Backseat Blonde - What You Say, What I Hear, Mr. France

June 29, 2005

What You Say, What I Hear
By Allison Wagda

I don’t know Brian France. Never met him, spoken to a
word to him, or even seen him except from afar.

For all I know, in our little racing traditionalist world, he’s
the most misunderstood man in NASCAR.

So when I heard he was joining a NASCAR media conference call yesterday, I saw
an opportunity to understand his thoughts about the sport he inherited, and maybe
gain a little perspective on his views beyond the occasional media quote.

Admittedly, I’m biased and more than a little jaded. I have opposed almost every
change he’s instigated since he took the reigns of the sport almost two years ago.
Those events color my opinions. But I’m also capable of being reasonably
reasonable and considering alternative viewpoints, especially when genuine.

Instead, what I got was a spokesperson who has been media trained to perfection. A
media master armed with a set of ironclad key messages, delivering them with style
and grace. As a PR person myself, I have to admire that. But at the end of the day,
what Brian France actually said is not what I heard.

So I took many of the questions (asked by motorsports media veterans, in ALL
CAPS) and his actual answers (italicized, and slightly edited for clarity and levity),
and included my own interpretation of his answers (in parenthesis), essentially what
I think he was really saying beneath the marketing gloss. It’s a little long, and you
have to take my comments with a grain of salt, but I hope you enjoy…

Q. BRIAN, HERE WE ARE AT WHAT IS TRADITIONALLY CONSIDERED A HALFWAY
POINT OF THE SEASON. WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON HOW WE'VE DONE THUS FAR
THIS YEAR? AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL GO RIGHT TO THE MEDIA.

BRIAN FRANCE: You would expect me to talk about a good year, and we are having
another great year. Obviously it starts on the track and if you look at the competition,
we've had photo finishes, we've had if not the most exciting Daytona 500, one of the
most exciting. We had a terrific road race last weekend in Sonoma, record ratings for
a road race ever for NASCAR, and so the fans react to that.

(What my mind heard him say: So far, everything I’ve done has proven all my critics
wrong. But I’m not going to gloat about it…well, I am, but I‘m going to do it in a way as
to try to appear humble. But I’m also concerned that things are about to take a
serious turn for the worst, so I wanted to jump in on Jeff Gordon’s conference call to
get all the positive publicity I can now. I know if Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon don’t make
the Chase, we’re in trouble. I know Toyota could widen the chasm between the sport
and the fans that made it what it is. I know I must put on the best show possible,
competition be damned, in order to make those three TV networks start a bidding
war so I can cash out and head back to all those, like, normal people in LA and take
over the NFL. Oh, and I’m hoping you didn’t actually read the overnight ratings report
for the Sonoma snoozefest.)

That's why our TV ratings are up substantially in both the NEXTEL Cup, Busch
Series, as well as attendance is up dramatically because people love close
competition. I think we are delivering that.

(People like parades, don’t they? Who needs side by side racing anyways? It’s been
exciting, I tell ya. Because I said so dangit, now wake up.)

We have also had some other notable things that were on the drawing board that
have been wonderfully received, and that would be our historic race in Mexico City. It
indeed was very successful, 100,000 people in attendance. We were second most
watched back here in the U.S., and we hope to rev up the Hispanic audience in a
different way…

(All you naysayers can whine all you want, you’re replaceable. I’m Teflon, you’re
glue...)

It's noted now that they (FOX) are going to hand the baton to NBC and TNT and they
will start that this weekend. I know they are excited to get back in the fold and cover
the Chase, cover the Race to Chase, which also incidentally starts here in Daytona.

(Isn’t that a nice co-inky-dink? Race to the Chase…it took 5 VP’s of Marketing and a
branding agency a month to think up that one. It cost me over $100k, but all I had to
do was sell the naming rights to the Brickyard race to cover it. and I got a new yacht to
boot! And NBC is stoked, their 5 VP’s of Marketing didn’t have to do anything.)

