Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / NASCAR State Of The Sport | Press Conference

Transcript

NASCAR State Of The Sport | Press Conference · Kenny Wallace Media

0:00
Welcome everyone to Phoenix Raceway.
0:02
It's a pleasure to have you all here.
0:05
Seems like we were just here, I don't know, a year or so ago.
0:09
I want to start by thanking the fans for supporting our great
0:13
sport all year. Certainly can't do without them.
0:19
There are a lot of stakeholders in this sport.
0:21
I want to thank them whether it is our race tracks, our race
0:26
teams, our drivers, our OEM partners, our sponsors, our
0:30
media partners who do such a great job broadcasting our our
0:36
tremendous sport. Again, thank you a heartfelt
0:41
thank you for myself and from Steve.
0:44
I want to thank Latasha Causey and her whole team place looks
0:47
terrific. And as part of that, I do want
0:51
to thank the city of Avondale, the, the entire Phoenix region.
0:57
You guys for six years have put on, you know, just such an, an
1:02
incredible, an, an opportunity for us to be here.
1:05
It's just incredible. And Latasha, you've done a an
1:10
amazing job. And although you know after six
1:13
years we are going to have our championship next year in Miami
1:17
as then part of a rotating piece, our expectation is
1:20
Phoenix would rotate as part of that particular championship.
1:24
So this won't be it for Latasha and and the crew here for a
1:29
championship for sure. But we'll be off to Miami and
1:34
that rotation which is going to be really exciting.
1:40
I want to also, it's so exciting that we have, we're in a crown
1:44
champion this evening in the Craftsman Truck Series.
1:47
I want to wish all the competitors good luck there
1:51
tomorrow. The arc of Menards West Series,
1:54
crowning a champion, our Xfinity Series tomorrow evening and
1:58
crowning a champion there and obviously our Cup Series on
2:02
Sunday. All of them deserving to be
2:05
here. I know there's lots of questions
2:08
about about future formats and whether that's going to change.
2:12
We don't have a lot to talk about today on that front.
2:16
With that said, we're going to concentrate on the championships
2:20
this weekend and we're excited about what we're going to put on
2:23
for the race fans for sure. And just a quick shout out.
2:27
I know Matt Crafton has announced that his full time
2:33
Truck Series is coming to an end.
2:37
A three time champion, we just want to wish Matt all the best
2:41
for the future in his next chapter.
2:44
I'm sure he is going to be behind a wheel of something in
2:48
the future, but as a full time racer again, we wish Matt all
2:52
the best. The one thing I want to talk
2:56
about before I turn it over to Steve is momentum.
3:00
And I think this sport has a lot of momentum at this particular
3:04
point and a lot of different areas.
3:07
So one, we just heard the freeway insurance announcement
3:12
being our fourth premier partner.
3:15
A big shout out to Cesar and his entire team.
3:19
We're thrilled that he's back with Daniel.
3:21
We're thrilled that they're going to expand their
3:23
relationship to includes a race entitlement as well as being our
3:28
our fourth premier partner joining Coke, Bush Light and
3:32
Xfinity. But it goes way past that.
3:36
I mean, if you think about where sponsorship lives today versus
3:40
where we were 345 years ago, if you ask our race teams, probably
3:49
the best number of sponsors on cars that they've had in
3:55
probably 15 years as we head into the 2026 season, the race
4:01
tracks are doing great from a sponsorship standpoint.
4:04
I think after a couple of years of, you know, kind of at the
4:07
league lever at the NASCAR level, I think we're a little
4:11
bit behind. We're closing that gap quickly
4:15
with a number of new sponsors that have come on board.
4:19
There are a number that will be making announcement in the near
4:23
future. Nothing announced today.
4:25
But again, if you think about the importance of sponsorship to
4:30
NASCAR broadly, the revenue's important, don't get me wrong,
4:35
but it's what the sponsors do to showcase our sport to their
4:40
customer base or their B to B base and bringing them to the
4:44
racetrack and experience this sport.
4:47
It's important. NASCAR's growth in the 90s and
4:52
2000s was largely built on sponsorship and so for us to
4:57
have this sponsorship come back to the level of hat is, is very
5:02
gratifying and heart warming. I had a question, we had a
5:08
question last year in this room about driver's star power.
5:13
One of the, one of the ways we thought we'd be addressing
5:16
driver's star power in making greater stars of our drivers is
5:21
through a program that the initially came out of the driver
5:24
Advisory Group or driver Advisory Council and that was
5:28
the driver advisor, driver Advisory Pro.
5:32
I'm sorry, driver Ambassador program, Steve's here to help me
5:37
with many things, so I appreciate that.
5:39
So the driver Ambassador program, if you think of the
5:44
number of appearances that have happened, the sheer number of
5:48
hours that the drivers have logged promoting this sport,
5:53
6000 hours up 40% year over year.
5:57
And that is huge for us, right? They're they're building our
6:01
brands. They are the face of NASCAR and
6:04
the more opportunities we give give to them and the more
6:09
opportunities they step up and take, the better it is for the
6:12
growth of the sport. We are only going to be as good
6:16
as what we can provide to the drivers and the access that we
6:22
provide the drivers, you know, to get in front of.
