By Jerry Jordan, Editor
NASCAR’s Brent Dewar is expected to announce he is stepping down from his current position as president of the sport to take a different role in the organization, multiple sources have confirmed.
Steve Phelps, who currently serves as NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, will be Dewar’s successor, Kickin’ the Tires was told. The announcement should come within hours.
The move is said to have been in the works for the past year as Dewar looks to spend more time with his family, which includes raising his 12-year-old daughter; seen often at the track sporting Ryan Blaney swag.
Dewar joined NASCAR as the chief operating officer in 2013 after a long career in the automotive industry. He founded Whitby Advisors, a motorsports and automotive consulting firm that worked with NASCAR prior to his being named to his original role in the sport as Chief Operating Officer. Before that he worked for 30-years at General Motors, where his final title was Senior Vice President Global Chevrolet and he led the GM brand in 130 markets around the globe.
Since coming to NASCAR Dewar has been credited for bringing more industry collaboration creating the sports first drivers’ council, the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer’s) council and the Team Owner Charter model. Additionally, in 2016, he was involved with the five-year sanctioning agreements that secured race dates for the 23 tracks hosting Cup Series races and the 24 tracks hosting Xfinity Series events.
According to his NASCAR bio, “Dewar oversees all NASCAR business units, including competition, marketing, integrated marketing communications, industry services, broadcasting, public affairs and multicultural development, digital media, human resources, strategic development, sales, accounting and entertainment.” Dewar is also very active on social media and is often seen interacting with fans at track tweet-ups, as noticed this past weekend in Las Vegas.
According to the sources, who spoke strictly on the condition their identities were protected, Dewar will likely support the international duties and serve more of a role alongside the France family, which owns NASCAR and controls a majority interest in International Speedway Corp. This would allow Dewar to work with previous connections in other parts of the world, where NASCAR is looking to expand, specifically in the Asian market.
“Steve (Phelps) will do a great job as President, as he has worked closely with Brent in recent years. It is good that Brent (Dewar) will still be involved, but also able to scale back his workload as his daughter gets older,” said one of the sources. “It’s similar to what we are seeing with others in the sport, who have reached a point where they can now put their families ahead of their careers.
Dewar politely declined comment on the impending announcement when asked about it at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, he did say good things were ahead for NASCAR.
As for Phelps, he’s already seen a major promotion in 2018 as he was moved to Dewar’s former role of Chief Operating Officer in April.
Before that Phelps served NASCAR as the Executive Vice-President and Chief Global Sales and Marketing Officer. The promotion expanded Phelps’ role and placed him over all business operations and media, as well as, new sponsorship opportunities while continuing his role in the marketing and licensing areas of the NASCAR brand, among other duties.
Now, he will be at the helm of the most-popular racing organization in the country.
Phelps joined the sport in 2005 and was named Chief Marketing Officer in 2006 and later named Senior Vice-President in 2010. He came to NASCAR from the Wasserman Media Group, where he was the Executive Vice-President. He also served as Vice-President of Corporate Marketing for the National Football League (NFL) from 1990 to 2004, where he focused on sponsor accounts and corporate partnerships with the league.
Phelps was in attendance at the drivers meeting at Las Vegas but was speaking with others and wasn’t immediately available for comment.