We are excited. I made this comment from the beginning of the year, I've always
believed there will be more than ten drivers who make the cut this year because I
think people understand the urgency you have to have to stay within 400 points of the
leader… I think Jeff Gordon will rally as an example because he knows you cannot
wait until August…I just think that you're going to see a very, very tight contest here as
we go down the stretch.

(Please, oh please let Jeff Gordon or Dale Jr. make the Chase.)

Q. I KNOW YOU THINK JEFF GORDON IS GOING TO RALLY, BUT HOW
DETRIMENTAL WILL IT BE TO THE CHASE IF HE, OR DALE EARNHARDT, WHO
ALSO HAS A CHANCE OF MISSING IT, DON'T MAKE IT?

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 love the mix
of drivers that's shaping up. Rusty Wallace...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, 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…

(Yeah, you have to perform…except you don’t really have to win. Top fives make a
champion, right? And once the Chase starts, past performances don’t really matter
anymore. And isn’t that exciting? I can’t believe those old geezers I’ve been hoping
will ride off into the sunset in their pick-up trucks might be my only salvation, but
heck, those old-timer fans have saved this sport before. I run a few Viagra ads and
they’ll watch. And next year I can dump ‘em again once those old coots are gone,
we’ve got a whole new crop of young hotties to drive the beer cars next year! That’s
right, because Coors told me old guys don’t drink beer.)

Q. YESTERDAY TOYOTA ANNOUNCED THEY ARE GOING TO LEAVE THE IRL
AFTER NEXT SEASON. IS THIS TO YOU AN INDICATION THAT THEY ARE GOING
TO RAMP UP THEIR NASCAR PROGRAM AND BE IN CUP WITHIN THE NEXT
COUPLE OF YEARS?

Well, we've had ongoing conversations, in particular, because they are in the Truck
Series and have done a really great job of coming in, competing hard and all the
rest. What their plans are beyond that, I don't know and I don't know what the IRL's
departure means or doesn't mean. It's really their call. We are the biggest
opportunity in the U.S. by a wide margin in motorsports, and I know they have noted
that and we'll just have to see what they decide.

(Toyota is programmed into my cell phone, my PDA, my e-mail address book, my
Blackberry…but I’m not willing to spoil my headlines on you punks, er I mean
respected reporters. The IRL, hah. In a few years, I could probably trade in that
aforementioned yacht for the whole Indy league. NASCAR will rule the world!
*Cackle*)

Q. DO YOU EXPECT OTHER MANUFACTURERS, FOR EXAMPLE, HONDA, WILL
SHOW INTEREST AND GET INVOLVED IN NASCAR IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

Well, from a motorsports standpoint, we are very proud that we have three of the top
four series in the country, not just the NEXTEL Cup, but the Busch Series and the
Truck Series. They are a wonderful opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their
products.

(Blah blah I can recite this stuff in my sleep, in fact sometimes I do...)

Q. THE NAMING RIGHTS TO THE BRICKYARD 400 HAVE BEEN SOLD TO
ALLSTATE, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT SPONSORSHIP IS THE LIFEBLOOD OF
THIS SPORT. I WONDER IF A PART OF YOU LAMENTS THE LOSS OF ANOTHER
HISTORIC NAME, THE FIRECRACKER 400 AND THE SOUTHERN 500…

Well, I don't think you'll see the Brickyard tradition and the name fully lost. Allstate is
going to play an important role financially and otherwise. The track and expenses of
having these big events are escalating, so we need the corporate support… I think it
will be a plus to having Allstate on and I'm sure the Speedway feels that way.

(C’mon dude, if someone was going to give you money and it cost you nothing, you’d
take it too. Spare me the sentimentality.)

Q. THE DAYTONA 500 IS JUST ABOUT THE ONLY ONE LEFT. THEY SAY
EVERYTHING HAS ITS PRICE; DO YOU EVER FORESEE A SCENARIO WHERE
THIS COULD HAPPEN WITH THE DAYTONA 500?