6:25
And so whether that's early morning shows, late night shows,
6:30
Sesame Street, and I know Bubba did that earlier this year, all
6:34
of these things are opportunities to meet a fan or a
6:38
potential fan where they are. And that's what we need to do.
6:42
And another example of that are some of the things that we've
6:46
done with platforms like Roblox or Fortnite or Substack.
6:53
We have to meet folks where they are the new NASCAR 25, right?
6:57
The on Xbox and and PlayStation, it's doing really, really well.
7:04
And I think the wait was worth it.
7:07
From what I see from the comments, it's and obviously the
7:10
orders it's, it's doing incredibly well.
7:14
Again, meeting fans where they are is, is critical.
7:20
Another thing that I think is really important in addition to
7:23
all of that, and again, meeting where they are is the use of, of
7:28
data. So data doesn't sound super
7:31
sexy, but understanding who our fans are in a database that or
7:36
data warehouse that's over 20 million strong is an opportunity
7:41
for us to use the production facility that we have, that we
7:45
built world class that is producing better content and
7:49
more content, which is why our digital and social numbers are
7:53
the highest they've ever been, never been higher.
7:56
And that's because of great content and the ability for us
8:01
to do both short form and long form opportunities.
8:03
And you think about long form, you know, the Netflix show or on
8:10
Amazon, the Earnhardt documentary or American Thunder
8:14
or the series that's coming out in a couple weeks on YouTube
8:18
Rising. These are all opportunities to
8:21
showcase our drivers, showcase our sport, take the helmets off
8:27
of our drivers and have people understand what an amazing sport
8:32
this is. So very excited about where we
8:35
are today. Even more bullish on the future.
8:41
And it's not that we don't have some some challenges, we do.
8:45
But what we do better than any other sport, in my opinion, is
8:49
that we band together and we solve for what the problems are.
8:54
And that's what we're going to continue to do.
8:57
So I'm going to turn it over to Steve O'Donnell for some
9:01
thoughts. All right, thank you, Steve, and
9:04
also appreciate the, the opportunity to be here with you
9:07
all. I know it's a, it's a very long
9:09
season and you guys put your, your heart and soul into this
9:12
sport. And we appreciate the effort
9:14
that not only that you made coming out to to Phoenix, but
9:17
being with us all year and, and sharing the, the great
9:20
storylines that we've had throughout the season.
9:23
And also, you know, want to congratulate all the, the
9:25
drivers competing for a championship.
9:27
I think it's important to note that this isn't just our
9:30
national series. We've got the ARCA Menards West
9:33
series here as well. And when you look at the talent
9:36
that's coming up, not only through our touring series, Ron
9:39
Dreger at ARCA and what Ben and, and Joey are doing, working on
9:42
our other touring series, really starting to see a steady
9:46
pipeline of drivers coming into the sport.
9:48
You're seeing some drivers dominate in the Craftsman Truck
9:51
Series, in the Xfinity Series and, and really get their names
9:55
out there prior to coming and, and racing on Sundays.
9:57
And, and that's the goal for us is to continue to create future
10:01
stars in the sport. And I believe that the theater
10:04
system is doing that, as are two other national series.
10:09
When you look at the playoffs for this year, certainly some
10:13
very deserving drivers that are here, Steve mentioned that want
10:17
to really I'm excited about what's going to happen out on
10:19
the racetrack. And then when you look at the
10:21
the competition that's happened on track this year, it's been
10:25
phenomenal. And the reason for that is the
10:27
great collaboration that we've had.
10:29
There's some of those folks in this room.
10:31
Our OEM partners have stepped up, our race teams have stepped
10:34
up the drivers. We've probably had better
10:37
feedback than we've ever had before with our competition
10:40
group and all of those stakeholders.
10:43
And the last one I want to mention is Goodyear.
10:45
It goes without saying that the Goodyear year in and year out
10:49
for the last couple years had a bit of a tough Rd. with the
10:54
drivers and the competitors. As everyone said, hey, we want
10:58
tire wear, we want more tire wear.
11:00
We introduced a new car and that was a challenge when you say
11:04
hey, here's a new car and here's a tire and now give us some more
11:07
wear. But the results have been
11:09
absolutely fantastic this year in terms of what good years
11:12
delivered. And I think the entire industry
11:14
really owes them a great deal of gratitude for what they've done.
11:19
We now see more and more, we're learning more and more what this
11:22
car and tire can do in combination.
11:24
And that's a great thing for the sport because it's putting it
11:26
more and more back into the driver's hands.
11:29
When you look at some of our events and, and where we're
11:32
going this year, we continue to believe that NASCAR is a place
11:36
where we're going to surprise some folks, be at the going to
11:39
the Coliseum, Mexico City, Chicago Street Race, but also
11:43
staying true to our roots, launching the season at at
11:46
Bowman Gray. So having that combination for
11:49
our fans, not only those who have ridden with us for years
11:52
and years, but some of the new fans who may be sampling NASCAR
11:55
for the first time in 2026, Ben and, and his team put together
12:01
what we think is going to be an incredible event celebrating the
12:05
military, celebrating the Navy and the 250th anniversary for
12:09
the first time ever racing on a naval base.
