01-04-2025
Fact Check: A look at Past NASCAR Commissioners Before Steve Phelps
Earlier this week, NASCAR officials named Steve Phelps as its "first Commissioner."
A check of the records, however, shows at least seven others have held the title of Commissioner within the racing body.
That list includes Cannonball Baker, Harley Earle (ever hear of the Harley J. Earle Trophy that goes to the Daytona 500 winner?), and former Ford Motor Company President Bunkie Knudsen.
The recent announcement that NASCAR has named former president Steve Phelps as its 'first Commissioner in 77 years' brought more than a few raised eyebrows from those old-timers familiar with the organization and its history.'First Commissioner?' Are you sure?Does the name Cannonball Baker (pictured above, left) ring a bell? Or Harley Earle? Or Mendel Rivers, Tom Adams, Bunkie Knudsen, Charles Stang, or John Middlebrook? By unofficial count—records are somewhat sketchy beyond 2010—those men previously held the title 'Commissioner of NASCAR' and served almost unnoticed, most of them for only a few years.
Baker, a long-time friend of the France family, was the first Commissioner in 1947. It was largely a ceremonial and honorary title—but a title nonetheless—that has now been passed down seven times. Earle, for whom the Daytona 500 trophy is named, was next. Southern politicians Mendel Rivers (R-SC) and Tom Adams (D-Fla.) each had brief stints as Commissioner. Knudsen, Stang, and Middlebrook were the most recent before Monday's introduction of Phelps.'We are thrilled to name Steve Phelps as NASCAR's first Commissioner,' NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. 'His leadership, professionalism, and well-earned respect from across the sports industry speak to his unique value for the sport. With more than 50 years of expertise between them, both Steve Phelps and (new NASCAR president) Steve O'Donnell bring tremendous expertise, stability and a commitment to the bold racing innovations that will continue to serve fans, teams and stakeholders for many years to come.'
Of the group named above, Knudsen had the longest tenure, serving from 1978-1998. The former GM and Ford executive, who even served as president of Ford, wasn't an every-race-weekend sort of official, but his looming, shadowy presence over the business/sport was undeniable. He was close to the Frances and almost always ruled the way the family wanted.
In time, the role as 'Commissioner of NASCAR' morphed from a largely ceremonial, honorary, powerless one into being the powerful final stop in any disciplinary process. Teams or drivers facing fines or suspensions for rules violation could eventually ask for him to review any lower-appeal that had been denied. Not surprisingly, the Commissioner at the time almost rarely sided with the gave NASCAR an 'out' when it needed to uphold its traditional disciplinary procedures. In effect, the Commissioner could take the heat for upholding or softening a team's fine or penalty. It there was public or in-garage outrage about a denied appeal, NASCAR could always point at the Commissioner and say, 'it was his call, not ours.'With Phelps now in charge—he'll presumably wield that same power—the chances of teams or drivers overturning lower-appeal decisions remain almost zero.
