Drawing from his motorsports background—including 11 years as a driver—NASCAR’s vice president of racing development and his team are focused on the premier sanctioning body’s continuity through an expanding fan base and changing technological landscape.

For every day of his life, motorsports has been close at hand for Ben Kennedy. The great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France (Big Bill), Kennedy embraced auto racing on his own terms when he began a successful driving career that progressed to a full-time presence on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from 2014 to 2016.

A graduate of the University of Florida, Kennedy’s career path took a turn in recent years as he stepped away from driving to focus on the family business—NASCAR. At 29 years of age, Kennedy is regarded as an important member of the next generation of motorsports leadership. In February 2020, he was elevated to vice president, racing development of NASCAR, with a focus on scheduling and the regulations that govern the sport. Kennedy previously served as general manager of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Kennedy’s ascension to vice president came during a year teeming with challenges. The COVID-19 crisis threatened the NASCAR season this past March, just as NASCAR was in the midst of developing several key initiatives such as the Next Gen car and the first major schedule realignment in many years. But Kennedy and his colleagues rallied, and the 2020 NASCAR season was successfully completed this past November at Phoenix Raceway.

In the brief interlude between racing seasons, Industry Insights caught up with Kennedy to discuss a range of topics, including the 2020 race season, his leadership goals, and NASCAR’s future plans.

PRI: When the checkered flag waved at Phoenix for the 2020 season-ending weekend, what was going through your mind? Relief? Happiness? Amazement?

Kennedy: I think a little bit of everything. It was great not only to get Phoenix and our championship in, but our entire season. We’re one of the few—if not the only—sports out there to get our season in, in its entirety. We were able to crown a champion without any asterisks. We were excited to get the weekend in, and to get our season in. We’re ready to focus on next year, with an eye on Daytona 2021. (Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted in December 2020.)

PRI: You moved into your current position at NASCAR just weeks before the COVID-19 crisis arrived. I suspect it’s been difficult to figure out what “normal” will be like in your new position.

Kennedy: Without a doubt. We’re trying to figure out what the new normal looks like. Really, not only globally but within our sport. This past year has challenged all of us, and it’s challenged the sport and the industry. We certainly accomplished a lot in 2020 getting our season in and being the first major sport to do so. 

It’s brought a unique opportunity for us to continue to work together better than we ever have before. It’s also been an opportunity to try new things, too. We’ve tried things like midweek racing and double-headers, shaking up the schedule. We went to the road course here in Daytona in August, for example. It was an opportunity for us to take a step outside the box that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. From race procedures and everything that goes into a weekend, it’s really challenged us. To see the entire sport lean into something like this and make the best of it, that’s incredible. 

PRI: You raced extensively the past few years, and that’s obviously very valuable experience. How much does your experience shape the management approach you take?

Kennedy: It’s been very helpful. There are times when I look back on my racing career, and at times I didn’t think I’d be able to apply what I learned to anything except driving a race car. There are so many things that were easily taken for granted; now I look back and say, “Wow, those were really valuable experiences.” They added a lot of perspective. But being able to be a driver and being on the team ownership side and competing every weekend, it has given me so much insight into things that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn. Particularly on the competition side, it’s been really helpful, and we actually still have a (Late Model stock car) race team we own and operate. Having that perspective as you talk to drivers and team owners is really helpful because you can see the world from a different light.

One of the things that makes our sport so unique and interesting is that we come to the track every weekend, whether you’re on the NASCAR side, the officiating side, the broadcasting side, the driver’s side, the team’s side, the fan’s side—everyone comes and experiences the race weekend in a completely different way. But the cool thing is that we all come together to race and put on a great show for our fans. It’s unique how we’re all living a different world, but at the end of the day on Friday and Saturday and Sunday we all come together to put on a great show.

PRI: You’ve had the opportunity to experience racing in Europe. Do you foresee NASCAR holding races with your three national series outside the US? Where’s the most likely place that could happen?

Kennedy: That’s a good question. We have a lot of great international series right now, our series in Canada and our series in Mexico, our series in Europe. It’s amazing when you tell people that we race in 10 different countries, and we have a fan base in each of those markets. At our races in Mexico, we have 25,000 to 30,000 people there. Even Europe has grown significantly over the past few years. When we go to Brands Hatch, we have 40,000 to 50,000 people. It’s great to have that international presence from a touring standpoint. From a national series standpoint, that’s something we’re interested in, particularly in North America. Our international series gives us the opportunity to test the water a little bit in those markets where we have interest. At the same time, we’ll keep it on our radar as we think about expansion of our national series as well. 

PRI: From day one you’ve been surrounded by motorsports. What are your earliest memories of racing?

Kennedy: Probably my earliest memories are coming out to Daytona 500 every year. We’d come out here every February and every July. Those were the events when I was really young. Then, as I was growing up we would go to probably 15 to 20 events a year. As soon as I got out of school at 3 p.m. on Friday we’d head straight for the airport and head for wherever we were racing that weekend. There were a lot of trips to Talladega, a lot of trips to Michigan, a lot of trips to Darlington and a number of other tracks. It was just so neat to be around the industry at that time and get to experience it from that perspective growing up. It’s amazing the different relationships you make through the years. And we still have those relationships today in the garage area within our sport. It has certainly proved valuable to grow up around this and take on the position I have at NASCAR. 

PRI: I’m going to look beyond the NASCAR horizons for a moment, to motorsports as a whole. By many indicators our sport is healthy, but we still seem to be challenged in some areas. For example, reaching and maintaining fans outside of our traditional boundaries is still very challenging. What’s the greatest challenge facing motorsports in the next generation?