12:12
And when you ask, you know, why is that important?
12:15
What are you seeing? We're already seeing 70% new
12:18
fans. It is the biggest event we've
12:20
ever had with pre sales bar none.
12:23
So already an amazing opportunity for us.
12:25
It's going to be really exciting.
12:27
And we're seeing some fans, not only new fans, but some of those
12:30
laps fans maybe on the West Coast who who haven't been able
12:33
to get out to Phoenix or haven't gone to a race are now coming to
12:36
this race as well. So it's going to be a huge
12:37
opportunity for us to to get in front of folks and showcase what
12:41
NASCAR is all about. Also very excited about North
12:45
Wilkesboro. So I don't want anyone to forget
12:47
that we've got a points race there and that's going to be a
12:50
heck of a lot of fun. I think it's shows our
12:53
combination of, yes, trying some new markets, but making sure
12:57
that we're also, you know, in the North Wilkesboro's of the
13:00
world as well. And want to thank Speedway
13:02
Motorsports for for taking that initiative and also want to
13:05
thank them for having an idea about moving an All Star race to
13:09
Dover. I know a lot of folks in here
13:11
will kind of take some shots potentially, but it's going to
13:13
be fun. We're going to do some different
13:15
things. And I can tell you that from the
13:17
folks at Speedway, they're already seeing increased ticket
13:20
sales from where they were last year.
13:21
So that's a great thing for the for the fans up at at Dover.
13:26
So a couple things on competition and then turn it
13:28
back over to Steve. Certainly our fan base is very
13:32
vocal and that is a great thing because if our fan base was
13:35
quiet, we know we would be in trouble.
13:37
They're passionate and they let us know where they want to see
13:41
things. One of those was around
13:42
horsepower and drivers in the industry all wanting to add
13:46
horsepower, especially to our short tracks and really look at
13:50
what we could do to to put some more back in in the driver's
13:53
hands. So working with the teams,
13:55
especially the engine builders who I would say a big thank you
13:59
to. It's not as easy as it seems.
14:02
Some say why not 1000, why not 1200 horsepower?
14:05
Let's just keep going. The cost go through the roof
14:08
when you do that. So it's easy to say it and it's
14:11
easy to say I want it. But when you put a bill in front
14:14
of a race team or in front of an OEM and it's astronomical, it
14:19
doesn't really become something that makes a lot of sense.
14:21
But when you can work together with a common goal within the
14:24
rules and regulations that we have and deliver, you've got
14:28
something. And I think that's what the
14:29
industry has done. We'll learn a lot.
14:32
We've got offseason tests at North Wilkesboro, so we'll be
14:34
able to go there not only with the horsepower and tire
14:37
combination. We'll look at some different
14:39
arrow things as well. Nothing to announce, but we're
14:41
able to now start experimenting and, and look at some different
14:44
options as well. The second thing for the fans,
14:47
and Steve talked about this a bit, playoff format.
14:50
So I'll be very clear that whoever wins, wins under the
14:55
rules that have been established.
14:57
Everybody knew I'm going into this year and we're going to
14:59
crown 4 champions. We're all going to be extremely
15:02
happy to, to do that. But there's been a lot of work
15:05
done. And Tim Clark's LED a a
15:07
committee that's included almost every stakeholder in the
15:10
industry, OEMs, tracks, teams, former drivers, current drivers,
15:15
and we've kicked around a ton of ideas.
15:19
And so while there's nothing to announce today, I think all of
15:21
us agreed that it would not be fair to come in here before we
15:26
crown champions and say, hey, we're thinking of this.
15:29
But I can say that Steve and I have have certainly heard the
15:32
industry understand the challenges that are out there.
15:35
So the goal is to balance some of those moments that we've had
15:39
with the great racing, but also deliver a little bit more of of
15:43
I think what the fans in the industry is asking for.
15:45
So more to come. We did rotate the race.
15:47
Steve mentioned this to Miami. That was probably the biggest
15:50
ask was rotate the championship. We can check that box off, but
15:54
there'll be some other things that we're going to have as
15:56
well. And the last thing I'd say is
15:59
just, you know, Steve talked about this upfront.
16:01
Just a thank you to the industry for really working together this
16:05
year, especially as we looked at, you know, week in and week
16:08
out. I believe this is our 28th race
16:10
in a in a row on the Cup side. That's a grind, especially for
16:14
the race teams. And they've, they've hung with
16:16
us, they've worked together with us, the drivers have worked with
16:19
us. And it's really been a great
16:21
year. And I want to thank the the
16:23
OEMs, the sponsors, as Steve said, I also want to thank our
16:27
employees. And that means the NASCAR
16:29
employees, not only here in Phoenix and at the track, but
16:33
all across the US, who despite a lot of noise out there, despite
16:37
a lot of challenges, put their heads down and delivered on what
16:40
we think is an incredible race season.
