Gone are the days of a single-file procession to the NASCAR hauler.
That was the message that resounded from meetings between NASCAR and its owner and driver constituencies held Tuesday morning and afternoon at the sanctioning body’s research-and-development center.
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And if the conclaves were as NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter characterized them—as positive, productive and candid—they were also symbolic of a new way of doing business for NASCAR.
In the past, drivers, crew chiefs and owners were accustomed to knocking on the door of the NASCAR hauler, parked at a race track, and voicing their individual issues and concerns. Over time, NASCAR could gauge a consensus.
On Tuesday, NASCAR heard opinions en masse, from a multitude of sources. Subjects ranged from the performance of the new race car to marketing efforts to a discussion of the drug-testing policy instituted before the 2009 season. NASCAR.com
“Even though we’ve always had a pretty good open door policy and good approach, we just know we can do better,” France said. “We can all gain more when we are sharing ideas and having an exchange on the issues that matter most to them. We had a lot of stakeholders here today, and they are central to the success of NASCAR.”
France and NASCAR president Mike Helton opened the first session by encouraging candid discussion of any subject, spokesman Jim Hunter said. NASCAR had 10 top officials in attendance, including France’s sister, Lesa, an executive vice president of NASCAR. The two have presided over NASCAR, a family run business started by their grandfather, since their father’s death two years ago.
Hendrick lauded NASCAR for holding an open forum.
“I think today was a really great step, Brian, Lesa and all those folks answering questions and taking some criticism and explaining why some things are like they are and giving everybody a chance to speak up,” Hendrick said. “I think if we can do more of these we can see that we all can work together to make this thing better. There’s a lot of smart people in that garage area.”
Drug testing was a main topic of the first session, which included Mark Martin and Ryan Newman, two drivers vocal with their concerns about the policy since Jeremy Mayfield’s failed test. He received an indefinite suspension May 9 and, despite calls from drivers, NASCAR has not revealed the substance found in his sample.
The secrecy and lack of an official list of banned substances led many drivers to worry their careers could be put in jeopardy by a failed test for a simple prescription.
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“If you’re taking something as prescribed, I don’t think you’re going to lose your career,” Martin said. “I feel much better now than I did before the meeting.”
France was confident the issue had been adequately addressed in both issues. The Associated Press
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