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5 questions for NASCAR boss Brian France

By Jim Benton, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 16, 2008 at 6 a.m.

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"The reduction of the number of events is not practical. Shortening events — that would be, in our view, more symbolic than actually saving anybody some real money." <p><strong>Brian France</strong></p>

Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

"The reduction of the number of events is not practical. Shortening events — that would be, in our view, more symbolic than actually saving anybody some real money."

Brian France

5 questions for Brian France

NASCAR chairman and CEO

1. How important is it for the current manufacturers to remain active in the sport?

“They have been a very

important part of the sport in historical purposes. And we have every intention of them being a big part of the sport in the future. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to help them get through

a difficult business cycle because of what the ramifications could

be, forgetting NASCAR for a moment, because that would pale in comparison to one of those companies if they have any additional challenges.”

2. What are your feelings on the Sprint Cup’s new car?

“We’ve watched the competition get better week after week as the teams have figured out this car. All of the safety benefits that we’ve got, those are now well-documented. We believe very strongly that this car will deliver cost savings in the long run, for sure. In some cases, the short run.”

3. Has the Chase format helped Sprint Cup racing?

“As history will unfold, we’ll have a period of years where someone will be as dominant as Jimmie (Johnson) and it will go down in the history books. Then there will be other years where that won’t happen, and we’ll have a number of years with historically tight championship battles. That will be terrific, too.”

4. Will NASCAR conside rreducing the length of some races and reducing the schedule to save money?

“We’re not considering either one of these. The reduction of the number of events is not practical. Shortening events — that would be, in our view, more symbolic than actually saving anybody some real money. It’s not the last 50 laps, it’s getting to the event and all the things that make up that in the first place.”

5. Are there any plans for NASCAR to offer reductions for ticket prices or incentives to get people to purchase tickets?

“The tracks have been really

hard at work on that subject, because they’re the ones who, obviously, do manage setting the ticket prices in our sport. We

don’t have to, because they’re right on top of that.”

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