NASCAR RESET
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The reset button for NASCAR was triggered as soon as Joey Logano wrapped up last year’s championship celebration. There was massive work to be done to stop the stock-car series from a spiral to the bottom and the fix is nothing short of a radical reboot.
The critical change is the introduction of an overhauled rules package designed to make the racing watchable again. And it comes under new leadership at the top.
Jim France replaced his nephew as chair of NASCAR in August after Brian France took a leave of absence following his arrest for driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of oxycodone. Jim France is now listed as chair and CEO, has routinely represented the family at NASCAR events and is addressing NASCAR’s five-year free fall in nearly all meaningful categories.
The downturn happened during Brian France’s reign, and fans essentially exiled him over his extreme changes to the championship format and his detached — often absent — style of leadership.
Jim France has been at every event since taking over and NASCAR at last is showing a sense of urgency in attempting to fix its mess.
“It is a business, but his first love is racing,” said Hall of Fame owner Rick Hendrick, who added Jim France and his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, have been accessible to teams and have voiced their commitment to motorsports. “I wish he had stepped out years ago.”
France is overseeing the most collaborative atmosphere in NASCAR history. All stakeholders — the sanctioning body, teams, drivers, track operators and television partners — have brainstormed improvements and ideas to stop the plunge in attendance and television ratings. The solution is a new rules package aimed at markedly improving the on-track product.
The new package uses aerodynamic ducts and a tapered spacer to reduce engine horsepower — in simplest turns, it should slow
the cars and bunch them closer together to increase passing attempts and improve the overall competitiveness. It will debut in the second race of the season, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The old package permitted a handful of teams to move so far ahead of the competition it took too long for anyone to catch them, the racing suffered and fans stopped watching.
Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. combined to win 20 of 36 races last season, though the “Big Three” lost to Logano in the championship finale.
The new package is controversial because it is supposed to level the playing field, and elite drivers believe it will diminish the advantage their talent has given them.
An early version of the package was used in last year’s All-Star race and fan feedback seemed
genuinely enthusiastic until drivers raised enough complaints about it to muddle expectations.
Until the rules were tested last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, few dared to predict what the racing will look like this season.
NASCAR pushed forward and the new rules are here with major implications.
The health of the sport is riding on the belief that, if nothing else, the racing will be better, more drivers will win, more teams will succeed, and fans, of course, will give it a chance.
Making the racing more entertaining is critical in getting fans to pay attention again.
“On the optimism scale of a one to 10, I’m a 15,” said Marcus Smith, who as CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. last year pushed hard for the rules package and also altered his track last
season to create the hybrid ovalroad course “Roval” that created some buzz during last year’s playoffs.
“The racing is the most important part of NASCAR and the quality of racing is similar to the quality of a show, a movie or the quality of a story in a book,” he said.
“If it’s exciting, you want to watch it, you want to be there. This package is going to be more exciting and I believe it will have a huge positive impact on the sport.”
NASCAR will continue to emphasize its rising young talent, led by Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and Kyle Larson, all playoff drivers last season.
Elliott was voted NASCAR’s most-popular driver, an award won a record 16 times by his Hall of Fame father, Bill Elliott.
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