16:42
So we're excited about the future 2026.
16:45
It's going to be a lot of fun. We've got some some old school
16:47
things we're going to we're going to bring to the table,
16:49
which will be fun. But with that, I will turn it
16:52
back over to Steve. So I'm sure there are some
17:00
questions that you all may have relative to the lawsuit that is
17:04
ongoing. I typically do not read prepared
17:09
statements, but I want to make sure I get the the words correct
17:14
and give you some context. There was some unsealing of
17:19
documents the other day that had some financials in it.
17:24
I'll probably provide a little more granularity than I normally
17:29
do around these topics. We're pretty typically pretty
17:33
quiet about these things. But I want to give you at least
17:36
our perspective and there's been a lot in the press and a lot of
17:40
people talking. We typically do not talk.
17:44
So I want to read this prepared statement.
17:47
What I will tell you, as I told you last year with ongoing
17:51
litigation, we are not going to answer questions.
17:55
So I'm hoping that what I read to you today will give you some,
17:59
again, some contacts, a little more perspective from where
18:04
we're sitting. And, and again, I would ask you
18:08
to respect by not asking questions and not using your
18:11
question on something that we cannot answer or are unwilling
18:16
to answer at this point. So since I'm going to read, I
18:19
have to take out my glasses. Terrible.
18:25
Getting old, OK? And each of the past two years,
18:30
I've sat here and told you the same thing.
18:33
Healthy race teams are critical to our sport, and we've been
18:38
true to our word from the outset.
18:40
We've been clear this is not an antitrust case.
18:44
The 2020 25 charter agreement is an improvement on the 2016
18:49
framework with enhancements that reflect real progress for teams
18:55
and the sport, including over $3 billion in guaranteed payments
18:59
to the teams enterprise value that is roughly $1.5 billion now
19:07
to the race teams guaranteed starting positions each week
19:10
that allow teams to sell sponsorship on the best
19:13
billboards and sports. The Next Gen. car and charters
19:17
guaranteed for 14 years until at least 2039 plus an obligation to
19:23
negotiate in good faith. Beyond that, the bottom line
19:27
here is NASCAR is committed to charters.
19:32
I also want to be clear, the France family started NASCAR in
19:36
1948 using their own resources, grit and ingenuity.
19:41
They have taken countless personal and financial risks,
19:43
investing billions of dollars in untold hours into growing this
19:46
sport to create the opportunity for teams to race in front of
19:50
fans for nearly eight decades. We are proud of what we built
19:55
for fans together with the race teams, especially since the
19:59
charters were introduced. As you saw in the race team
20:02
declarations, the charter system is a critical part of the sport
20:06
and something we created with and for the teams.
20:09
And will continue to defend and preserve it.
20:12
Make no mistake, the lawsuit puts this at risk.
20:17
We remain committed to doing what is best for the sport of
20:20
stock car racing for the race teams.
20:22
We partner with the many stakeholders who engage with it,
20:25
the people throughout the garage that depend on it, and of course
20:28
the millions of fans that love it like we do and just want to
20:32
see more of the best racing in our history.
20:35
Although we'd prefer this lawsuit was never brought to us,
20:38
we remain confident in our case before a jury and if necessary,
20:41
at the 4th Circuit. We remain optimistic that we can
20:44
continue to work towards a resolution to this litigation
20:48
that allows us to return our focus to racing, which is what
20:52
we all want. The financials of this sport
20:56
have been unsealed and made available to the court.
20:58
It may sound counterintuitive, but that's not something we at
21:01
NASCAR hiding from. In fact, I encourage you to
21:04
really think about what you're seeing and how it comes to life
21:08
each weekend for fans, partners and race teams.
21:12
Our goal has always been to create the best fan and partner
21:15
experience in sports and we invest in that every year
21:19
through our people, our tracks, the racing product and how we
21:22
run the business. It's been a guiding principle
21:25
for almost 80 years and four generations of France family
21:29
stewardship. With that in mind, I'd like to
21:32
highlight a few fundamental points about this litigation.
21:34
The business of NASCAR. NASCAR is more than just the Cup
21:39
Series. Our business includes other
21:41
national series and we support both regional and international
21:45
series. Our sport is built on families,
21:48
relationships and trust that we earn every day.
21:52
We depend on each other as partners, promoters and fan
21:54
ambassadors for Motorsports. And some of them accepted less
21:58
to accommodate the new charter agreement.
22:00
Families like the Smith family who run Speedway Motorsports,
22:05
the Mattioli family at Pocono and Rodger Penske at
22:09
International Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
22:13
NASCAR's balance sheet has more than $1.2 billion in invested
22:17
capital, meaning the vast majority of what we make is
22:20
invested back into the sport, our race teams and our people.
22:25
It's the core principle of how we operate.
22:27
In a recognition of our importance in Motorsports
22:29
broadly between track operations, new races, safety,
22:33
administration of the sport, charter payments and taxes
22:37
across our multi state operations, our role as the
22:40
sanctioning body requires tremendous and often
22:43
unpredictable expenses. Ensuring we have adequate funds
22:47
to cover unforeseen circumstances or opportunistic
22:50
expansion is critical and responsible business.
