Unlike other U.S. sports entities, NASCAR remains a family-owned business. Bill France Sr. founded the racing circuit way back in 1948, when stock car racing’s Prohibition-era roots were barely memories. The outfit is currently run by Jim France, Bill’s 81-year-old son, and granddaughter Lesa France Kennedy. As team valuations have skyrocketed in recent years, some of the largest companies in the sports business have beaten a path to the Frances’ office to try and persuade the family to cash out. The family has entertained some conversations: In 2018, they hired Goldman Sachs to explore a potential sale. NBCUniversal came close to a deal eight years ago before parentco Comcast spent $40 billion on Sky instead.

The Frances have always remained steadfast in their commitment to keep NASCAR private, but a bruising past few months have tested that resolve. It was recently revealed that commissioner Steve Phelps referred to tenured team owner Richard Childress as “a stupid redneck” in an unfortunate text chain while the circuit was fighting off Michael Jordan’s much-publicized antitrust lawsuit. NASCAR settled the suit anyway, and team charters will now function as evergreen licenses rather than contracts to be renewed with new media rights deals. On Tuesday, Phelps resigned.

The lawsuit and its aftermath have heightened the sense that the France family may be more open to outside investors in the sanctioning body. NASCAR has allowed private equity firms to invest in team charters in the past, essentially mirroring other professional leagues that have allowed them to take minority stakes in teams. Sources say that media companies and private equity players have had informal talks about what it would look like to take a minority stake in the racing series.

Anyway, my phone has been buzzing with these rumors all week. Some have wondered whether the France family could be looking for strategic partners—like real estate companies that could develop around the circuit’s tracks—rather than selling an equity stake in the business. Others, of course, are hopeful this could be the first step toward an outright sale. There are plenty of companies that could be interested, including groups like Liberty, which owns Formula One, and TKO, which owns UFC and WWE. There’s the long list of private equity companies that already have a ton of sports investments, like Ares, Arctos, and Sixth Street. Then there are media companies that have long sought to own their own content. To be fair, this is all premature, and there’s been no indication that’s about to happen…

Race Team Alliance executive director Jonathan Marshall testified that some NASCAR teams would be open to buying equity positions in the racing series, per this SBJ report. Nothing’s imminent. But there does appear to be edging toward a green flag.

Phelps’s resignation was not the only monumental sports business departure on Tuesday. A few hours later, Fox Sports president and C.O.O. Mark Silverman announced his own exit after an eight-year run. Silverman had been working on an exit plan with Fox Sports’s C.E.O. and executive producer, Eric Shanks, since last summer. In an email to staff on Tuesday, Silverman wrote: “There is a feeling inside telling me that it is time to move on. I have learned and seen firsthand that life is indeed short, and for me, this is the right time to leave.”

Naturally, much of the focus has been on his departure. Since joining Fox in 2018, he’s earned the reputation as the grown-up in the room, setting the network’s strategy with college football. But I’m more interested in what the decision to have Brad Zager replace Silverman says about Shanks’s own succession plan.

Yes, yes, Shanks isn’t going anywhere: Not only is Fox on a roll, but Shanks is well-liked and respected by top Fox Corp executives. But it should come as little surprise that Zager, Fox Sports’s president of production and operations, appears to be his heir apparent. Throughout its 32-year history, Fox Sports has been run by executives with production chops. David Hill launched the division in 1994 and Ed Goren ran it as president until 2010, which is when Shanks took over. Zager, who moved to Japan in 2012 to launch a network, certainly fits that mold.

On linear TV ad sales: “On your great pod with Mark Marshall, he referenced that ‘72 percent of impressions are still on linear.’ I’d love to know more specifics about exactly what he was quoting. I agree that linear still provides a tremendous value, but that number seems high in a world of zillions of TikTok and YouTube impressions.” —A media executive

[Ed. note: Mark was talking about impressions during live sports, an area that’s still dominated by broadcast television.]

On outdoor hockey: “I was at the Winter Classic in Miami, and went to the one at Citi Field in 2018 and Stadium Series at Yankee Stadium in 2014. The atmosphere was incredible. Everyone who attended came away much more impressed than people who watched it on TV. With back-to-back Stanley Cup champions and the NY–FL contingency, it was absolutely electric. That doesn’t sell TV ads—but makes for a great live experience!” —A finance executive

On the professionalization of youth sports: “With all this money being thrown at youth sports, maybe the NFL will have 15 QBs that matter in the next decade.” —A media executive

Have a great weekend. See you Monday,

John