NASCAR chief France pleads for drivers to show emotion
6 Comments Quote selected text Published December 3rd, 2008 in NASCAR NewsNASCAR drivers are being encouraged to show their emotions and not be too concerned about offending the companies behind their lucrative sponsorship deals, the head of the racing body said on Tuesday.
NASCAR chief executive Brian France praised the talents of Jimmie Johnson but conceded that the triple series champion has failed to become a household name outside racing circles.
“He’s a California guy, a very nice guy, a cool customer and obviously very talented,” France said at the Reuters Media Summit.
“But he’s not going to do a lot of things that are going to wow you or stun you or surprise you in the ways that sometimes other athletes make their mark.
“We need to do more with our athletes to bring out their emotions.”
Many NASCAR fans long for the days of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr., known to sideswipe a rival’s car to gain a competitive advantage or jump out of his car at the end of a race to confront another driver.
France admits that merchandise sales of the companies that sponsor NASCAR vehicles “are based on doing the right thing.”
“But our fans like to see the emotion,” he said. “If you’re running 200 miles an hour and you’re about to win a race and somebody spins you out, you don’t need to hop out of the car and act like you’re in the library.
“You’re mad. You’re upset. Our drivers have some restraints built-in because of the commitments they have.
“And that’s not all good at times when we’re working to build up their awareness and image. But we’re going to work on that.”
France said NASCAR has lessened penalties for drivers who show their frustration.
“We’re telling the drivers that’s what the fans want to see,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage them to have some new flexibility to be themselves.”
More at reuters.com
What a contradiction in terms! The powers that be say to get mad, show emotion, but in the next breath is ready to fine you for doing just that. I dont get it, and to me, thats why they are losing alot of their fan base. NASCAR has become way to corporate and not willing to get back to the grass roots. All the talk at the awards banquet was to remember where they came from, where the sport came from. But they move further and further away from that, as if they want to bury that dirty little secret in a closet somewhere and bring out the pretty boy metrosexuals of todays sport. Just my opinion, dont crusify (sp) me! Thanks
Either Brian finaly got his head out of the sand,or maybe looking to make up for the revenue
he is going to lose next season.
You know — Brian is not all that interesting
either — so why pick on Jimmy??? Kinda
funny really!!
bjwonderwomen you hit the nail right on the head
What Crap !! Oh, should not say that or the Government will want to tax it!
First, don’t show emotions, be more like F1 drivers. Robots!! Now, lets mix it up boys… we will not fine you… yeah right!
I have a sad feeling we will never get back the nascar that we all used to love. France and gang, in my opinion wanted to change the sport to make it more friendly to the white collar guys and gals. Now he see’s they are not who made this sport popular, it was us blue collar dude’s and dudette’s that went to the races, spent our hard earned money on toys and trinkets and Tshirts.
I know many white collar people that loved to “dress down” and go to the races and be one of us regular folk, let it all hang out and all that because there own lives were very bland. They all make lots of money but had no real fun. They enjoyed getting “dirty” with the rest of us so long as they could do it undercover. They throw on there favorite drivers tshirt, jeans with holes in them, rented a truck with a cab on back, put in a grill and cooler and had a great time.
You can not have it both ways. Drivers are scared to let it all hang out now when they are pissed off because they really do not know if a huge fine will happen or not.
Lets go back to good ole Saturday night racing at its best and let the sparks fly, let the tempers fly, let some fenders grind. Home town tracks are becoming more popular again due to France and his rules which is great for the little tracks but bad for the sport as a whole.
I dont think too many drivers are going to be very anxious to see if Brian means what he says.