Jim France, NASCAR’s co-owner and CEO, was near a deal to fund a car in an upcoming race in the league’s top-tier Cup Series before backlash in the garage over the perception of another high-profile conflict of interest in motorsports ownership led him to scrap the plans, The Athletic has learned.
France was set to financially support an entry to be operated by Spire Motorsports, a team that has been competing in various NASCAR series since 2019, for the Cup road-course race in July at Sonoma Raceway in California. Jack Aitken, a 29-year-old road-course specialist who drives for a France-owned team, Action Express Racing, in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) sports car series, was tabbed to be the driver.
But the deal, which was close to completion, fell apart shortly after The Athletic began asking questions about the arrangement last week.
Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson confirmed the plans but insisted the car would not have been fielded by France’s team directly; it was intended to be a Spire entry staffed by Spire personnel, he said.
Dickerson emphasized France did not get a “good guy deal” and was going to pay the same price anyone else would for having Spire run an extra car, which can stretch resources and cause distractions to the full-time entries.
“I didn’t really even think it was that big of a deal,” Dickerson said. “I didn’t even think it was that deep.”
Still, the idea of France’s financial participation in a Cup race privately rankled some in the NASCAR garage before the deal was finalized, according to conversations with several high-ranking officials around the sport, and ultimately led France to table the idea.
Many in the garage were uncomfortable with the idea of competing against someone who also owned the series, given the potential conflict of interest. Some team executives and personnel worried that this might be a first step toward France forming his own team in NASCAR, similar to how Roger Penske owns both the IndyCar series and its most successful team. In ownership meetings in recent years, team and league sources say, France has expressed interest in that idea.
France and NASCAR both declined to comment for this story.
NASCAR ownership has not competed in Cup Series racing during the sport’s Modern Era, since 1972, but it’s also not the first time the league has rattled manufacturers and teams with a move onto a track. In 2023, NASCAR partnered with Chevrolet and top Cup team Hendrick Motorsports for a special entry into the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France. The announcement of that deal came with little advance notice to rival manufacturers Ford and Toyota or any of their teams.
Rick Hendrick, left, and Jim France at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the two sponsored an entry — to the surprise of some in the NASCAR garage. (Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
For the Sonoma race, France again tried to partner with Chevrolet and Hendrick — but an extra car would have put Hendrick over the four-car limit for a single race. So Spire, which has a professional alliance with Hendrick, entered the picture. The organization, also a Chevrolet partner, has three full-time cars and room for a one-off spot.
But France teaming with Chevrolet, Spire and Hendrick by affiliation (the car would have used a Hendrick engine) did not sit well with other organizations — which was made clear to France.
It’s not clear why France wanted to enter a car in a Cup race, though people within the industry who know the 80-year-old often refer to him as a “racer” with a deep passion for motorsports. NASCAR’s “open” system — which allows anyone with the means to create a team, show up and compete — gave him an opening to put a Cup entry on the track.
France is also familiar with the complications that arise from either owning or being directly associated with a team competing in a series he owns. Since 2014, his Action Express team has won six championships in the top class of the IMSA series, which the France family also owns.
Whatever France’s intentions, the move would have sparked questions from an already skeptical fan base that scrutinizes every NASCAR decision and in-race call to detect perceived favoritism.
The revelation comes as the other major American racing series, IndyCar, struggles with the aftermath of a conflict-of-interest situation on the eve of the Indianapolis 500 last week in which Team Penske was caught with illegal modifications to its cars for the second time in a year. IndyCar issued penalties to the team, and Roger Penske later fired his three top IndyCar officials in an attempt to restore trust and credibility from both fans and those in the IndyCar paddock.
This conflict has not been an issue for NASCAR, but France was poised to enter those waters by putting his IMSA team’s driver in a Cup race at the same time he’s also embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit with two Cup Series teams — 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports. The disagreement centers around NASCAR’s system of charters, which are franchise-like licenses that guarantee entry into every race and additional revenue. The other Cup Series teams all signed the agreement, with some claiming they felt pressured after France threatened to revoke their charters if they did not meet a signing deadline.
Jeff Dickerson, Spire Motorsports’ co-owner, in 2023. Spire was set to operate a car, financed by Jim France, at July’s race in Sonoma. (Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Spire has its roots in a sports agency business that represented drivers, race teams and sponsors — sometimes at odds with each other. Dickerson has been open about navigating that challenge with NASCAR, believing he can “take NASCAR on through negotiations Monday through Thursday and still go race with them, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
“To me and to 13 other non-litigant charter teams, the war is over,” Dickerson said. “I’m partners with NASCAR every day of the week. I’m not in a fight with NASCAR. I already signed my charter.”
Race teams have long said NASCAR does not share enough revenue from the billions in broadcast revenue generated by TV deals, but NASCAR increased the percentage in the new charter agreement and believes it is being more than fair. NASCAR and the France family even carved out a provision that allows them to own and operate chartered race teams, if they choose.
Some of those The Athletic spoke to in the NASCAR garage who learned of France’s plans wondered if his Sonoma move was intended to send a message in the lawsuit, proving it did not cost as much as teams claimed.
But Dickerson said the type of arrangement in this case — paying for another team to field a driver rather than running the car under France’s own team banner — wouldn’t prove that point at all.
“Clearly, through the negotiations for the charter, it feels like NASCAR did not believe the teams (about their financial situations),” Dickerson said. “So if the only way for him and for them to believe the teams (is to run a NASCAR-owned race team), then I am all for that.
“But that was not this deal. This deal was just, ‘Here’s my sponsor, here’s my driver. We think he’ll be good at Sonoma. Can we run Sonoma?’ Cool. Yes. Awesome.”
While the France-backed Spire entry isn’t happening at Sonoma, it still could come together for another Cup race later in the season. After Sonoma, two other road-course races remain on the Cup schedule — Aug. 10 at Watkins Glen and Oct. 5 at the Charlotte Roval. Neither of these races conflict with Aitken’s IMSA schedule.
(Top photo of Jim France at last year’s NASCAR Awards ceremony: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
