Steve Phelps Resigns

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps announces his resignation, how will NASCAR move forward?

By Aidan Pellegrino

January 8th, 2026

PHOENIX, AZ. - Steve Phelps stands at the podium giving a speech at the yearly NASCAR Awards Show at JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa located in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Within the past two days, there has been an intriguing development within NASCAR’s corporate leadership. This is that NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has formally tendered his resignation from the sport and will fully step down by the end of the month. Phelps has worked at NASCAR since 2005, right at the height of the sport’s popularity, and began to take a greater leadership role after the arrest of former NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

Phelps is often credited with helping NASCAR attempt to reach new audiences through new venues, including the Chicago Street Course, Los Angeles Coliseum and Mexico City, on top of bringing the sport back to some of its more historic locations, such as North Wilkesboro and Rockingham Speedway. During his leadership, Phelps was able to coordinate a successful return to competition during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, making NASCAR the first major sporting league to do so.

Despite the positives, Phelps’ tenure was met with a fair amount of criticism, the most prominent being his defense of the controversial NASCAR playoff format and how that format determines a legitimate champion. However, it is important to note these criticisms are not the reason Phelps has decided to resign. It is believed the most likely reason for Phelps’ resignation is the result of the charter lawsuit between NASCAR and a joint effort between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. During this court case, private text messages between NASCAR executives — which included Phelps and NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell — featured Phelps making unprofessional and negative remarks about multiple prominent figures within the sport. The most inflammatory comments were made about team owner Richard Childress, in which Phelps wrote, “Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.” This outburst was suspected to have been written in relation to how frustrating the charter negotiations have become between NASCAR and the teams, but despite the difficulty of the negotiations, these kinds of comments directed at a business partner are objectively inexcusable.

This also leaves a very important question now that Phelps is resigning: Where does NASCAR go from here in terms of its leadership? Phelps remains the only notable departure as of now. O’Donnell is still the president of NASCAR, and Jim France remains the CEO. NASCAR is also expected to reveal a new version of the points format Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in a press conference in Concord, N.C., a full month before the new season starts with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. As of today, NASCAR has not made any moves toward replacing Phelps’ position as commissioner, which was made clear in an official statement Jan. 6, 2026: “NASCAR has not announced any additional leadership or personnel changes as Phelps’ departure comes during a time of stability with an exceptional leadership team in place that ensures the continuity of NASCAR’s strategic vision and critical execution.”

At this time, it cannot be determined exactly how Phelps’ departure will impact the sport, and the most that can be done is to observe and report on the leadership decisions made by NASCAR’s most prominent figures, such as Jim France, Steve O’Donnell and Ben Kennedy.