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Nathan_259
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NASCAR boss Brian France says fans think Sprint Cup is on the right path
Umm, okay.
In exclusive interview, France says new manufacturers’ council, fan initiatives are yielding big returns for the sport
Three-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Darrell Waltrip once characterized NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France as being “lots of hat and lots of cattle.” That trumps some other racing executives who are, in Waltrip’s words, “lots of hat and no cattle.” The inference: Some of his contemporaries are simply empty suits, like in a Doonesbury cartoon. FYI: Brian Z. France is anything but an empty suit.
Okay.
Even so, some in the motorsports community extend Waltrip’s “cattle” reference to some of France’s pronouncements. As exist for many celebrities and public figures, at least one parody Twitter account, @DrunkBrianF, is dedicated to belittling the 52-year-old.
Unfair? Absolutely. Fans should admit that France and his staff have been blazing new, mostly positive trails since taking over in 2003. For example: They landed Sprint/Nextel as series sponsors after RJR/Winston left, helped negotiate multi-billion-dollar TV and satellite radio contracts, worked to expand the Truck Series and launched the Drive for Diversity program to attract minorities.
Okay, I can see how a lot of those things are good things.
They created closer competition by introducing the “lucky dog” and “wave-around” pace-car period rules, mandated double-file restarts with lead-lap cars up front and developed the green-white-checkered overtime finish. They built the “Car of Tomorrow” (France’s most lamentable mistake), allowed Toyota in the game (many older fans remain insulted, as they do about the sport leaving some of its traditional Southeastern venues),
Ha! You old fans who don’t like Brian France are a bunch of racists! Ha!
created the controversial Chase for the Championship (France considers it his legacy) and introduced video monitoring of pit stops for officiating consistency. And crucial to NASCAR’s younger fans: France and his staff aggressively pursued social media’s marketing potential.
Okay. I think video marketing, as well as getting into social media, are good things for NASCAR. But to say that these things wouldn’t have happened without Brian France? No, I don’t think so. At the least, they would’ve taken a bit longer to happen.
Indeed, nothing in NASCAR’s first 50 years compares to what France has done the past 12.
Yeah. Tell me about it. How the Chase has changed the sport more than its transition from little short tracks in the southeast, the transition from actual stock cars, to the modern-day machines being raced today, tell me about how the chase has changed the sport more than all that. Tell me.
Indeed, despite the usual ongoing grumbling from a segment of old-school NASCAR fans who lament stock-car racing isn’t what it once was, the sanctioning body has been listening to fans and its manufacturer partners more than ever the past several years.
Where’s the evidence?
“Notwithstanding season-long debate from fans and media—at times seemingly enough to fill hours-long blocks on NASCAR radio and television programming—the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff’s new elimination format appears to have worked well for the sport, as the final three Chase races (Texas, Phoenix, Homestead-Miami) averaged more than 5 million viewers—an 11 percent increase vs. 2013—while overall Chase TV viewership increased 3 percent.”
All right. That’s some credible information. Though it should be noted that ratings only increased 0.3% over the entire season. But Brian France doesn’t want you to notice that, does he?
“Additionally to NASCAR’s satisfaction, general sports fans’ perceptions of professional stock-car racing improved, with those fans saying NASCAR is “a major sport in the U.S.” and “becoming more popular among my friends.”
Okay. I think this is, more than anything, because of the fact that it’s been around for so long, and eventually it has become part of the mainstream. Do you think if it weren’t for Brian France, people would still be mean, and make fun of NASCAR for not being a real sport? Cause a lot of people still think that today.
--Almost four out of five (78 percent) avid NASCAR fans -- “avid” accounts for those on the Fan Council, all of whom are uncompensated for their feedback -- say they “like” the new championship format.
--Avid NASCAR fans said that as the Chase progressed, it became increasingly easier to understand. There was an approximately 10 percent increase among them who felt the Chase was easier to understand between the time NASCAR announced its format and the checkered flag falling on the November finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Well, you want it easy to understand in the first place, don’t you? That’d be a good thing, cause you wouldn’t have to make that positive remark, right?
--Avid NASCAR fans are now almost twice as likely to say the Chase is more dramatic than before. Approximately four out of five (81 percent) liked the fact the championship was undecided until the final Chase race, at Homestead, concluded.
--52 percent of avid NASCAR fans strongly agreed the Chase was more exciting; 57 percent strongly agreed it created an environment in which drivers took more risks to win; 55 percent strongly agreed the format put a greater emphasis on winning; 52 percent strongly agreed the Chase was more competitive than before; 46 percent strongly agreed the new format made the championship “feel bigger”; and 41 percent strongly agreed each Chase race was more exciting than before. The largest percentage of fans who strongly disagreed in any of these categories was 15 percent, in the “made the championship feel bigger” department.
After actually reading this, I think quite a bit of if actually makes sense. However, I do think there are parts that are ridiculous.
