Since its inception in 1948, NASCAR has been a privately held company owned by the France family, but this might change in the future. As reported by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, NASCAR president Steve Phelps stated that the organization is considering selling an equity stake in the privately owned company.
In 2018, Reuters indicated that NASCAR's primary owners were looking into options, including selling a majority stake. Although nothing materialized from that report, as the France family retained their equity stakes, NASCAR is now open to a potential sale due to the increasing influence of private equity money and sports funds.
“I would suggest that six years ago, regardless of how PE comes into sports in this big way, they weren’t looking to the degree they are now at NASCAR,” Phelps told the Sports Business Journal. “I’ve had many, many conversations myself with these PE firms who are looking to invest in race teams because they want to hear from someone who is out selling it, ‘Where do you see this sport going, what do you believe the future to be?’ And they’re buying what we’re selling, which is fantastic. I believe that PE is good for our sport because they bring money, they bring expertise, and they bring sponsors in many cases, so those are all positive things for our sport.”
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