Well, as they say in the military, that's above my pay grade. I don't have a comment
on that.

(Dad won’t let me sell it yet. But I’ll wear him down eventually.)

Q. THIS IS TRADITIONALLY THE TIME OF YEAR WHERE EVERYBODY REVIEWS
THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON AND LOOKS TOWARDS THE SECOND HALF OF
THE SEASON. I WANTED ASK...CAN YOU REVIEW HOW YOU THINK YOU'VE
DONE, YOUR PLUSES, YOUR MINUSES AND WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO STRIVE
FOR IN THE FUTURE?

I've never viewed it being about me. While I'm helping manage the sport in my role,
obviously you want things to go well. You want the things, like Mexico City or the
Chase or things that we start were important to implement, NEXTEL coming on
board, to go smoothly, and they have exceeded my expectations. That's a direct
tribute to having quality people that are in the industry. There is not one person; as
everyone knows…

(Of course it’s about me. That’s why I’m on the call today. We didn’t have any news to
announce, nothing of import to impart. Just me. Look at the ratings! Everybody loves
the Chase. The numbers don’t lie. Well, if the numbers aren’t good later in the year,
then the numbers might lie, but hey, we’ll cross that spin bridge when we come to it.)

Q. CAN YOU ALSO TALK ABOUT WHERE YOU'RE AT RIGHT NOW WITH THE
CURRENT TV NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE NEXT BIG CONTRACT?

Well, we are having the kind of discussions that you would expect us to have at this
time of the contract. We know that both all of our partners are extraordinarily happy
with the product…

(I’m putting TV rights up on eBay! The more money they pay, the more commercials
they’ll have to run, but I don’t watch races anyways. Restarts aren’t that exciting
anyways.)

Q. I WANTED TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY…

(blah blah…where’s that briefing information my PR guy wrote again? Oh yeah, there
it is…)

Q. NBA AND BASEBALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE BIG MARKET TEAMS
AND SMALL MARKET TEAMS…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 IS IN THE CHASE THAT IT WILL HAVE A DEBT
MENTAL EFFECT ON TELEVISION RATINGS?

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… and I hope it comes down to the last
lap of the last race just like it did last year.

(I’d give anything to introduce a fan vote to the Chase, but Dad won’t let me. Maybe I
can get Stewart to cause a little trouble so I can have a back-up Bad Boy, I can
always cast Jamie Mac as the “Pretty Boy,” Ryan Newman as the quiet but sensitive
one, Jimmie as The Stud, Rusty Wallace and/or Mark Martin as The Elders…it’ll be
better than O-Town! Phew, I feel better now. Maybe TNT can put them all in a house,
pick fights and film the Chase as a reality show. Hey wait, that’s my idea! No, mine!
Wait, who am I talking to…oh yeah anyways…)

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…?

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.
Greg Biffle is having his moment right now showing people how talented he has been
for a long time…We'd love to see more of Greg Biffles, too…

(First I had to make over Busch, and now Biff. Jack, you’re killing me! Okay, I get it that
Biffle is a stellar wheelman, but MTV he ain’t. Now that Edwards kid…Jack, I’ll strike
you a deal…)

Q. DO YOU HAVE ANY TIME FRAME THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SET UP AS FAR AS
PUTTING TRACKS IN THE NORTHWEST AND THE NEW YORK CITY AREAS?

Well, there is a major effort by International Speedway Corporation and they are
making some progress as announced recently, a new site outside Seattle to capture
the northwest; and a land acquisition and a very clear path as to how to get a track
built in New York…

(Na na na nah, na na na nah, hey hey hey, goodbyyyye – Darlington)

Q. I LISTEN TO THE RADIO A LOT AND TO SPORTS TALK RADIO AND ALL I HEAR
IS NBA TALK, AND WE HAVE JUST SEEN THE RATINGS COME OUT FOR THE NBA
FINALS, AND THEY WERE NOT STELLAR. AND THE NASCAR RATINGS ARE
STELLAR AND IT SEEMS THERE'S NO TALK ON THE RADIO ABOUT NASCAR. AS
THE LEADER OF THE SPORT, HOW DO YOU CHANGE THAT, AND IS IT
FRUSTRATING, I GUESS, ALSO, TO YOU?

