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Question: In terms of competition, what do you make of the current car? There’s been a lot of criticism about its raceability and the inability of drivers to pass on the shorter tracks.
Brian France: There was a lot of passing last week and they’ll be a lot of passing Sunday. Clearly, some of the drivers have figured out the combination of the new cars better than others. But these are all talented teams and they will ultimately all figure it out. We like what we see and think it will get better. Some teams that you haven’t heard a lot about, it’s brought them to the forefront – notably Toyota and what they’ve been able to do with Joe Gibbs. Some of the teams that were at the top have struggled. Rick Hendricks’ whole group has had ups and downs. So, it’s changed the whole landscape of which teams have been able to run consistently at the front. It’s always exciting when there are changes with who’s dominating and running better.
Question: What changes have soaring gas prices brought about?
Brian France: That’s a real issue for us. We’re concerned about it for our fans that have to fill up and (drive) to our events. But there’s not any industry that’s not affected by high energy costs. It’s something that we’re looking at. Anything we can do to help our fans out – absorb some of this high cost, give value in other ways – I know our tracks are working at that. We’re mindful of what (our fans) are going through. Right now, we’re monitoring patterns. What we’re seeing is that people are making their buying decisions about coming to an event later. They’re still coming but making those decisions later. It’s too early to tell if there’s more car-pooling and things going on. But it’s certainly a significant item that we’re looking at.
Question: How do the struggles of the auto industry impact NASCAR?
Brian France: It hasn’t had a big impact because we’re fortunate enough to be one of the core assets that they’ve believed in for a long time. Nevertheless, they’re a key partner of ours and we want to make sure that as we go through a rough patch in their business cycle that we’re doing everything we can to help them. Their support in NASCAR has not wavered a bit and we’re very proud of that.
Question: Does it help NASCAR to have a “villain,” the way Kyle Busch is being portrayed.
Brian France: It does. We like the fact that we have different types of personalities and people who get on a streak of success. That’s a good thing. That’s how you build dynasties and build rivalries. Sure, it doesn’t hurt us at all that’s he’s having that kind of success and the way he’s doing it. That’s a good thing for him, a good thing for us. It creates interest or excitement.
Question: What would you think of Tony Stewart as a car owner.
Brian France: That’s up to him. He’d got choose his own career path. I think he’s a real racer’s racer, so he’s not one of these guys that just hops in a car and drives it. He’s intimately involved in the setup and things like that. I know he owns a race track and some other things in the sport, so he might do well with it. I don’t know.