Kennedy: I think this is both a challenge and an opportunity, but the acceleration of the changing car culture we have today is something. And figuring out what that looks like for the future of motorsports. It’s a challenge in the sense that (automobiles) are quickly going to the hybrid or even autonomous platform, and all the manufacturers today are pursuing this very hard. GM coming out with the (electric) Hummer and announcing it a few weeks ago (in late 2020); Ford certainly has their focus on that as well, and Toyota, too. Along with different types of power plants as well. That brings up a lot of questions surrounding the future of motorsports, and what it might look like. At the same time this is an opportunity for us to continue to think about what our current series looks like going forward. I’m not saying that we’d change everything with the Cup series tomorrow, but this is an opportunity to be innovative. 

The cool thing about our sport, unlike others, is that not only do you have the driver and the machine and the team around them, but you also have everything that goes into that and how it’s created. There is a unique opportunity for us to continue to tell that story on how they built the car, how they developed the car, and all the technology that goes on around it. So I think to answer your question, it’s a challenge but it’s an opportunity for us to think about.

PRI: As you raced, and as you prepared for your current role, who influenced you, Ben? Who had a big impact on the way you look at things?

Kennedy: Hmm...I’d say naturally, my mother (Lesa France Kennedy) probably had a big role in that. Not only having the personal relationship, but having the professional relationship as well. Growing up around her, getting to see her go through some of the big wins throughout her career, and frankly, some of the big challenges, too. I think that’s given me some perspective on my role and my day-to-day life. Growing up and having racing be the dinner table conversation every night, about our sport and our industry and all the things going on, that helped give me a lot of perspective. 

More recently, being able to work with (NASCAR President) Steve Phelps and (NASCAR EVP and Chief Racing Development Officer) Steve O’Donnell and the group here at NASCAR, it’s amazing to see not only the amount of talent and intelligence there, but the amount of experience. Our entire team, with a number of people who have been here for 25, 30 years or more. They know this industry through and through. 

That’s something I didn’t realize as a driver. I thought I knew a lot about the sport, but coming over to the business side, I realized there are so many things I didn’t understand. Decisions were being made at that time and I didn’t know the background on, and why we were going in a certain direction. When you learn that perspective it certainly brings a lot of things to light. But working with Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell, they’ve shared a lot of that with me and it has given me a whole new perspective on where our sport is today and where we want it to be in the future.

PRI: Many of us follow one of our parents into their profession. Your mother was involved in racing, and your late father was a surgeon. Was there ever any debate in your mind on what you might want to do? Did you ever consider the medical field?

Kennedy: That’s a good question. I’ve always been intrigued with medicine and health care and have a ton of respect for those individuals, especially now more than ever. Thankfully, I had many great experiences with my dad in and around his office and practice, and really enjoyed watching him do what he was so passionate about. With that said, my passion has always been around racing and motorsports. Growing up at a young age and going to all of the Daytona 500s as well as many other races, naturally you’re drawn to the sport. This was elevated even more when I had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a car as well. There is nothing that can replace making laps around the track, and I believe I have tried to carry that passion over to the business side of the sport as well.

PRI: Obviously the challenge for any young leader is to set themselves apart. Along that line, what’s the most important element that you want to define you personally? When people think of you, what qualities do you want them to associate with you?

Kennedy: I want to not only be a good leader, but also a good friend and ally to the industry. My biggest thing is that I want whatever is best for the sport. I can tell you first and foremost that I don’t have any personal agendas at all. Whatever is best for this sport, that’s what I want to see happen. Whether there are changes in our schedule, the Next Gen car, redevelopment projects, whatever. I want to be behind the things that are good for the sport. That’s the biggest thing. And I want to focus on our future. I know we’ve talked about it here a little bit, but just to strategically position our sport over the next five, 10, 15 years. It’s a road map to our future, and we want to be a leader in that perspective. And we want to do it with a measured and thoughtful approach. Those are the biggest things I try to focus on every day.

PRI: We all look back at our formative years and think about things we might do differently, or maybe might smooth out a little bit. What advice would you give to a 15- or 16-year-old Ben Kennedy? What would you tell him if you could?

Kennedy: I would tell him that whatever you are passionate about, whatever you want to do, push yourself 110 percent in that direction. Working in NASCAR, being a racing driver, whatever that career looks like, push yourself to get out of your comfort zone and lean into whatever space that is. I would tell him that, and I would also tell him, hey, it’s going to be okay. When you’re young and don’t know what you don’t know, in high school and college and with no business experience, frankly that can be intimidating to try and understand what’s on the other side for you. Everything is going to be okay at the end of the day. That’s what I’d tell him.

PRI: We’ll close with this. Over the next couple of years, Ben, what’s the most exciting development that’s coming for NASCAR? What one thing would you point to with a genuine sense of enthusiasm?

Kennedy: It’s a number of things. And that’s a testament to the leadership group we have here, working better together than we have in a really long time. Thinking about the 2021 schedule we have on the board, it’s going to be fantastic. And the evolution of the schedule in 2022 and 2023 and beyond. Everything that we are doing with the Next Gen car, that’s going to open so many doors to continue to bring development to our sport, building a racing car that is better than we’ve ever seen before. And opening the door to new team ownership, that’s exciting as well. I think we’ll see a lot of new teams, and the next generation of new drivers as well. We’ve got quite a pipeline right now. And the overall fan experience, we’re living in a day and age when technology and innovation is changing more quickly than it ever has before. Developing the fan experience and the future of our tracks is good, and a lot outside of that, too. And there are other areas that are exciting, too. The future is certainly bright.

PRI: We appreciate you giving us some time, Ben. We wish you and everyone at NASCAR all the best for this coming racing season.

Kennedy: I appreciate that. Thank you, Dave.