O’Donnell talks about “full fields”, race winnings

Steve O'Donnell

Interviewed by the Charlotte Observer, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell talked about various issues including the size of Sprint Cup fields and why race winnings are no longer released:

Q: Although there are four spots available each race for non-charter "open" teams, they haven't all been filled since Daytona and fields have been composed of 39 of a possible 40 cars. Is that a concern?

O'Donnell: "When we looked at the charter system, we decided to leave four spots open. We didn't necessarily think those four spots would be occupied at each race and we'd love to maybe have them filled. But we're concentrating on the quality of the race teams that do show up each week. We're happy with that. We've got 36 teams and whichever open teams that show up and it's provided quality racing."

Q: Why is prize money is no longer released after races?

O'Donnell: "All the teams know what they are racing for. It's listed in the charter agreements. Teams and tracks are aware. We don't have anything to hide from the team owners and tracks. But it's something we could continue to look at." Charlotte Observer