If Bill France Sr., the man who put NASCAR together so many years back, were alive today I seriously doubt that the new NASCAR Charter system would have been put in place.
Despite NASCAR CEO Brian France, son of Bill France Jr. saying, “I think my father would understand,” I don’t think his father nor his grandfather would have understood the Race Team Alliance pretty much taking control of the business of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
There are some that suggested had NASCAR not given in to the demands of the Alliance the Daytona 500 might not have been run or the Alliance would have made it much more difficult for NASCAR to function. Now what does that remind you of?
Longtime fans of the sport will remember that Bill France Sr. “handled” things when racers tried to take control of the sport. There were a couple of times when groups tried to take control and were rebuffed. France Sr. went as far as bringing in outsiders, non-NASCAR racers, to race at Talladega. If memory serves me correctly Richard Brickhouse won the race. And it was a short time after that the NASCAR regulars gave up their union efforts.
Last week, NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance reached an agreement, something that has been worked on for quite a while, that allows Alliance members more say in how the business of NASCAR Sprint Cup is run.
There are now 36 Charter teams operating in NASCAR Sprint Cup. Those teams are all guaranteed a starting position in the Cup races. Now just 40 cars will start the races so that allows just four teams to try to qualify, make the show.
The Wood Brothers team, a longtime supporter of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, was not fortunate enough to get a Charter. Part of the new system was that those teams getting a Charter had to have run a full schedule the last three seasons. The Wood Brothers were a part-time team for the last few years. However they had announced a full season effort with Ryan Blaney as the driver for this season. With no Charter they will have to qualify for each race. Needless to say they have quit the Alliance.
Keep in mind that the Wood Brothers have been pretty much a fixture on the circuit for more years than I can remember. They have been involved in NASCAR more years than many of the Charter owners have been alive. There are NASCAR Hall of Fame Wood Brothers. David Pearson, A.J. Foyt, and other famous racers drove the Wood Brothers cars. Not including them as a Charter team is just plain wrong.
The starting field for a Cup race is now down to 40 from 43. Perhaps they should have made it 42 and allowed the Wood Brothers to be part of it.
As it stands now there will still be qualifying with the four Open teams, those that are not Charter holders, turning the quickest laps making the race while the other 36 spots go to Charter teams. In my thinking this is going to make it tough for Sprint Cup to attract new owners to the sport. It protects the Charter owners but does nothing, in my opinion, to open the door for newcomers.
Of course we are being told that the new Charter system will allow the Alliance members to add value to their teams. Those with the money are invited to buy a Charter from a current owner. The asking price, aka starting price, reportedly is $1.5 million.
Michael Waltrip and his partner Rob Kauffman benefited from the new Alliance since their team had shut down. However since they had two teams running full schedules the last three years they earned two Charters despite having no teams. They were able to sell those Charters. Rob Kauffman is now involved with Chip Ganassi and is the CEO of the Race Team Alliance. One of their Charters went to Joe Gibbs and the other to Tony Stewart. Each of those teams now have four Charters each.
As one media friend suggested, we may never see another startup team join the Sprint Cup list of owners. And the reason the field of starters was cut to 40 was that all involved could see the handwriting on the wall that indicated that it would going to be difficult to draw full fields of 43. That is something this writer has talked about in the past.
Quite frankly, despite NASCAR telling us differently, interest in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing is not what it used to be. All you have to do is look at the TV and live attendance figures and you can see that. Major news outlets paid little attention to the “so called big news” from NASCAR when they announced the new Charter system.
This Sunday the first official event counting toward the NASCAR Sprint Cup title, the Daytona 500, will take place. The folks at Daytona International Speedway have spent about $400 million to upgrade their facility. At last report the race is almost sold out and officials hope it will be a sellout, all 101,000 seats taken. That is 50,000 less seats than they used to have available.
In the past the purse for the Daytona 500 was often the subject of news releases. As of this article being written there has been no mention. In fact we are told that we just may see that last place, that paid $200,000 plus in the past, will not be that much.
And I have to throw this out there: the Open racers will not earn as much in prize money as the Charter driver that finishes in the same position.
Speaking of money, we have been told that the money actually earned from racing only covers about 25-percent of the cost of racing. In my thinking that would indicate the sport, not just NASCAR Sprint Cup, is in serious trouble. Racing seems to have been using the same business model as the government, spend, spend, and spend even if you don’t have it.
Richard Petty recently was quoted as saying the introduction of the Charter system was the second most important day in NASCAR history as it was the first time the sport had successfully taken power from the France family. In my mind it remains to be seen if this effort is successful.
* * *Let us all hope that the crashfest Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona this past Saturday night is not a sample of what is to be expected in the Daytona 500. Only four of the 25 starters finished the 75 lap (20 lap and 50 lap segments) race without significant damage.
* * *For those unable to get to Daytona Beach for the Daytona 500 here is an alternative: The annual Daytona 500 Party presented by the Flemington Speeedway Historical Society (FSHS) at the Three Bridges Volunteer Fire Company’s banquet hall is set for Sunday, Feb. 21. The professionally-catered affair runs from noon to 5 p.m. The address is 467 Main Street, Three Bridges, NJ.
Your local NAPA Auto Parts stores host this annual local tradition, which benefits FSHS. The society is a public charity recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code. Contributions are tax deductible.
Two Daytona 500 winners were also Flemington Speedway feature winners. 1967 Daytona winner Mario Andretti drove a Midget to victory at the 1963 Flemington Fair, and 1963 Daytona 500 winner Tiny Lund won a 200 lap NASCAR Grand American race at Flemington in 1970.
The catered buffet, draft beer, wine, soda, water, coffee, and gourmet cookies are complimentary. A full cash bar is also available. Door prizes and raffles are part of the fun. Guests will watch the Great American Race on three 120″ diagonal, rear projection HD screens with a 150 watt sound system.
Advance tickets are $30 each, and available through flemingtonspeedwayhistoricalsociety.com, as well as at Flemington and Clinton NAPA stores. Getting eight or more tickets in a single purchase reserves a table for your group. Attendance is strictly limited by fire code. The event is expected to sell out. Tickets may not be available at the door.
To donate door prizes or for more information, email: 500party@flemingtonspeedwayhistoricalsociety.com, or call or text 908-246-8820.
* * *My annual pick for the winner of the Daytona 500 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Now keep in mind that during my 50 years or so of writing about the business of motorsports I have rarely been correct with this forecast.