Well, I'm glad you asked that question, because that's one of the hot topics that
occurs in my office every day. Because, in fact, we are very under covered for the size
audience we have, not just in sports talk radio, I agree with that, but whether that's
newspaper or other publications, whether that's television affiliates in Minneapolis,
Seattle, you go down the list, for the size audience that this sports demonstrates
every weekend. Last weekend we were the No. 1 sport by any measurement you can
measure.

(Well, there’s that numbers thing again. If you count ALL the people who watch most
of these sports, in all markets and all games, no, we don’t usually come out on top.
But since all our ratings are combined into a single event, we do pretty well don’t we.
Have I mentioned we have over 75 million fans?)

Q. HOW DO YOU CHANGE IT? DO YOU JUST KEEP DOING THE THINGS YOU'RE
DOING? IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU'RE DOING TO MAYBE GET
MORE PEOPLE TALKING?

(Why do you think we need more than one TV partner? Leverage baby! Note how we
convinced NBC to make their local affiliates cover us, although it IS ugly when the
reporter points out the latest misfortune of Bobby La-Bon-Tay. We’re workin’ on it.)

Q. DO YOU THINK THAT THERE'S A PREJUDICE AGAINST NASCAR, BECAUSE
WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, ARE NOT NECESSARILY
EDUCATED, THEY ALWAYS SORT OF BRING UP SORT OF THE, "OH, IT'S THE
SOUTHERN ROOTS, REDNECK SPORT." DO YOU THINK THERE'S STILL A
PREJUDICE OUT THERE AGAINST THE SPORT?

I don't know about that. I think it's more…we've only been on national television
since 1979. That's a relatively short period of time compared to all of the other major
sports. We really were not on a routine basis, even on cable, until the late 80s, early
90s. So, you know, in fairness, relatively we've been at it for 50 years but America
really discovered us just ten years ago in a prolific way…

(How many more years do I have to use the underexposed/only on TV ten years as
an excuse for being a redneck sport? Don’t these people notice we avoid racing in
the South as much as humanly possible? Didn’t making Ashton wear khaki send a
message to those who think we’re rednecks? Heck, we’re borderline metrosexual
these days! Jaime McMurray even drinks lattes! I’ve done my best to hide Elliott
Sadler from the TV cameras even though he’s in third place. What else do I have to
do? I’m NOT a redneck. I’m not.)

Q. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WOULD EVEN MAKE YOU CONSIDER CHANGING
ANYTHING WITH THE POINTS CHASE THE WAY IT IS NOW?

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.

(I’ll only change my masterpiece if there’s a way to make more money off of it. Maybe
we need a pre-season too, for FOX, ya know. Have 10 races pre-season…hmmm…)

Q. JULY 1 IS WHEN THE CARS HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED FOR 2006, IS THERE
INDICATION TOYOTA WILL SUBMIT A BUSCH CAR?

I just know that they are in NASCAR now, they really like…what they have told us,
how things are going in the truck series, and they are going to review the possible
participation beyond that. It's complicated for them and they are going to take a look
at it and I don't know any more than that or a timetable of when they are going to let
us know.

(Those dancing lessons sure paid off…phew. Step, side, step step, side, step)

Q. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THEY WOULD GET AN EXTENSION FROM THAT JULY 1
DATE IF THEY DECIDE TO GO BUSCH RACING IN 2006?

I dont know if they would go into the Busch Series, and they are very aware…and
they have done it, they have already been through the system and through the path
to get into NASCAR. They have got to make their own choices. It's complicated, team
owners, they want to go in it the right way. I know they are studying it and they just
have to come up with their plans, when they are ready to have an announcement.

(If they need an extension, they’ll get one.)

The end!

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