On Thursday, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported that NASCAR CEO and co-owner Jim France had been in negotiations to fund a NASCAR Cup Collection entry for the July 20 race at Sonoma Raceway.
Whereas the deal for France to finance a Spire Motorsports Chevrolet that may’ve been pushed by Jack Aitken — who drives for France’s IMSA workforce, Motion Categorical Racing — ultimately fell via, it is nonetheless a narrative value noting, particularly given current occasions in each NASCAR and IndyCar.
NASCAR is within the midst of an anti-trust lawsuit that dates again to October 2024, during which the sanctioning physique was referred to as out as a monopoly. In the meantime, IndyCar, which is owned by Roger Penske, is coming off of a controversy-filled week at Indianapolis after a guidelines violation was discovered on two of Penske’s Indianapolis 500 entries previous to qualifying.
Penske, who owns IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, fired three IndyCar executives after the scandal, which got here a 12 months after a push-to-pass scandal rocked Penske’s IndyCar program in 2024.
The American motorsports local weather is in a rocky place relating to executives being concerned in any undertaking with the slightest whiff of corruption or scandal.
France merely placing up funding for a single Cup Collection entry would not have any obvious points by itself, but it surely’s comprehensible why, as Bianchi defined, the storage space was swift to shoot down the thought.
Based on Bianchi, many people within the trade famous the apparent battle of curiosity with NASCAR’s CEO funding a automotive entered right into a NASCAR race, which led to France finally deciding to nix the thought.
Based on Bianchi, Cup Collection races at Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval might nonetheless be on the desk for Aitken to drive in a France-funded entry. Nonetheless, it would not be shocking to see the trade as soon as once more wrinkle its nostril on the thought — and given the present local weather round executives in American auto racing leagues in the meanwhile, which may be a blessing in disguise for France.
