NASCAR Chairman Brian France lauds diversity initiatives, new Chase formats
November 20, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD,
Fla. – The significant milestone achieved by Daniel Suárez in
Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was not lost on
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian
France.
Suárez,
from Monterrey, Mexico, became the first driver born outside the United
States to win a championship in one of NASCAR’s top three national
series when he took the checkered
flag at the 1.5-mile track.
But
for the NASCAR initiatives embodied in the Drive for Diversity program,
France pointed out, Suárez likely would not have been in position to
claim the NASCAR XFINITY Series
title at all.
“Obviously,
we're very proud of Daniel Suárez last night in an unbelievable run and
winning the championship,” France said during a question-and-answer
session with reporters
before Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship
race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC). “Historic for the sport in many ways. I got
some nice calls from people south of the border last night that are
very proud of him, and we're very proud of him.
“We're
very proud that it validates our diversity plan in a significant way.
... So we're very proud of him. I would tell you, without the Drive for
Diversity program, Daniel
Suárez is not in NASCAR. We're very pleased with that program.”
France
also indicated NASCAR was pleased with the elimination Chase formats
introduced this year in the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck
Series. The Sprint Cup Series has
been using the knockout system for three years.
“I
obviously love it,” France said of the move. “We're very pleased with
the formats. Wouldn't change a thing. The result of it is this: better
racing that our fans get to see.
... Go back a year ago for the XFINITY Series. I don't fault them, but
you had the winner and the champion and a couple others talk about all
they needed to do was finish the race. If I ran 30th, I'll be okay.
Well, that's not really great for competition.
“Speed
it up to this year, you had all four, 1-2-3-4 thinking they have to win
the race—forget about finishing. That's a big deal for auto racing.
We're bold enough to do that.”
One
of the possible changes France said NASCAR is considering is adding a
reward or incentive for the driver who finishes on top of the standings
after the regular season, the
portion of the schedule that determines who makes the Chase and who
doesn’t.
“We're
going to think about that,” France acknowledged. “I think that's a fair
thing for us to consider, to make sure that the regular season is as
important as it is.”
France also addressed progress on the search for an entitlement sponsor to replace Sprint on NASCAR’s premier series.
“It's
taken a little longer than I thought, but it's also a big agreement and
an important agreement,” France said. “It's not just dollars and cents,
but it's a fit for us. We
don't want to announce anything certainly around this weekend.
“We're in a good spot with that, I believe, but we'll have to see how it finally plays out.”
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