22:55
We have significant debt payments from the IC merger that
22:58
transformed our business and our schedule as well as other
23:02
business critical liabilities that ensure we can operate the
23:04
sport year to year. We aren't like other sports in
23:08
this regard. We have unique commitments.
23:12
Teams receive about $1.1 billion per year from their sponsors and
23:16
from NASCAR combined in the charter negotiation.
23:20
We'd hope to better align our collective futures around a
23:22
model that facilitates mutual growth through three main ideas.
23:27
Increase revenues for the teams, which has happened agreed upon
23:31
cost structure. Cost of materials for building
23:34
their cars is down about 40% and we work with teams on a cost
23:38
structure but haven't yet come up with a formula that we agree
23:42
upon. And then the driver ambassador
23:45
program in sending driver participation to join us in
23:48
growing the sport. We believe our charters are fair
23:52
and equitable. We did our best to support the
23:54
race teams without destabilizing our sport and compromising our
23:57
ability to deliver for fans well into the future.
24:01
NASCAR is fully aligned with our race team partners who've
24:04
submitted declarations hoping to end this litigation.
24:07
We are trying our hardest, I'm trying my hard as both a fan as
24:12
well as the commissioner of this sport that I've loved since I
24:14
was five years old. Well, 2/2 of the teams of 15
24:19
teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate
24:23
court battle. I hope that we can all agree
24:25
that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care a
24:29
great deal about how we serve our fans, especially as we look
24:33
forward to capping off our season by celebrating new
24:35
champions across all of our national series.
24:38
We have the most diverse and challenging schedule in
24:41
Motorsports. I expect great racing and both
24:44
Steve and I look forward to presenting trophies to very
24:47
deserving champions this weekend.
24:50
And with that, we are happy to take questions that you have.
24:53
Bob Hochrist, Fox Sports. How do you build?
24:55
Confidence with fans and sponsors and potential team
24:58
investors and a sport that has been portrayed as having a
25:01
questionable economic model. And with so much internal and
25:05
private thoughts recently exposed from both the NASCAR and
25:08
team officials. I guess I'll take this one, Bob.
25:15
I think that listen, this is unfortunate.
25:18
It's certainly not something that we were interested in in in
25:25
having happen, but it's happened.
25:29
I would say that the comments that Steve and I made upfront
25:33
were meant to show that this sport is both resilient as well
25:37
as a significant amount of amazing things that are
25:42
happening. What I do know is that there are
25:46
a number of teams out there that are interested in selling their
25:49
charters. Some are in the process of doing
25:52
that right now. I'd say the interest from
25:57
private equity has never been higher.
26:01
You know, are there some things that comments that have been
26:03
made on on both sides that are unfortunate?
26:06
Yeah. Are there things that, you know,
26:08
Steve and I said that we would like to not have made public?
26:13
Yes. And I'm sure there are things
26:15
that 2311 and in front row also feel that way, Bob.
26:18
But what I do know is this is an amazing sport.
26:22
We are a very resilient sport. You know, we have asked our
26:26
employees, all of them, to Steve's point, to put your head
26:30
down and grow this sport. And that's what we've done.
26:34
And I don't think a lawsuit or anything else is going to
26:38
ultimately pull against the overall success of the sport as
26:42
we move forward. OK.
26:45
Thank you. Next we'll go to Jordan Bianchi.
26:48
Jordan Bianchi at The Athletic This question is for one or both
26:51
of you. When you compare TV ratings for
26:53
race being on either. Broadcast or cable, there is a
26:56
notable noticeable difference. In that number, what level?
26:59
Of concern is there about this, since this is your one of a
27:03
seven-year deal. Yeah, it's a good question,
27:05
Jordan and I and I should have addressed that in my upfront
27:09
which I intended to do when the season started because of the
27:18
distribution changes to be less broadcast heavy and more cable
27:23
heavy and streaming. We knew we were going to have a
27:27
reset and we had projected that that reset and told everyone in
27:32
our industry that reset would be between 14 and 15% on in Cup.
27:38
We also told them we probably have double digit increase in
27:41
Xfinity and then trucks would be you know where trucks are
27:46
because of the distribution stayed the same primarily on on
27:49
FS1 and some Fox. So right now as we sit our
27:53
ratings in Cup are down 14%, exactly what we predicted.
27:58
So, you know, I think the Fox portion of the season was really
28:05
strong in terms of how they did from a ratings perspective.
28:09
I think that Xfinity exceeded a lot of, you know, kind of
28:13
experts opinions about what their audience would be.
28:17
We've surmised that the that the audience make up of of Amazon
28:25
would be younger than it was by about six years.
28:31
And then the production value that, you know, Fox and NBC have
28:36
had traditionally amazing. And then, you know, everyone
28:40
just raised their game. You know, Amazon's production
28:42
was tremendous and Turner Sports was a tremendous.
28:46
You know, NBC already had a high bar, right?