By the way, what does OEM stand for?
Umm, okay.
In exclusive interview, France says new manufacturers’ council, fan initiatives are yielding big returns for the sport
Three-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Darrell Waltrip once characterized NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France as being “lots of hat and lots of cattle.” That trumps some other racing executives who are, in Waltrip’s words, “lots of hat and no cattle.” The inference: Some of his contemporaries are simply empty suits, like in a Doonesbury cartoon. FYI: Brian Z. France is anything but an empty suit.
Okay.
Even so, some in the motorsports community extend Waltrip’s “cattle” reference to some of France’s pronouncements. As exist for many celebrities and public figures, at least one parody Twitter account, @DrunkBrianF, is dedicated to belittling the 52-year-old.
Unfair? Absolutely. Fans should admit that France and his staff have been blazing new, mostly positive trails since taking over in 2003. For example: They landed Sprint/Nextel as series sponsors after RJR/Winston left, helped negotiate multi-billion-dollar TV and satellite radio contracts, worked to expand the Truck Series and launched the Drive for Diversity program to attract minorities.
Okay, I can see how a lot of those things are good things.
They created closer competition by introducing the “lucky dog” and “wave-around” pace-car period rules, mandated double-file restarts with lead-lap cars up front and developed the green-white-checkered overtime finish. They built the “Car of Tomorrow” (France’s most lamentable mistake), allowed Toyota in the game (many older fans remain insulted, as they do about the sport leaving some of its traditional Southeastern venues),
Ha! You old fans who don’t like Brian France are a bunch of racists! Ha!
created the controversial Chase for the Championship (France considers it his legacy) and introduced video monitoring of pit stops for officiating consistency. And crucial to NASCAR’s younger fans: France and his staff aggressively pursued social media’s marketing potential.
Okay. I think video marketing, as well as getting into social media, are good things for NASCAR. But to say that these things wouldn’t have happened without Brian France? No, I don’t think so. At the least, they would’ve taken a bit longer to happen.
Indeed, nothing in NASCAR’s first 50 years compares to what France has done the past 12.
Yeah. Tell me about it. How the Chase has changed the sport more than its transition from little short tracks in the southeast, the transition from actual stock cars, to the modern-day machines being raced today, tell me about how the chase has changed the sport more than all that. Tell me.
Indeed, despite the usual ongoing grumbling from a segment of old-school NASCAR fans who lament stock-car racing isn’t what it once was, the sanctioning body has been listening to fans and its manufacturer partners more than ever the past several years.
Where’s the evidence?
“Notwithstanding season-long debate from fans and media—at times seemingly enough to fill hours-long blocks on NASCAR radio and television programming—the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff’s new elimination format appears to have worked well for the sport, as the final three Chase races (Texas, Phoenix, Homestead-Miami) averaged more than 5 million viewers—an 11 percent increase vs. 2013—while overall Chase TV viewership increased 3 percent.”
All right. That’s some credible information. Though it should be noted that ratings only increased 0.3% over the entire season. But Brian France doesn’t want you to notice that, does he?
“Additionally to NASCAR’s satisfaction, general sports fans’ perceptions of professional stock-car racing improved, with those fans saying NASCAR is “a major sport in the U.S.” and “becoming more popular among my friends.”
Okay. I think this is, more than anything, because of the fact that it’s been around for so long, and eventually it has become part of the mainstream. Do you think if it weren’t for Brian France, people would still be mean, and make fun of NASCAR for not being a real sport? Cause a lot of people still think that today.
--Almost four out of five (78 percent) avid NASCAR fans -- “avid” accounts for those on the Fan Council, all of whom are uncompensated for their feedback -- say they “like” the new championship format.
--Avid NASCAR fans said that as the Chase progressed, it became increasingly easier to understand. There was an approximately 10 percent increase among them who felt the Chase was easier to understand between the time NASCAR announced its format and the checkered flag falling on the November finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Well, you want it easy to understand in the first place, don’t you? That’d be a good thing, cause you wouldn’t have to make that positive remark, right?
--Avid NASCAR fans are now almost twice as likely to say the Chase is more dramatic than before. Approximately four out of five (81 percent) liked the fact the championship was undecided until the final Chase race, at Homestead, concluded.
--52 percent of avid NASCAR fans strongly agreed the Chase was more exciting; 57 percent strongly agreed it created an environment in which drivers took more risks to win; 55 percent strongly agreed the format put a greater emphasis on winning; 52 percent strongly agreed the Chase was more competitive than before; 46 percent strongly agreed the new format made the championship “feel bigger”; and 41 percent strongly agreed each Chase race was more exciting than before. The largest percentage of fans who strongly disagreed in any of these categories was 15 percent, in the “made the championship feel bigger” department.
After actually reading this, I think quite a bit of if actually makes sense. However, I do think there are parts that are ridiculous.
By the way, what does OEM stand for?