NASCAR is shaking up its executive ranks, a restructuring that will further solidify the power base of legal chief Amanda Oliver while promoting one of her deputies to general counsel.

Sports Business Journal last week reported on the changes, citing an internal memo it obtained. The restructuring comes in the wake of the stock car racing company's signing a seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal last year that will help fund international expansion. At the same time, NASCAR faces significant challenges, including Formula One's increasing popularity in the U.S. and growing tensions with race teams that argue the family-owned company keeps too much revenue for itself.