France Addresses Issues and Policy

 

The first topic of conversation was lugnuts. Earlier in the day, NASCAR announced a new rule where teams must have five lugnuts on each of their tires post-race. If they fail to do so, they will be penalized. “There’s all types of things that teams are obligated to get right with their individual cars. Our job is that whenever there is a safety improvement to make or policy to enhance things, we will just do that. It is as simple as that. Our whole system is based on safe and competitive racing. If we can make an adjustment to make things safer, we will,” stated Brian France, “In terms of loose or tight, we obviously have a lot of technology now to where we can monitor that. We obviously have a deterrent system of putting penalties in place. We will get the policy and rule right where safety is always at the forefront.”

 

When asked about the Tony Stewart fine, France stated, “Tony’s very aware of how we approach the criticism of the sport and the product of the racing itself. We are the most liberal of any sport in terms of allowing drivers to express their views. We want drivers to express themselves. We are thick-skinned.”  

 

France went on to talk about heat races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. “I think it is a work in progress. I liked some of the things I saw. I think we are going to continue to look at it. This is our effort to listen to fans, drivers, and teams to see if we can make all the formats better.”

 

The final topic included a stance on North Carolina’s H.B 2, France stated, “We have been very clear about this from day one when the law was announced. We did not think it was appropriate. We did not care for it. We did the same position in Indiana, although that was a religious based law. Both of these laws fall under what we think are discrimination. With that said, our job is to take a lot out of the communities, taking and giving back. I have spoke to the governor myself. We have worked backchannel in expressing our views. We are very clear about that. We hope that they will change that law. There is no ambiguity where NASCAR stands. When it comes to discrimination, you can expect us to take a firm stand on that.”