NASCAR's Brian France: What's next?

  NASCAR's Brian France: But what's he really thinking......(Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)   

   (Updated)

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   HOMESTEAD, Fla.
   NASCAR CEO Brian France, in an unusually long press conference of 45 minutes Friday, offered little insight into anything -- if anything -- the stock car racing sanctioning body might do to change things up for the 2010 Sprint Cup tour in light of declining TV ratings, smaller race crowds, that single-file racing at Talladega, the Jeremy Mayfield case, and Jimmie Johnson's looming fourth straight NASCAR championship.
   However France accentuated the positives, said the season has gone "reasonably well" all things considered. And he did hint at possible Cup tour scheduling changes in 2011, looking at Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway, but not pointing to what tracks might be cut to make room on the 38-race schedule.
   While the third-generation NASCAR France may be much more formal and reserved than his famously feisty father Bill Jr. and legendary grandfather Big Bill Sr., Brian France is considered one of the most open and direct of the current crop of national sports executives...though typically much less accessible on any weekly account than his father, and apparently more comfortable in a mass press conference session than in any one-on-ones.
   In the lone moment of emotion, France pointedly declined to say much about the possibility that he and his ex-wife might be asked to testify or offer depositions in the Jeremy Mayfield  case, except to say "I have had a lot of experience with trial lawyers…more than I would like. But with trial lawyers I've never been surprised with what they will say, to get some outcome for somebody they're representing.
   "We're going to deal with it (the Mayfield case) like we said we would. We have made all the comments we can make….and we will go forward.
    "It is regrettable; our preference is never to be in litigation.
    "If you get a trial lawyer, that's out of our control. At that point all we can do is the best we can to represent the entire sport's interests in matters that affect it. And we will continue to do that.
   "Nothing amazes me with trial lawyers in the 21st century. They are an amazing group of people."
    France is involved in a civil case with his ex-wife in a Charlotte court and his lawyers are attempting to keep that courtroom closed and to keep all documents sealed, in a rather remarkable legal point.
    France was more comfortable talking about the sport itself rather his own issues or his family's problems. Responding to complaints that the 'chase' format for determining the championship has become boring, that it might be time to scrap the chase and try a different championship system, France said Johnson's domination this season was a surprise:
      "What I wouldn't want to do is take away from the achievements Jimmie and his team have made. In this format, to dominate four straight championships is incredibly difficult. We could not have predicted anyone could have done what Jimmie has done…therefore taking away some of the things the chase will deliver in normal circumstances…
   "It depends on how you want to look at it. Some of the teams that you would expect to be closer, we're missing that, yes. But we're getting a performance that is historic.
   "We look at adjustments in the format every year any way, and we'll be looking at that again, to see what we can make better. But we love the purpose of the chase. And specific performances dictate how it plays out."
   Whether that means France will wait until after the championship celebration before making any rules changes is unclear.
   And what to make of France's own criticism of the critique of the sport by TV broadcasters Larry McReynolds, Jimmy Spencer and Kyle Petty? France basically blasted the three for daring to talk about some of the sport's problems.
   What actually is France's stance about the media, and is some retribution in the wind for anyone calling out things?
   "No, we don't operate with retribution," France says. "And we don't have a 'policy' for our broadcast partners. They have an enormous involvement in the sport; they're professionals and they cover all sports. And they understand how to cover individual sports better than we could tell them how to.
    "But that doesn't mean we don't have differences; we do. But there is no policy in NASCAR that demands they do one thing or another."
   The declining TV ratings?
   "Ratings go up and down, and there are a dozen different things that factor in," France said. "You want to be mindful of all those things, to help drive interest in the sport, and we want to do all those things and more.
   "And it's important to remember that on any given weekend we have the second or third most popular sport. While we always want our ratings up, that's not always possible. You will have peaks and valleys….so you measure it over a longer time.
   "And you work on the things that create more interest, more viewers, more people going to events, more people buying merchandise….more people just interested in NASCAR in general. That is core, that we take very seriously. And we're going to spend a lot of time in the off-season to see how we can improve."
    As many as five Sprint Cup teams may either drop off the tour next season or cut back on the number of races. How worried is France about the economy's effect on this sport?
   "We had this same conversation this time last year, when the economy was even worse," France pointed out. "Clearly the sponsorship market is tougher than it's ever been in my memory. And I don't anticipate that getting remarkably better, although we are starting to feel the ice thawing and getting inquiries in our New York. And in the off-season I think you'll see some joining us at some level.
   "The tracks are working hard to renew their sponsorships, and they're doing a pretty good job of that
   "It is going to be difficult, but it's going to be fine. We still have the best value proposition in sports. We are the only place where you can brand on the playing field, in the manner we do. And we are very proud of that and have always built around that."
    Containing costs has been France mantra, though sometimes it's difficult to see the actual effects. He concedes the no-testing rule doesn't work quite as well as he might like, that it has a downside of its own.
   "There is some balance between no-testing at all – which is the best savings for the teams – and the way testing was done in the past, which was a lot of testing," France said. "There is more publicity for the markets when teams are testing. And teams and rookies who are behind can make up some ground when there is testing.
   "But we have chosen to take the route of the cost-savings, knowing it has some consequences.
   "As we can dial it back, as the economy gets better, we will.
   "But I don't think we'll dial it back to the level  two or three years ago, when it was too much cost."
    Overall, though, France seems rather pleased with the way the season has gone, in the face of a bad economy:
   "One way or another this weekend we'll make a lot of history, with Jimmie or Mark Martin….and when Rick Hendrick wins his ninth championship and ties Richard Petty. This will culminate a good season of racing.
   "The big thing obviously is the dominance of Jimmie and his teams. I don't think anyone could have predicted how successful they would be.
   "On balance we have had a very good season. You would expect me to say that, and we have had our ups and downs, in a long season with as many races as we have. But we are very pleased with a lot of things we did accomplish in this difficult economy, very difficult on our race fans.
    "And we are very pleased with the initial promise to the teams that we would react in an accelerated fashion if we could, in testing and rules changes, to take additional costs out of their racing budgets. And we'll continue to do that…because 2010 doesn't look to be an awfully lot better.
   "The sponsorship front is getting better; there are companies joining the sport. But it's not like we hope it will be in the future.
   "When we talked in February (about the season ahead), there were a lot of questions.  On balance we got through things fairly well…if not easily.
   "And now we're poised to head into the off-season and give everyone a much-needed break."