 France became NASCAR's CEO and Chairman of the Board in 2003, after his father retired from the position.One of France's first actions as CEO was to create a new safety rule that barred drivers from racing back to the start/finish line when under caution.After assuming control of NASCAR, France negotiated a title sponsorship from Sprint Nextel and introduced the Chase for the Sprint Cup over the transition period, receiving a $4.5 billion television contract for the initial ten race seasons, in addition to a later multibillion-dollar deal with NBC.