By Mike Mulhren
Winston Salem News Journal,January 15

Bill France Jr. wandered into the press room here the other day, just to check things out and chew the fat.

It was typical Billy. He's always had an uncommon knack for schmoozing with the media.

France, no longer the boss of stock-car racing, now has more time on his hands, and a smaller office. He turned his big corner suite over to son Brian in late 2003, and he generally lets Brian handle the day-to-day chores of running the multi-billion-dollar operation.

Bill France (L) and Brian France

But when it comes to schmoozing, the patriarch of the clan is nonpareil. When Brian enters a room, it's an almost imperial entrance, like a Donald Trump. When Bill enters a room, it's like an old neighbor dropping by for coffee.

In fact, this particular afternoon the elder France, 71, wandered around the room almost unnoticed for a while, until the media picked up on him.

And then he hung around talking about anything and everything for more than half an hour before fading into the twilight.

Nothing much of great import was revealed. He declined to discuss the upcoming TV negotiations, for example. "I'm not going to speculate on anything in that regard," France said. "Not even on the date we're going to sit down and talk.

"You guys will have to wait. Hey, y'all will need something to write about six months from now."

The NFL just negotiated a 25 percent increase in its network TV package, and analysts report that NASCAR executives want "parity" when it comes time shortly to negotiate their new TV deal.

France said there were a number of aspects to the upcoming TV negotiations that were still up for debate: "It all depends on what the 'product' is. The type of racing, when, where, the whole nine yards.

"And the networks want to try to take in some more revenue. We'd like to get more money. And this is a free enterprise system. So they've got to get it from somewhere if they're going to pay us."

Fox is promoting the Daytona 500 and the Super Bowl in the same commercial as signature events. "Fox has done a good job on the promotion side," France said.

"What they (Fox, NBC and TNT) paid us in this last contract, they could not just sit on it. They can't put that kind of money out and not promote what they've got. It would be like throwing dollars out the front door. It's like buying a fancy car and not driving it."

So does France expect to get an increase in TV money? With stagnant ratings that might be difficult.

"I'm not even going to speculate," he said firmly. "I'm not going to speculate. The NFL got a nice bump, but I'm not going to speculate on what we're expecting."

It's unclear who will be on NASCAR's negotiating team.

But then Bill wasn't there to make headlines, but just to hang out.

He did say that the political setback to NASCAR's plans to build a track near Seattle was temporary.

And he did offer the tease that some Indy-car news might be breaking out in Phoenix later this month at the Copperworld Classic.

But generally it was just a good afternoon coffee klatch.

What are the challenges this sport faces over the next five years and what are some things France hopes are accomplished?

"I'm not going to get into what I hope," France quipped, "because that would be leaking a story ... and there are enough leaks without me leaking one.... I think we just need to keep pushing the race cars up the hill. Keep the sport moving forward. And watching the costs. That, and safety, and watching the competition. And the competition here looks pretty good.

"I was just talking with John Darby (head of competition for Nextel Cup), and he said there's nobody beefing about who has an advantage. You remember the days when Ford would beef about the Chevys being too fast, or the Chevys would beef about the Fords. And you would write everything they said."

France laughed.

This track's spiffy new garage area - the first major remake since it opened in 1959 - has been a hot topic, because fans (at least those willing to pay an extra $80 or so) will have remarkable access. Each team's garage bay features a huge picture window for fans to watch them, just inches away. Drivers and crews say they have found that very disconcerting, and only a handful of fans have been in evidence so far.

"We spent some nice evenings in the old garage, discussing some things until well after midnight," Bill France said. "Looking at other people's equipment...."

Any favorite hiding places? "No, not me," France said. "A guy like me isn't supposed to hide. I'm supposed to be upfront."

The International Speedway Corp., which runs all the France family tracks, may have hit a setback in Seattle, but the ISC is boldly moving forward in New York City, where it just bought a 600-acre plot of questionable land on Staten Island for a proposed Richmond-type speedway, by maybe 2009.

France says he's not handling any of that himself. "But New York is nice the place to help us get 'up the hill,' for the whole series, not just ISC," France said. "It would be good for ISC, but the whole series would get some benefit. Because New York is New York. That's where a lot happens. A lot of people may not like it, but that's where it happens.

"New York is challenging. Just getting into town is challenging. But we're optimistic. We've made a substantial investment in some land, and that's an indication we're not going to throw in the towel."

ORIGINAL STORY-Winston Salem News Journal

See you in September
by Bob Margolis,January 15

Although the calendar says January, Cup drivers already are thinking September.

That is when, of course, the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins.

Sure, the season-opening Daytona 500 is the race everyone wants to win, the one that can make your career. And that's where the focus is right now for drivers and teams.

Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk while their crews make adjustments to their cars during the first day of Nextel Cup testing at Daytona. (Orlando Sentinel, John Raoux/Associated Press)

But fast forward to the day after the 500, and drivers begin to focus on winning a championship. To do that, they first must qualify for the Chase, which begins Sept. 18 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Winning a fifth title – and who might stand in his way – already is on the mind of Jeff Gordon, who missed claiming the championship last season by a mere 16 points.

"Now it's 'drive for five in '05' and maybe this will be the year that we'll get it," Gordon said. "How do you really pick who your challengers are? One thing I've always done ... is focus on our own team and our own cars and our own program and try to do the best we can at each and every race and that we're our ultimate competitor.

"As long as we can do that, I think we've got a shot at it no matter who else is running good."

Besides, says Gordon, the list of top title contenders can change from year to year.

"I hate to even mention names because I think there will be a handful of names that I don't mention," said Gordon, who topped the charts in three of the first four test sessions at Daytona this week. "Everybody picks up their program during the offseason. Things change and you just never know who is going to be competitive and who isn't."

