NASCAR President: Sport stronger now
It’s not a surprise that NASCAR President Steve Phelps describes 2020 as “the single most difficult year that we’ve faced as a sport.”
When teams left Phoenix Raceway last March, it was unknowable that American sports would head-on stop in just a few days. COVID-19 shut down almost everything, including racing. NASCAR returned nine weeks later, racing mostly in front of empty grandstands, and using weeknight events and doubleheaders to eventually get back on schedule.
It is a surprise, however, that Phelps says the result of all the stakeholders coming together to make the season happen is “we’re stronger as a sport today than we were pre-COVID. I believe that. I think that the momentum that we’ve been able to gain has been nothing short of incredible.”
The full calendar of 36 races ends Sunday at the Avondale oval, which is hosting the Cup Series championship race for the first time. The Arizona Republic participated in Phelps’ Saturday Zoom media conference. Some answers have been edited for length or clarity.
Question: like in 2021?
Answer: “I think what we’ve proven this year is that you can do things differently and they can work. What we’re in the process of doing right now is looking at what that race day experience is going to look like . . . I think there are things both from a competition standpoint, as well as a fan standpoint, sponsor standpoint, where we are going to reinvent ourselves . . . We need to have a great fan experience that is going to look different almost certainly than it did before.”
Q: When there was no racing in March, April, into May, NASCAR and its team had little or no revenue coming in. How close was NASCAR, and the teams, not being able to move forward on a financial basis?
“I won’t speak for the teams. I can speak for NASCAR. It was our intention that we were going to get all these races in . . . a day away from doing that, it feels gratifying. I think the most difficult part of that period really is just the unknown, right? There’s so many things that were outside of our control. It got to a point literally where my phone would ring, I didn’t want to answer it, because there’s nothing but bad news on the other side of that phone call. It was scary. It was scary for the industry as a whole. I think anyone who was in sports didn’t sleep very well in March and April, mid-March to April, into May.”
Q: If 2021 continues to have no, or limited on-site fans, no corporate hospitality, no sponsor activation, will NASCAR and its teams be viable business entities?
A: “Will everyone’s bottom line look more challenged? The answer is yes. Do I believe we as a sport are going to shut down? We are not. We are going to run
What will race days be races. We can sustain this period where we have a limited number of fans, limited amounts of hospitality. Is it where we want to be? Of course not. But are we financially viable to move forward? We are. Do I think the majority of our race teams are in the same position? I do.”
Q: Will you and NASCAR continue to be outspoken about human rights? How have you felt the fans responded?
A: “It’s really about this notion of welcoming everyone to our sport. I think, by and large, people have said: ‘Hey, NASCAR means more to me than displaying my Confederate flag’ . . . We want to make sure that people want to come to our facilities. We want them to feel part of this community . . . I know when I see people who are camping next to each other who are total strangers, that invite each other for a beer, ‘Do you want a hot dog,’ brat, whatever it is, that’s what our community is about.”
Q: With Phoenix not having the opportunity to do a lot of things that were planned around the championship weekend, how will that affect the season continuing to end here?
A: “I would suggest Gov. Ducey, just the entire Phoenix community, has responded incredibly well and are really excited to have us here . . . We know that the season finale will be run here again next year. We are hopeful that we will run it in front of full grandstands, all the greater activities in the Phoenix area are going to come off . . . I do think this market has responded incredibly strongly to us coming here. Visually when you go around the city, you know that our championship is here. That’s heartwarming.”
Q: Were one-day shows, no practice or qualifying, discussed before the pandemic?
A: “I would say whatever mad scientist would come up with a one-day show would have been shot down pretty quickly. Really it was from the pandemic . . . We have 28 one-day shows next year, eight that we do not . . . What does that look like in ‘22 as we unveil a new car? Probably a lot more practice and qualifying.”
Q: If the NFL has to move the Super Bowl back to Feb. 14, the scheduled date for the Daytona 500, would you commit now to not race against the Super Bowl?
A: “No, I will not say that. Right now we’re running on Feb. 14th. That’s as much information as we have. Will we potentially plan for a change? Perhaps. But I don’t foresee that.”