Football crushing NASCAR in rating race

Track mogul Bruton Smith believes NASCAR should push start times for Sunday races back an hour to 2 p.m. ET to better compete against the NFL.

"If people want to tune in and watch football – and every game seems to be about the same – by 2 o'clock maybe they're tired of it and then they'll come over and watch a real sport," said Smith, whose Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns Charlotte Motor Speedway and several other NASCAR venues.

In another pre-race appearance on Saturday, NASCAR chairman Brian France declined to discuss any potential changes to the Chase format.

"Today is not a day on the Chase," France said during a news conference to announce NASCAR's change to an ethanol-blend fuel in 2011.