Press Conference with NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France

Brian France started out by pointing out that we're deciding 3 titles this weekend. Wanting to focus on how this 2008 season is going, his first point to make was how important the manufacturers in NASCAR are to the sport and NASCAR has every intention to keep them in the sport and help them stay in the sport, though he didn't go into specifics on that plan at this time.

Looking back at '08, they've implemented the COT (The new car), looking to the benefits from the new car and how the competition has improved as the teams have figured out the new car through the year. As they've stated in the past, the cost of the COT will deliver cost savings in the long, and in some spots, the short run and emphasized that NASCAR is looking to remove cost from the system to help all the teams across the board.

As far as the Chase, it emphasizes a balance in NASCAR of running well, and running to win. After NASCAR added more points to a win and changed the seeding process they want to make it clear that teams have to win more to have a chance to win the championship. (duh?)

Despite trying to focus the meeting on the 2008 NASCAR racing season, the questions hit on some expected topics: ABC's handling of the Phoenix race, the economy and costs.


ABC's Punting of NASCAR for AFV:
We didn't like it and did not anticipate it. After that event, they talked with the networks over the last couple of days. He didn't agree with the issues that ABC presented to him as to what they had to deal with and France said that NASCAR got the short end of the stick in that situation and are working on eliminating that in the future.

As far as how to prevent something like this from happening in the future, Brian said that "they want to do what's in the best interest of the NASCAR fan.". he added that ESPN did not like what they had to do last Sunday and touched on how the red flags took the race outside of ABC / ESPN's planned broadcast window. he indicated that NASCAR and the networks "interests are aligned in the same direction."


The Economy: Teams, Fans & Tracks
No decision yet as been made on the premise of eliminating testing for '09 but that they would have to act quickly if they are going to make that kind of decision. Whatever they decide, it will be a comprehensive plan that's enacted, being as aggressive as they can to remove cost from the system.

Yet on the idea of reducing the length of some races or the schedule, Brian said that the reduction of events is not practical or possible due to contracts in place and didn't look to the idea of shortening events either. There are other areas where they can cut costs.

As far as helping fans afford the races, and drawing fans to the tracks in 2009, he said that issue is in the hands of the individual track owners and they are hard at work on this issue. They're familiar with their individual markets, some, more so than others and are sensitive to the costs to the fans. They're trying to do everything they can.

When asked how healthy is NASCAR, financially, Brian replied that te will come out of this and weather storm. In regards to future growth after times pick back up, he said that NASCAR has lots of areas that could be cut, but they won't because once the economy turns around, they'll be in pursuit of enlarging their fan base and want these other mechanisms in place for when that happens.


The Chase
It doesn't look like the Chase this year is going to be as exciting as hoped for. Each year the points lead headed into Homestead seems to be growing with each subsequent season. Brian's take is that he's love for all 12 drivers (He actually said 11 and I'm wondering if that was a slip.) to be within 25 points of each other, but it's just the nature of sports.

It wouldn't be right to try and modify the system within the Chase to keep points close and that the Chase and the system as it is, is designed to promote improved performance to win the Championship.

As far as one team dominating the series (Ahem, No 48 team) he referenced the historically nature of the beast saying that there are those who have had their year to year runs of dominance and then another team will come along and have their dominate performances and it's the nature of sports.

There is concern that the Chase system is hurting teams as the focus of the media is pretty much on the contenders for the Cup, both before and after the cut-off date to make the Chase, but Brian re-emphasized that teams are getting better at grabbing sponsors, and the incentive is to perform better.


Their New Series: Will it be integrated Into the Weekends?
With NASCAR recently acquiring the Grand Am Series, they would love to see the series integrated into weekend events but that potential is limited due to race track obligations and established weekend outlines. The Grand Am Series is a different demographic, and they've encouraged Cup teams to look into starting Grand Am teams.


In Summary
There were plenty of expected questions today, and we didn't hear anything out of the norm. NASCAR is not happy with the handling of their telecast and I hope they resolve that issue down the road with all the networks they deal with, but that will remain to be seen. Rain is one thing. Red flags: It should be a prepared for eventuality.

Despite ESPN indicating they didn't like what they had to do, when it did happen, I wasn't surprised one bit. Their past and present track record of handling NASCAR programming has developed a very thick skin with me and I've taken to heading to the TV remote with a pre-wince, waiting to see what if anything, is where it's supposed to be on the tube. A sad, yet realistic perspective.

The economy is hovering over everyone and the answers were fairly pat and the future-focus of NASCAR is there. Whether they make in whole or part through these times will remain to be seen. They recognize everyone's plights, from fans to team owners, and are looking at different ways to help everyone get through the storm. But if they insist on maintaining profit margins, I don't see the race attendee benefiting yet.

Numerous times, Brian was asked in different ways, how NASCAR is doing financially and the answer kept going back to the future of the sport and cutting costs for the teams. So either NASCAR is rolling in the dough and doesn't really want to fess, or they're hurting and don't want to let on. What's your guess?

Despite the statements about the economic beast, he still encourages cup teams to look at starting Grand Am teams? I'm not sure the details or left and right half sides of his brain are connecting with that hope, but I see where he's coming from. He didn't say it, so let me: if Cup teams start GA teams, I bet they hope to see NASCAR fans migrate towards the new series, helping it grow. That's just my thought on the matter.

Though he emphasized early on in the conference that they are looking to help manufacturers stay in the sport, he did not expound on that, and I did not get a chance to ask him about that statement. I was too far back in the question line to be heard before the conference ended. I'd like to know more about that angle.

And of course, they feel the the COT is doing exactly what it needs to do, level costs in different areas of the sport and the racing is getting more competitive as teams learn the nuances of the car. Albeit, via a few heavy fines here and there. Yet at the moment, the competition is still just between the big teams. I think there's still a little way to go before they get the parity they are hoping for... if it ever does happen.


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