Yes, Virginia, There Is A NASCAR Monopoly

Imagine, if you will, that I am extremely rich. I have enough money to fund the bailout of the bank crisis several times over (not that I would bail them out — they deserve no sympathy for their own stupidity). Instead, I embark on a little lavish stupidity of my own; I build a race track!

Now, the track that I wind up building is the best that ever was. It’s not too long, not too short, and the banking has been precisely calculated to produce the best possible racing in the corners. It’s got a wide, safe pit road, and the surface is so finely tuned that even a Goodyear racing tire could be used without the fear of it coming apart within just a few laps. The oval seats about 200,000 people, and it’s guaranteed to sell out every single time the gates are open. Every driver, from all forms of motorsports, loves to race there, agreeing that no other track in America is its equal. Heck, the place is so exceptional, it is even rumored that on clear, still nights, ghosts of racers past can be seen driving wispy images of cars from other eras upon it. It is known, simply, as the “Mother of all race tracks."

However, there is just one problem: I want a NASCAR date. Do you think I can get one? The answer, sadly, is “NO." Why?

Because I am not a member of the France Family.

Instead, my petition for a race date has been awarded to the low-banked, 1.5-mile, lackluster track known as Kansas Speedway, which already had enough dates to begin with (one). The reason for the snub is because Kansas Speedway is owned and operated by that dreaded entity known as ISC. And ISC, while it is a publicly traded company, is controlled by the France family — with Lesa France Kennedy at the helm. Who are the people doling out the race dates for ISC? Well, that would be a private company, NASCAR, with Lesa’s brother, Brian France, as the CEO.

Works out pretty conveniently for them, don’t you think?

Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you decide to look at it) most of the stuff that I have written above is not true. I am not extremely rich and, in fact, don’t have enough money to bail myself out of the local hoosegow when the need occasionally arises. The part about ISC and NASCAR, however, is sadly a fact of life. More at Frontstretch.com