NASCAR Case Study
A crisis turnaround: amid unfair media scrutiny, positioning Brian France as a bold, innovative leader and philanthropist grew positive media coverage 394% and helped sign a $20 million-per-season sponsorship.
The Objective
Turn unfair media scrutiny of NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France into positive coverage, elevating his reputation and positioning him as a bold, innovative leader while amplifying his and his wife Amy’s philanthropy through the Luke & Meadow Foundation and the NASCAR Foundation.
Strategy and Execution
Two storylines ran side by side: the leader and the philanthropist.
PR campaigns around the NASCAR Foundation and the Frances’ own Luke & Meadow Foundation, including a new foundation website. The Frances were honored guests and speakers at high-profile New York events, including the Angel Ball and the Michael J. Fox Foundation gala, and each event became a news hook tied back to their larger giving.
Positioning France as an innovator and changemaker, highlighting an $8.2 billion television deal with NBC and FOX, an exciting new playoff format, safety improvements and a diversity program that developed women and minority drivers.
Fact sheets, key messages, talking points, potential Q&A and media training before interviews and press conferences, plus interviews on France as a family man and father.
Panels alongside other sports league CEOs at conferences including CES and Milken.
Results
The takeaway: Executive reputation is built story by story. A disciplined mix of leadership news, philanthropy and preparation turned critical coverage of NASCAR’s CEO positive, and that translated into sponsorship revenue.
Coverage
“I had the pleasure of working with Rick at both the NBA and NASCAR. He is a great teammate and partner who has experience working with senior leadership at multi-billion dollar sports leagues. He is a proven commodity in the changing media landscape and always prioritizes the end result.”
More Results
A year of PR, crisis communications and reputation work took Gaia’s coverage from almost entirely negative to 100% positive or neutral, and changed its search results and Wikipedia page with it.
Monthly data studies on retirement and aging earned 317 stories with editorial backlinks in 2025 and played a key role in Seniorly’s acquisition by CareScout.
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