Q. Just as a follow, I know you think Jeff Gordon is going to rally, but how detrimental will it be to the Chase if he, or Dale Earnhardt, also have a chance of missing it, don’t make it?
BRIAN FRANCE: “Well, this is a performance based sport and you’ve got to perform. Obviously they have big fan bases and there will be some disappointment in that, but I like no matter what happens, I love the mix of drivers that’s shaping up. Rusty Wallace is making his run. He may have a shot at the championship for the first time in a while for him down the stretch. Mark Martin is having another good year on his final year, so he may have a shot, he will have a shot more than likely, who knows. But in the end, you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to get in, you’ve got to earn your way in, and that’s what we always said. The events before the Chase didn’t mean less importance; it means more importance, and I think you’re seeing that now.” Q. Just as a follow, I know you think Jeff Gordon is going to rally, but how detrimental will it be to the Chase if he, or Dale Earnhardt, also have a chance of missing it, don’t make it?
BRIAN FRANCE: “Well, this is a performance based sport and you’ve got to perform. Obviously they have big fan bases and there will be some disappointment in that, but I like no matter what happens, I love the mix of drivers that’s shaping up. Rusty Wallace is making his run. He may have a shot at the championship for the first time in a while for him down the stretch. Mark Martin is having another good year on his final year, so he may have a shot, he will have a shot more than likely, who knows. But in the end, you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to get in, you’ve got to earn your way in, and that’s what we always said. The events before the Chase didn’t mean less importance; it means more importance, and I think you’re seeing that now.”
Q. NBA and baseball have to deal with things like big market teams and small market teams. Going back to the Chase, obviously for you guy, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are big market teams. They are the big markets in the fans and they are the drivers that fans in the major markets, the Top 10 markets that you guys covet and like to have ratings from, they are the ones that are most recognizable in those markets. Do you feel if neither of those two drivers are in the Chase that it will have a debt mental effect on television ratings?
BRIAN FRANCE: “Obviously the more star power you have, the better you feel. It’s no different than the Yankees have to earn their way into the playoffs. So do our drivers. We can’t have a system that’s based on popularity at the moment. We have a system based on who can perform the best in that given year, and no matter what happens, the mix of drivers that we’re likely to have will be terrific. You can argue it would be better if this person were in or out, but we’ll have a terrific group of veterans and young drivers, and I hope it comes down to the last lap of the last race just like it did last year.”
Q. Your assessment of the Chase or your belief it’s going to be a bigger field, is there any consideration to adding fan involvement, like a fan vote, especially this year with the possibility of Jeff and Dale not making the Chase, that the fans might vote one of them in to appease the networks and have that star power?
BRIAN FRANCE: Not at all, because we have to be, and we will be, a performance based series, and you have to perform. You know what, the drivers would not want that either. They don’t want to limp in on a fan vote. They want to earn their way in or not earn their way in. I hope we all the drivers that everybody likes, but, you know, sometimes it’s time to see drivers have a moment. Greg Biffle is having his moment right now showing people how talented he has been for a long time. The stars are lining up and he’s got a lot of confidence. That’s a great thing for us. We’d love to see more of Greg Biffles, too. It’s not just one driver or another. It’s about performance and letting people who are earning it keep going.
Q. Is there anything that would even make you consider changing anything with the points Chase the way it is now? I mean, certainly have asked you if there would be the Earnhardt factor or whatever, but, you know, looking at it as a whole, is there anything down the road that you guys might think of altering?
BRIAN FRANCE: “Well, for this year, the answer would be zero, because we’re trying to get, certainly, out of any issues of changing things in midstream. We would never do that. Down the road when we make adjustments, I have always said we would be open to them. But gosh, we had four drivers come down or five, actually, mathematically last year, three with a real, real chance down to the last lap that changed around, I think, seven times. It’s hard to say, you know, it’s not a great system and the best part of it all is what the drivers how they turn it up, how they step up the level of driving and their talents are showcased differently and that’s what I like most.”(NASCAR Statistical Service/NASCAR NEXTEL Teleconference Transcript)(6-29-2005)