Brian France: Drivers know where the line is

Brian France: Drivers know where the line is

(November 18, 2011)

HOMESTEAD, Fla.—In the aftermath of disciplinary action against Kyle Busch and a not-so-secret fine levied against Brad Keselowski, NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France insisted that drivers know the dividing line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior, whether it involves driving or talking.

 NASCAR parked Busch for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Texas two weeks ago, after Busch wrecked Camping World Truck Series championship contender Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in the truck race.

 Earlier this week, NASCAR fined Brad Keselowski for disparaging comments about the Cup series’ move to electronic fuel injection next season, as reported by The Associated Press.

 On the other hand, NASCAR took no punitive action against Brian Vickers for threatening to retaliate against Chase driver Matt Kenseth and then carrying out the threat last Sunday at Phoenix.

 Nevertheless, France says drivers are clear about the lines they can’t cross.

 “There is a line and the drivers—and they may walk around and say sometimes that they’re not clear about it—but they know the line,” France said Friday during a question-and-answer session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “We have these conversations with them all the time. What you’ve got to remember is this is a contact sport.

 “We thought a couple years ago that we were overregulating the events. We wanted to give more authority back in the drivers’ hands, and that’s been good for NASCAR. But there is always a limit. You can’t do anything you want. We will look at it. We talked to the drivers. If they’re close to the line, we have a conversation that day. If they go over the line, we’ll deal with that too.

 “So this idea that there is no … (that) nobody knows where the line is, not true. Not accurate.”

 Driver Ryan Newman, however, took issue with that degree of specificity.

 “I don’t think it’s fair for him to say that we all know the line, because I don’t think that line is a black-and-white line,” said Newman, himself the victim of a “secret” fine for negative comments he made in 2010 about racing at Talladega. “I think it’s obviously got some senses of confusion about it.

 “I am not trying to ruffle anybody’s feathers, but I don’t think he can say that we all understand, because we all don’t understand otherwise we would not have some of these situations or dilemmas, and I don’t think people are going to put themselves in a position where they are going to lose their money because of their opinion. Nobody is that dumb in our sport.”

 Jeff Gordon says he has a reasonably clear idea of where the line is, on and off the track, but not how NASCAR will react to given offenses.

 “I don’t focus on how NASCAR’s going to react,” Gordon said. “I focus on how it affects my relationship with the other driver on the track and what happened and what that might create in the future for me and that driver. I feel like I’m pretty clear where that line is.

 “Then, if it’s off the track and it’s in an interview or expressing my opinion or whatever—I feel pretty clear about that, too. If I say something, I usually just walk away and say to Jon Edwards (Gordon’s PR representative), ‘That one might get me in trouble.’ I’m not saying that I’m NASCAR and I know that it’s clear-cut as to what they’re going to do.”

 By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service