Wednesday, December 3, 2008

NASCAR CEO Makes Policy U-Turn


TSN has a story up where NASCAR CEO Brian France has urged drivers to be more outspoken to up the entertainment factor in the Sprint Cup. His comments appear to be a direct u-turn from the assumed policy NASCAR has had in the past of being very conservative and sponsor conscious. One of the more popular jokes about NASCAR is the perception drivers are required to mention their sponsors whenever in front of the camera.

Here's a nugget from the story:

"Our fans like to see the emotion. If you're running 200 miles an hour and you're about to win a race and somebody spins you out, you don't need to hop out of the car and act like you're in the library. You're mad. You're upset," said France.

It's no secret that NASCAR's television broadcasts have declined somewhat in the last year and given the state of three-quarters of the manufacturers in NASCAR this could signal a change in attitude among the NASCAR elite. This is the first real scare for the series since it's popularity exploded after the death of their most marketable athlete, Dale Earnhardt Sr. at Daytona in Ferbuary of 2001.

Hopefully sponsors and drivers will take his words to heart and NASCAR will return to their roots where mavericks like Smokey Yunick ran wild.

Visit TSN.ca for a link to France's comments.

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