France: New manufacturer in NASCAR a possibility – Nascar

“There is some interest by a couple of different manufacturers, and we would be open to that in the right conditions,” France said. “A lot of the car companies are understandably looking at the terrific job that Toyota has done by partnering with NASCAR and the success and all the things that come along with that. They’ve been an incredible success story for a car manufacturer looking to come into a sport that’s very difficult to come in, compete and win every weekend.
 
“But there’s interest and this is obviously the biggest opportunity in auto racing in North America and we would probably say the world, so it’s always on some attention span one way or the other.”
 
France was less optimistic about the prospects of a new raceway joining the 23 facilities that currently host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, citing economic conditions. Those 23 tracks, plus the handful of venues that host other national series events, have their race dates guaranteed through a five-year sanctioning agreement that went into effect this year.

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“The economy, obviously — going back to ’08 — has been either slow or non-existent depending on which industry you’re in, so that’s been a headwind for a lot of people, including our industry,” France said. “I don’t see that any time soon, but that has a tendency to go in waves, so when things are in a different situation with the economy and other things, you tend to see two or three more tracks going at once. …
 
“Nothing on the immediate, but I will say of course the tracks are making sure the facilities are ever-better and have more amenities for our fans.”
 
France also mentioned the negotiations and talks with prospective companies to replace Sprint as the entitlement sponsor of NASCAR’s top division. The cellular phone provider signed on as the series’ title sponsor as Nextel in 2004, but its run will end at the conclusion of 2016.
 
“Good,” France said in characterizing the nature of the discussions. “It’s the most coveted position in sports because of the rights that are granted, so we’ve got a good group of companies that are on our short list and so hopefully in the coming weeks or months, we’ll get to the right place on that.”
 
Among the other topics France discussed:
 
• The new reduced downforce aerodynamic package and the type of racing it has produced:
 
“It’s off to a really good start. Obviously, it’s not in a situation where we’re ready to say everything is perfect, because we’re always searching for terrific things on the race track. But clearly, this start of this season and the new downforce package, in combination with Goodyear really producing a good tire matchup for that, has really given the drivers more of what they want, and they’re putting on one heck of a race.”
 
• On whether NASCAR competition officials could take the aerodynamic rules a step further during the middle of the season:
 
“As long as it doesn’t break the bank financially for the team owners and others — and/or if it’s a safety benefit; those are the criteria we use to make any rules changes midstream — then we’ll look at that.”
 
• On the close-quarters, full-contact battle between Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards on the final lap last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway:
 
“Another thing that we’ve talked about this week is the finish at Phoenix and the contact in that, and you’ve heard me say many, many times: that’s classic NASCAR racing when that happens, but it’s interesting to note that not all the drivers — present or past — would’ve made the move that Carl Edwards try to do to get around Harvick, and they both did a great job.
 
“But that’s classic NASCAR. We expect that. Sometimes that’s misunderstood when I say that, but it’s a great example of that’s part of NASCAR when you’re late in the race, a little faster, you’re going to have some contact to either scrub off speed or move somebody around a little bit. Carl’s one of the best at that, and it gave us a great finish.”

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• On Kyle Busch’s dominance in the NASCAR XFINITY Series this season and suggestions that Sprint Cup drivers’ participation in the series be limited:
 
“It’s always a real strong debate, depending on which side you’re on. Mark Martin , back in the day, was known to dominate that series known as the Busch Series back then. We’ve always had some of that. Kyle has just got a mastery of that division. On the other hand, it makes the younger drivers better. They get to compete with one of the best of the business every weekend. Obviously, we have a new championship Chase format that will reward the eventual champion in the end; it’ll have to be somebody other than Kyle.
 
“I can get on either side of it, but right now that’s the rules.”