Gordon's top competitor during last season's Chase turned out to be Kurt Busch, who won his first Cup championship in '04. Now, Busch not only feels the pressure of repeating as champion but also of being a man with a target on his back – something he didn't have to deal with last season.

"One thing that's good about being a favorite is that the attention is always around you," he said. "You've got that same buzz and that same vibe all year. It seemed as if [Jimmie Johnson and the 48 car] were the favorites [last year], but they may have burned themselves out with having all of that extra attention at the end of the season. For us, we slid in under the radar."

Even if the spotlight now is on the No. 97 crew, Busch doesn't expect his team to function any differently.

"If we're looked at as a favorite this season, we're still going to have that same mentality to work at our pace from start to finish and not get too excited," he said.

Last year's Chase bridesmaid Jamie McMurray, who finished 11th in the points, learned from missing out in '04 that it's never too early to keep an eye on earning a spot in the 10-race shootout.

"When we looked back at last year, we realized that if only we had led one more race or finished higher in two races, those few things would have made a difference," he said. "You can't overlook even the early races."

But Ryan Newman, who notched two wins and 10 poles last season, sees the Chase as a chance to make up for a poor start and earn a clean slate for the final stretch run. During the final 10 races, not early in the season, is when a driver needs to get hot.

"That's a big part of winning the championship," Newman said. "You could have nine DNFs in the first 26 races and no DNFs in the last, as long as you're in the top 10 and have a top-five points run."

When it comes to qualifying for the Chase and winning the championship, isn't winning races still the key?

"The championship comes by itself if you win the right races," Newman. said "Our ultimate goal is to always win the race everywhere we go, and hopefully that puts us in a position where we can use our talent to win a championship."

NASCAR drivers to highlight auto show
NBC to broadcast live from International Auto Show in Detroit

January 15

NASCAR will take center stage when NBC Sports broadcasts its two-hour, live coverage of the "International Auto Show" on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. ET from the COBO Center in Detroit.

As the sport prepares for the Great American Race, the Daytona 500, on February 20, NASCAR drivers, NASCAR cars, and the NASCAR on NBC announce team will give NBC's broadcast a taste of NASCAR to help get fns ready for the 2005 season.

The NBC telecast will introduce scores of production and concept cars to the national viewing audience with features, live political convention-type coverage from the exhibit floor and test drives of selected vehicles by NASCAR stars including four-time champion Jeff Gordon and reigning NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Kurt Busch.

Highlights of the NASCAR drivers' participation in the broadcast include:

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Burton, and Brian Vickers will introduce the '06 Monte Carlo.

Chevy Teammate Jeff Gordon will go "top down" in the new Corvette convertible.

Ford drivers Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler will test the new Ford Mustang.

"The King," Richard Petty, and Dodge Teammates Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield, will welcome the New Dodge Charger back to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. NBC pit reporter Dave Burns will put the new car through its passes in the wind tunnel

A two-hour "Pit stop" tour of the Auto Show floor, from manufacturer to manufacturer to see the automotive industry's latest concepts and production vehicles.

The NASCAR on NBC announce team of Bill Weber, Benny Parsons, Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, and Marty Snider will provide information on what to look for now and in the future of Big Auto.

"NBC's live coverage of the International Auto Show will give NASCAR fans an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at this year's hottest new cars," says Jeffrey Pollack, Managing Director, Broadcasting and New Media, NASCAR. "Viewers will get behind the wheel for special test drives and tour the floor of the show with some familiar faces from the track and NASCAR on NBC."

"If you are a NASCAR fan, this show is for you," said Pollack.

NASCAR's participation in the Auto Show is part of NASCAR Acceleration 2005, a branded platform that unifies major racing events beginning with Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in early February, building to the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, and then heading West for NASCAR events in Los Angeles (The Auto Club 500, Feb 27), Mexico City (The Mexico 200, March 6) and Las Vegas (The UAW/Daimler Chrysler 400, March 13).

"The opportunity to present this unique show to a national television audience is something we're looking forward to doing," said Jon Miller, Sr. Vice President of Programming, NBC Sports. "With the help of the NASCAR on NBC commentators and production team, this will be a fast-paced, high-energy show that reveals some of the hottest cars on the market in 2005."

NASCAR is partnering with Michigan International Speedway in a display including four show cars, including the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Dennis Setzer in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the Michigan International Speedway Chevrolet Monte Carlo pace car, as well Darrell Waltrip's 1988 No. 17 Tide Chevrolet.

The display will also highlight NASCAR action on four plasma screens. Michigan International Speedway employees will distribute NASCAR Acceleration 2005 lanyards, pocket schedules, Craftsman key chains and pens and NASCAR Busch Series decals. The display can be found in the Michigan Hall of the COBO Center, on the lower level, adjacent to COBO Arena, in Detroit, MI.

"Michigan is the birthplace and home of the auto industry and NASCAR consistently delivers great racing to Michigan twice a year. It is exciting to bring the two together for such a significant event," said MIS President Brett Shelton.

"The North American International Auto Show is a great place to show our support of the auto industry. We once again look forward to hosting the auto industry and help them celebrate their innovations when the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series returns to Michigan this Father's Day weekend."

"Our unique partnership with NBC Sports offers substantial national exposure of the auto industry's most anticipated event," said Bill Cook, senior co-chairman of the 2005 North American International Auto Show. "It's a natural fit for both organizations, reaching out to a broad range of viewers who love cars."

Sam Flood is the Executive Producer of the International Auto Show on NBC and James Shiftan serves as coordinating producer