Brian France addresses the media
"On balance we have had a very good season," France stated. "We are not without our ups and downs with the long season that we have, but we are real pleased with a lot of things that we have accomplished in a very difficult economy. We are also pleased with our promise to the teams to recognize everything from rules packages to testing, to see what we can do to take costs out of race budgets." Recognizing the economy for 2010 doesn't look much better, he underscored the objective to assist the sport in any way possible.
Commenting on the stellar performance of the Jimmie Johnson and the Hendrick team, he said, "We are going to make a lot of history this weekend if Jimmie Johnson's wins his fourth consecutive championship and if Mark Martin wins it, he would be the oldest driver to do so. However it plays out it will culminate a good season of racing. Whatever the historians have forecast, I don't think anyone could predict how good the No. 48 team is."
France praised the NASCAR tracks for taking steps to address the prevailing economic uncertainty, to include the reduction of ticket prices and working with hotels to keep prices down. In particular, he addressed the negative business climate in California and Michigan. "We will continue our part to make it more affordable for our teams to race and to help the sponsorship piece that they are relying upon," he noted.
Regarding the car manufacturers, he said, "All the car companies seem to have stabilized and the good news is that they are doing business better than they had been doing in the past. This is a very encouraging thing as they are an integral part of NASCAR. We have worked carefully with them, so they would stay in NASCAR and continue to be a big part of our future. On balance, we got through things fairly well."
France acknowledged the difficulties relating to sponsorship needs, and he was guardedly optimistic that NASCAR is starting to see daylight on this subject. "It is the only place you can brand on the playing field what we do," he indicated.
While testing was banned for the 2009 season, the rules for 2010 have been relaxed slightly, to allow for nominal testing, but France doesn't see the program reverting to its old format for the foreseeable future. "There was lots of testing in the past, which helps rev up marketing and helps rookies. There needs to be a perfect balance, and we have chosen to go the route of cost savings even though it is not perfect. As the economy gets better, we may be able to dial it back."
The Chase format was discussed at length, but other than the statement that it is subject to ongoing review, France said he wouldn't want to make any changes that would take away from Jimmie Johnson's accomplishments. "We could not have predicated that anyone would have achieved what Jimmie has done," the executive stated.
France stated that the results of the fall race at Talladega are always closely reviewed, to see whether improvements can be made for the following year's Daytona 500. He regards the Talladega and Daytona events as two of NASCAR's signature events. "These two races receive our highest television ratings," he said. "We have to have safe racing, but we have to have typical (close) Daytona and Talladega racing."
Race scheduling was addressed and France stated that the Kentucky Speedway wants a race as does the Kansas Speedway, which desires an additional event. While no commitments were made, France did indicate that changes could be made when the 2011 schedule is released.
The Fan Council, which has 12,000 members, was given credit for proving considerable input to NASCAR management. France acknowledged that the fans, the race teams and the manufacturers all offer input and NASCAR relies upon these groups to assist with its decision-making process. "Year after year we will make far more good decisions than poor ones, and for the poor ones, we will fix them as quickly as we can," he said.
Discussing the Car of Tomorrow, the NASCAR leader indicated the drivers have become much more comfortable with the car, but the sanctioning body will review the car in the off-season, plus the input obtained during the town hall meeting in May will be addressed. "We are going to keep pushing forward and achieve between great racing now and utopia, which is up here."
Published reports indicate NASCAR's television ratings have been going down throughout the season, and France indicated there are many reasons for this to have happened. He doesn't believe the season is too long and believes it is important for fans to see or hear about their sport on a weekly basis.
As rumors continue to swirl that Danica Patrick will race with NASCAR in the near future, France said she would be very welcome and indicated he has conveyed that thought to her. "She is a very accomplished driver, and I would love to see her compete in the highest form of racing in the world," he said. "I don't know how well she will do, but that's why you play the game. And she will be good for NASCAR." (Motorsport.com)