NASCAR chair not in favor of moving Chase race to Las Vegas

NASCAR chairman Brian France does not want to move the October Chase race from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Las Vegas.

He made the comments to reporters Saturday in response to Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith saying earlier this week that there is a 70 percent chance that would look to move the race from Charlotte to his 1.5-mile track in Las Vegas.

That would leave Charlotte with just one points race per year, the Coca-Cola 600.

France said he has not spoken with Smith or his company about the situation.

“We have gotten a long way with our position in motorsports because we’ve had historically important events, like this weekend, that happen every year that people can count on,” France said.

“That said, for one reason or another, a certain market is not performing as well, it may be a better opportunity. We’ve seen that in the last five, six years or longer. We’ll take a look at it. My preference would be to keep the event here in Charlotte.”