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He’s good about talking to different people to get the drift of things. “His mind might be made up,” the seven-time champion says, “but you get from his conversation and his questions that there’s still a ‘maybe’ in there, that he’s open for change. Legendary driver-turned-owner Richard Petty calls O’Donnell “a dad-burned good listener” who “gets out amongst the troops” to learn what’s what. “He listens to the whole garage, from first (in points) to 43rd. “He listens to us and understands the importance of our teams and the value in keeping good cars on the track,” says Richard Childress, an 11-time championship owner. His greatest asset seems to be his relationship with the people who put on the shows. I’ll spend a lot of time on upcoming events and scheduling. “I’m making sure we’re aligned from a NASCAR standpoint with where we want to go.
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“I focus the majority of my time on competition, working with teams and owners and drivers,” he says. He shuttles between NASCAR’s facilities in Daytona Beach and its R&D Center in Concord, N.C., where he oversees all aspects of racing development. O’Donnell’s NASCAR journey has included stops in sales and marketing, track operations, race-weekend procedures, the extensive weekly track series, safety, PR and media relations, scheduling, technical rules packages and discipline. He’s energetic and well liked and capable, and everyone could see that from the start.” He learned it all and did well at every stage. It wasn’t just marketing and it wasn’t just operations. I could absolutely see he was going to move up through the ranks. “He latched onto different aspects of the industry right away. “Steve’s a great guy, and you could tell he had a lot to offer, a lot to bring to the table from a personality standpoint and as an employee,” says Fritz, who worked for NASCAR in Daytona Beach, Richmond and Iowa before going into the private sector. “He has taken on the leadership role regarding our efforts at the R&D Center and has been very instrumental in the communication with the tracks, drivers, teams and other key stakeholders as we work together to make our sport better.”Ĭolleague Doug Fritz also envisions great things for the young up-and-comer. “I’ve had the pleasure to watch Steve learn and grow into a leader in our sport,”says Helton.
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Updated weekend NASCAR Cup Series notes: Kyle Busch, Toyota win Brickyard 400 When he joined NASCAR’s marketing department, it didn’t take long for Helton to notice what O’Donnell brings to the table. After his 1991 graduation from Rollins (Fla.) College, he worked with a communications company before stints with the Daytona Beach Cubs and the Florida Citrus Bowl. O’Donnell was born in New Jersey and spent his youth in Massachusetts and Egypt, where his father was a principal. He’s polished, well spoken, well prepared, forward-looking and experienced-reasons enough why many who follow the sport expect he’ll soon be second only to France within the NASCAR hierarchy. O’Donnell has been with the company since 1996 but only recently has taken a more public role in its day-to-day operations. Suddenly, fans used to seeing NASCAR’s chairman and CEO Brian France or vice chairman Mike Helton behind the mics were introduced to a relatively new face. Then, in July, he outlined new aero rules for Indianapolis, Michigan, Darlington and Richmond, and took time to remind a radio audience that the July race in Daytona Beach would remain at night.
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In June, he tackled driver safety at Dover, spoke about likely rules changes and did a conference call to explain those changes for the July race in Kentucky. Several weeks later, he explained why both Busch brothers would remain Chase-eligible despite missing several races. NASCAR’s 46-year-old executive vice president and chief racing development officer has recently become the organization’s public voice when things get sideways or there’s a strong message to be delivered.įor example: Within seven days in February, he addressed confusion surrounding Daytona 500 qualifying, explained the reasoning behind Kurt Busch’s indefinite suspension and dealt with Kyle Busch’s crash in Daytona Beach. Even if his path seems set, he’ll reconsider if someone offers something better. More importantly, he pays attention and isn’t hidebound. Steve O’Donnell not only listens, he hears.