28:50
You know, the Turner numbers were slightly softer than we
28:52
thought they would be slightly, but in line with the
28:55
projections. I would say the cable portion of
28:59
the NBC package has been a little softer than we had
29:04
expected. Bounce back on the NBC races and
29:09
I think we'll have a, a, a decent rating here on Sunday.
29:12
So again, the expectation moving forward now that we have had the
29:17
reset is that we are going to, we are going to grow and we're
29:22
going to grow because we have the best racing in the world.
29:27
The our stars are going to be more out there.
29:30
We're creating better content, all the things that make fandom.
29:36
So again, are we concerned about where the ratings are?
29:38
No, it's exactly where we thought they'd be.
29:42
OK. Next we'll go to Kelly and then
29:43
we'll go to Jenna, and then we'll go to John Newby after
29:46
that. Kelly Crandall racer.
29:47
Dot com I'm not. Sure who this is best for, so
29:50
either one of you please. There was a change in race
29:52
control earlier. This year in the on the cup side
29:54
with Dusan leaving, anything you can share about what happened
29:58
there or what are the plans at least going?
30:00
Forward for race control. Of who will be up there and
30:03
again, just plans. Yeah, nothing I can share other
30:06
than, you know, it was an internal personnel matter and
30:11
wished you Shawn well, did a great job for us.
30:14
Tim Berman is is calling the races and I, I'd probably be
30:17
remiss and I'll, I'll knock on wood here, but I answered two
30:21
years in a row. I was up here answering
30:24
officiating questions about missed calls, bad calls.
30:28
I don't think Eldon Sawyer has been behind the hauler once this
30:30
year, and so I want to give a bit of a tribute to the team.
30:35
Of course, anything can happen right this weekend, but I think
30:37
those guys deserve some acknowledgement for really doing
30:41
a hell of a job throughout the year, and I think our
30:44
competitors would share that as well.
30:48
OK with Jenna next? Hi Jenna Fryer API.
30:53
Want to clarify upfront, I'm not asking like a gotcha contentious
30:56
question. Denny is very on record that
31:00
he's treated fairly by you guys, that he doesn't have any
31:03
problems. 2311 doesn't have any problems at the racetrack.
31:07
That being said, he is a habitual pit Rd. speeder.
31:11
Should something happen Sunday that Denny does that, that
31:16
NASCAR has to make a call and penalize him on, is there any
31:20
concern that the NASCAR fans or you know, skeptics might think
31:26
that it was intentional on your guys part?
31:29
No. Why are you so certain that the
31:32
fans will buy it? Because we have all the
31:36
technology in place, we have an unbelievable officiating team.
31:42
And I think that question actually is is a bit absurd.
31:45
So I'm pretty confident in the decisions we'll make and the
31:48
transparency we've had throughout the year.
31:55
John Newby Fan Buzz With the Daytona 500 moving a week later
31:59
next season, is that something you guys anticipate could happen
32:02
more permanently if the NFL keeps pushing their Super Bowl
32:05
further and further? I I would say, in a word, yes.
32:10
You know, we want to avoid the Super Bowl for sure fairly large
32:16
event with some viewers. So listen, we are you know, they
32:22
are a a amazing the amazing product.
32:26
They're an amazing league and the Daytona 500 is our Super
32:31
Bowl. So again, creating some distance
32:34
and not overlap is is something that we'll continue to to make
32:37
sure that we do. All right.
32:39
We'll go to Jeff Gluck next and then we'll go to Lee Spencer
32:41
after that. Hey, when the Next Gen. debuted,
32:46
a big selling point was and a lot of talk was about the
32:48
parity. This year though, you know,
32:50
three teams combined to have all 8 drivers in the final and then
32:54
they won 25 of the 29 Oval races.
32:56
So is is that a concern for you guys?
32:59
And if it is a concern, are there changes that can be made
33:02
to address, you know, these big teams now honing in on this car?
33:07
I think it's a, it's a good question, Jeff.
33:08
And, and I wouldn't say it's a concern.
33:11
It's, it's definitely a trend that we need to be very watchful
33:14
on. And I think it is when you look
33:17
at the car, our team has done a, a really great job around the
33:21
car and what you can do. But most of the spend now is
33:25
going through simulation, right, and engineering and all these
33:27
things that the bigger teams have more resources.
33:30
You look at the future with AI and all these different things.
33:33
So our focus as a as a competition group, I think
33:36
really needs to lean into that aspect of it.
33:39
So, you know, what are the have nots not have and what can we do
33:44
and what rules can we put in place as technology becomes more
33:48
and more of a factor, can we lessen that?
33:50
Probably difficult to do that. Technology costs a ton of money.
33:54
But what can we share with some of the smaller teams as we look
33:58
at future rules to make sure they're able to go out there and
34:01
not only compete, but compete for wins?
34:02
So it is it is definitely on the radar.
34:05
That's why we introduced the car.
34:07
Certainly from a cost standpoint, it's not a bad thing
34:10
to have drivers going out and winning multiple races.
