Earlier this week, news broke that the France family, the family that founded and owns a majority stake in the stock car racing organization NASCAR, is looking to sell the sanctioning body to another company, and that Goldman Sachs intends to facilitate such a sale. Very little is known about any individuals or companies that might be interested in buying NASCAR, although, depending on what might be sold along with the sanctioning body (it's not clear if ARCA, a stock car racing organization recently acquired by NASCAR, and/or the sports car racing organization IMSA would be included in the sale, for example), the sale could be valued as much as several billion dollars. On a related note, Brian France, the grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr., has been rumored as a possible buyer of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, although I doubt that a member of the France family will buy the Panthers.
NASCAR has been in decline in recent years for a couple of major reasons. First, superstar drivers like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Tony Stewart have retired in recent years, with the top-level NASCAR Cup Series currently being dominated by drivers who, while successful, don't have the broad popularity to draw massive numbers of fans to NASCAR races, such as Martin Truex, Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. Second, NASCAR has become a very gimmicky sport due to rule changes over the past 15 years or so (such as the green-white-checkered finish rule and stage racing) and an increasingly complex playoff system that has made NASCAR more like a reality show than a sports league, while, at the same time, the racing on the track has become less competitive in recent years.
It is extremely rare for an entire sports league or sanctioning body to come up for sale, and, without much being known about who or what might be interested in buying NASCAR, I will name a number of theoretically potential buyers, sorted by category, although there is some categorical overlap in regards to some of the potential/theoretical buyers.
Another auto racing series/sanctioning body owner
A very logical buyer for an auto racing sanctioning body would be a company that is already actively involved in promoting and managing automobile races. Two companies come to mind immediately: Hulman & Company, which owns the IndyCar open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Liberty Media, which owns the Formula One open-wheel auto racing series. A smaller auto racing sanctioning body like NHRA, USAC, or World of Outlaws would probably not have enough money to buy a much larger and more prominent sanctioning body like NASCAR.
A company that is currently a major advertiser in NASCAR
Numerous prominent corporations currently advertise during NASCAR races in some manner, and these include companies like, although not limited to, Nationwide insurance, The Coca-Cola Company, GEICO insurance, and Smithfield Foods.
A media company
NASCAR's current media partners include 21st Century Fox (which owns Fox and FS1) and Comcast (which owns NBC and NBCSN). Another potential buyer is Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns numerous Fox and NBC affiliates across the country, as well as Tennis Channel, although Sinclair seems to be more interested in trying to beat Fox News at their own game right now.
One or more former NASCAR drivers
I don't know if any current or former NASCAR driver is wealthy enough to buy the sport from the France family, although I could envision several former drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, etc. teaming up to buy NASCAR.
Jay Leno
He is a car enthusiast, although I doubt that he's wealthy enough to buy NASCAR by himself, although I could envision Leno being part of a group of owners buying NASCAR.
NASCAR has been in decline in recent years for a couple of major reasons. First, superstar drivers like Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Tony Stewart have retired in recent years, with the top-level NASCAR Cup Series currently being dominated by drivers who, while successful, don't have the broad popularity to draw massive numbers of fans to NASCAR races, such as Martin Truex, Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. Second, NASCAR has become a very gimmicky sport due to rule changes over the past 15 years or so (such as the green-white-checkered finish rule and stage racing) and an increasingly complex playoff system that has made NASCAR more like a reality show than a sports league, while, at the same time, the racing on the track has become less competitive in recent years.
It is extremely rare for an entire sports league or sanctioning body to come up for sale, and, without much being known about who or what might be interested in buying NASCAR, I will name a number of theoretically potential buyers, sorted by category, although there is some categorical overlap in regards to some of the potential/theoretical buyers.
Another auto racing series/sanctioning body owner
A very logical buyer for an auto racing sanctioning body would be a company that is already actively involved in promoting and managing automobile races. Two companies come to mind immediately: Hulman & Company, which owns the IndyCar open-wheel auto racing sanctioning body and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Liberty Media, which owns the Formula One open-wheel auto racing series. A smaller auto racing sanctioning body like NHRA, USAC, or World of Outlaws would probably not have enough money to buy a much larger and more prominent sanctioning body like NASCAR.
A company that is currently a major advertiser in NASCAR
Numerous prominent corporations currently advertise during NASCAR races in some manner, and these include companies like, although not limited to, Nationwide insurance, The Coca-Cola Company, GEICO insurance, and Smithfield Foods.
A media company
NASCAR's current media partners include 21st Century Fox (which owns Fox and FS1) and Comcast (which owns NBC and NBCSN). Another potential buyer is Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns numerous Fox and NBC affiliates across the country, as well as Tennis Channel, although Sinclair seems to be more interested in trying to beat Fox News at their own game right now.
One or more former NASCAR drivers
I don't know if any current or former NASCAR driver is wealthy enough to buy the sport from the France family, although I could envision several former drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, etc. teaming up to buy NASCAR.
Jay Leno
He is a car enthusiast, although I doubt that he's wealthy enough to buy NASCAR by himself, although I could envision Leno being part of a group of owners buying NASCAR.
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