Steve O'Donnell teases NASCAR return to "local short tracks" in expansion talks

Steve O'Donnell has revealed that NASCAR wants to "embrace its roots."

Newly appointed NASCAR President Steve O'Donnell has teased a return to local short tracks in the future as the sport "embraces its roots."

There has been a lot of talk about international expansions in NASCAR, with Brazil previously being linked to hosting The Clash in 2026.

However, with the success of The Clash at the iconic Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025, many of the traditional NASCAR fans are keen to see the sport return to some of these shorter circuits. Opposing the rumours about Brazil, the success at Bowman Gray has made it the favourite for a return for the event next year.

While speaking to Sports Business Journal, O'Donnell explained how he is keen to expand the sport:

"We want to embrace our roots. So, I think you'll see us do some more around some local short tracks, like we did at Bowman Gray. But then go to some big markets and some big cities. We don't have a lot of those opportunities, so we want to do them right. Chicago Street's been awesome, Mexico City this year is going to be fantastic.

"And then there's a lot of work that Ben Kennedy is doing around where could we kind of evolve that next story and look for some partnerships in some new cities as well."

O'Donnell was appointed as NASCAR President at the end of March 2025, as Steve Phelps moved into a newly created role as Commissioner of NASCAR. Commenting on his promotion at the time, O'Donnell stated:

“In my 30 years in NASCAR, I’ve been most inspired by the passion of race fans at tracks across the country. It has been a privilege to help bring our sport to those fans through incredible new venues and innovative engaging content that showcase the best racing in our storied history.

“I believe we’re the best in the world at creating ‘Bucket List’ events that merge sports and entertainment with tailgating, camping and the most immersive fan experience in sports. I’m honoured to continue that mission and build upon the collaboration and innovation with our teams and partners to deliver the best racing to sports fans everywhere.”