34:12
That's right. We've learned that the hard way
34:13
too. But it is something we're we're
34:15
focused on for sure. Lee Spencer, SiriusXM NASCAR
34:20
Radio and catch fence.com It's kind of a follow up to that.
34:24
Steve O'Donnell How do you put ingenuity back in the team's
34:31
hands? I mean, you talk about cost
34:33
savings. You know, these teams would
34:35
spend as much money as their budgets will allow.
34:38
So how do you kind of let them get more creative with the, you
34:42
know, from an ingenuity standpoint kind of to where
34:46
NASCAR was back in the day rather than all these single
34:49
source parts where one guy can't get an advantage because the
34:54
playing field or, you know, supposedly is so equal?
34:58
Well, I'd say it's two sides to that, right.
35:01
So you've seen the big three teams who are winning more of
35:04
the races. So there are some things they
35:05
can do clearly, but it is something we're looking at.
35:09
You know, you look at the Next Gen. car and why did it happen?
35:12
And it came about from the race team saying help us, help
35:16
ourselves, right? We, we had individual carts,
35:18
manufacturer car parts manufacturers, not a sustainable
35:22
model. So you look at what we've been
35:24
able to capture. Now we all have a good
35:26
understanding of, you know, what it costs to go run a race team,
35:29
What Car parts are. So in the future, you know,
35:32
Steve has kicked us around too. You know, what could a model
35:34
look like where, you know, here's the cost to maybe go run
35:38
a car. We all kind of agree on that and
35:41
you can decide where you want to put your resources.
35:44
Is that on pit Rd. Is that on engineering?
35:46
You know, a lot of discussions are happening around that
35:49
because it's not lost on us that that we do like the storylines
35:52
of, you know, engineers, crew chiefs contributing to making
35:56
their car go faster and contributing to win.
35:58
So there's a lot of discussion going on right now about that.
36:02
But we want to do that in a really smart way.
36:03
So we don't open up the, you know, the the cost factor and,
36:07
and we go right back to where we were.
36:10
OK, we're going to continue to go here and we're going to try
36:12
to get to everyone, but we may run out of time.
36:15
So we'll go to our future Hall of Famer Deb next, and then we
36:18
will go to Chris Knight. You could have gone all day and
36:21
not said that. Not going to happen, my dear.
36:25
Thank you Deb Williams Auto Week.
36:28
This is for Steve O'Donnell and and Steve helps if you want to
36:31
join in as well. But I didn't do like last year
36:33
when I said this is for Steve. I know you said you wanted to
36:38
focus on this week's championship, but it sounds like
36:42
from the discussions that have occurred and what comes out that
36:45
you may be abandoning the one race championship format.
36:50
As much as excitement as it creates, why do you think it has
36:53
not resonated with the fans? I, I certainly can't speak for
36:59
all the fans, right? I, I can speak for myself.
37:01
And because I've, I've said this, one of the concerns is
37:07
future drivers coming up through the system having multiple wins
37:12
and not necessarily winning a championship.
37:15
I think that's a challenge for a sport.
37:17
And where the, I think the light really goes on is, is having
37:22
that driver be deemed a potential superstar.
37:25
And so we looked at this, I think we all did, looking at
37:28
more moments, more drivers, more drivers having the ability to go
37:32
out there and win. And that maybe takes away from
37:35
the one driver story. And you know, that's it's
37:38
probably harder to write just the one driver story over and
37:40
over again, but does create a real star.
37:43
And I think that's something that as you look at the future
37:46
of the sport, making sure that a driver who has delivered all
37:51
season long has the ability to be named a champion and not have
37:56
something maybe come down to one race.
37:58
So that's really been the focal point is, is we want to reward
38:02
winning. We're going to continue to do
38:04
that. Whatever model we come up with.
38:06
Winning is very important. But the one race thing has been
38:09
a factor of, you know, it's there's a lot of circumstances
38:12
that can happen and our fans, you know, right or wrong, are
38:16
different than other stick and ball sports.
38:18
And, and that's OK. I've said this before, when the
38:21
Giants win the Super Bowl, because I'm a Giants fan, nobody
38:24
questions it. Everyone says the Giants are
38:25
Super Bowl champions. Our our fans don't do that.
38:28
And that's been a learning process for us, for us as well.
38:33
All right. So we'll go to Chris and then
38:34
we'll go to Jerry after that. Christian icatchments.com thank
38:37
you you guys. It's for either questions for
38:39
either of you guys not to take away.
38:41
From this weekend, but now. Ram officially announced in
38:45
August that they will return to NASCAR, specifically the NASCAR
38:48
Craftsman Truck Series, in 2026. Since their announcement, has
38:51
NASCAR received any enquiries from any potential manufacturers
38:55
interested in joining the sport across any of NASCAR's own
38:58
racing platforms? I'll take this Chris.
39:02
Listen, we're thrilled that that Ram is coming to the sport.
39:06
Might that be follow up with them going to Xfinity or soon to
39:12
be O'reilly's Otter parts series?
39:18
We're hopeful. Is it what we do know it's
39:22
better to have more O ES than it is to have fewer.
