Big 3 In NASCAR50:52 Vision For The Future Of NASCAR54:42 Separation Between Professional And Personal 57:27 Not A Corporate CEO59:41 Growing Up In Egypt1:03:11 Offseason Hobbies1:07:36 What Made NASCAR So Miserable A Couple Years Ago1:12:07 Growing The Sport For The YouthSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.