CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR’s chairman had a stronger second day of testimony Wednesday as the final witness called by the plaintiffs’ side in the federal antitrust lawsuit against the stock-car series, with Jim France explaining that advice from his late parents helped shape his stance against granting teams permanent charters in the new revenue-sharing model.
NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates opened the eighth day of the trial by asking the 81-year-old France how old he is and if he wears hearing aids (he does) as he walked the soft-spoken executive through a background that included working for the family business in various roles since high school, interrupted by a stint serving in Vietnam.
NASCAR, the largest motorsports series in the United States, was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. and remains privately owned by the Florida-based family. Jim said he was raised with two core principles passed down from his parents.
His mother, credited with helping her husband build NASCAR from nothing, told her two sons to always pay their bills. Bill Sr. advised them to “do what you say you’re going to do.”
It was those two principles that led to France’s refusal to budge on permanent charters in the 2025 revenue-sharing agreement.