39:25
And so, you know, we would like to have the portfolio of, you
39:31
know, Dodge and Ram as part of the sport.
39:35
Are we in other discussions with potential OES that would come
39:40
into the sport? The answer is yes.
39:42
Some are more advanced than others.
39:44
There's nothing to announce today.
39:46
You know, Steve and I are very grateful that, you know, this
39:51
year now comes and one of the things we were looking forward
39:54
to is not having to answer the question here.
39:56
You have a new OE. So we we are.
40:00
So the question is what does that look like and how quickly
40:03
are they going to come? You know, it goes back a little
40:07
bit to the question about parity, right?
40:09
So, you know, I think it's no surprise that the support that
40:14
Toyota gives to Joe Gibbs Racing and the support that Ford gives
40:18
to to Penske and the support that that GM gives to Hendrick
40:25
is sizable. Right, I mean, they they're
40:28
there if you're going to call them a teams, they're they're a
40:30
teams, right. So would it be nice to have
40:33
another couple of O ES that could have a teams too?
40:36
Yeah. And get rid of anyone that's AC
40:38
team, right that's not getting support that will create better
40:41
parity. And so we are working very hard
40:46
to you know, to accelerate the the opportunity to bring a new
40:53
OE in. How important is Rams excitement
40:56
towards returning to the Truck Series in 2026?
40:59
Crucial for the series overall? All right, so you didn't, you're
41:02
not allowed to ask 2 questions, Chris, but I will answer that
41:04
because it's it is a relevant follow up as opposed to, you
41:09
know, I've got a two-part question.
41:10
You got in and you answer a different question altogether.
41:13
The the listen, they're thrilled.
41:16
You know, the guy who who came back to run Ram and Tim Kaniskas
41:22
and his team are over the moon excited to be here.
41:28
And you know, Steve and I go a decade back with, you know, Tim
41:33
and and Tom Sakaman from Ram and Dodge about getting them into
41:38
the sport or back into the sport.
41:41
And you know, what kind of two swings and a missus for any
41:44
number of reasons. And then we're able to connect
41:47
on this one and we're thrilled. OK.
41:50
Please go ahead, Jerry. Jerry Jordan kicking
41:52
thetires.net you made the mention of of Xfinity transition
41:57
to O'Reilly but from behind you. For the past few years we've had
42:00
Bush, Coca-Cola and Xfinity for the Cup series with the
42:03
potential of a new championship format.
42:06
Have you all given? Thought and.
42:07
Consideration to adding and expanding to that list of or
42:11
going. Back to an entitlement.
42:12
Sponsorship for the entire series.
42:16
I'll take that. I, I don't, I don't foresee a
42:18
day, Jerry, where we would go back to having a single brand
42:22
for a cup series. I think, you know, financially
42:26
and promotionally, I think it was very strong, you know, back
42:30
to the Winston days and then Nextel Sprint monster.
42:35
But I think it it also provided or inhibited the number of folks
42:41
that could that wanted to promote the cup series.
42:46
So I don't envision a time when we would go back to a single
42:49
partner. Could we expand to five premier
42:52
partners potentially, We'll just have to wait and see.
42:56
I. Think we've got time for one
42:58
more and we'll take it from Greg Engel.
43:00
Thank God, Greg Engel Forbes I only one question talk about the
43:07
when we brought out the next Gen. car, we were talking about
43:09
hybrid power trains and some but given the political climate,
43:13
which is changed like as much as I changed my socks and and
43:17
everything's kind of slowed down in terms of EV sales and they're
43:20
all that. Are you still moving forward
43:21
with still studying that, you know, possibility of going to
43:25
hybrid power system or has that timeline slowed down given the
43:29
political climate? I would say it's, it's slowed
43:32
down in general, not not necessarily political climate,
43:35
but discussions with our, our OEMs. I would say that, you
43:38
know, AB BS been an incredible partner when we've looked at the
43:42
electrification model and we've learned a lot and we've
43:46
showcased that. I think we can do some things,
43:48
show it to the fans, show what kind of might happen.
43:51
And from there you get into discussions about what could be
43:54
from a hybrid. You know, there's hydrogen,
43:57
there's all kinds of different things out there.
43:59
I think what it's done is allowed us to have the
44:01
discussions with the OEMs about the future and get way ahead of
44:05
this now, learn some things from AMSA on what they've done,
44:09
what's worked, what's maybe been really expensive.
44:11
So we're going to do that in a, in a methodical way and make
44:14
sure that whatever choice we make, you know, needs to be for
44:18
somewhat of the long term. You get yourself in a box if you
44:21
you make a hybrid call and it's the wrong call and then just
44:25
kidding, you got to go back. So you know, Steve talked about,
44:28
you know, RAM coming in and potential for new OEMs coming
44:31
in. All of that conversation is
44:33
happening now to make sure that whatever model we put in place
44:37
is something that you know, see our GM folks in the back that
44:41
that they can go out and sell more vehicles based on what's
44:43
happening on track. And and that's the ultimate goal
44:45
for us.