NASCAR President Mike Helton says NASCAR using more fan input to make changes to the sport

By Bob Pockrass

Saturday, February 06, 2010

NASCAR President Mike Helton says NASCAR is keeping a close eye on its top-35 rule and start-and-park teams.

Sam Cranston
NASCAR Illustrated

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR has made several changes in the last nine months, from double-file restarts to the new “boys have at it” policy to the upcoming change from the rear wing to spoiler on its Sprint Cup car.

NASCAR has made those changes, in part, because it is listening to fans as well as sponsors, race teams and race tracks, NASCAR officials say.

“We’re listening to the whole sport,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said earlier this week. “We figured out a better method to listen [online], which helps us to hear fans. We have got better systems internally to where we can process all that.

“We’ll never be able to have the right answer for everybody because they’re going to conflict. We get a lot of different opinions and they’re radically different from each other. So we’re never going to have an answer that is absolutely perfect for everybody’s situation. I hope what everybody gets from this is we are trying, and we are listening and we have been for some time.”

Helton has heard fans complain recently about the top-35 rule and start-and-park teams. Both have created heated debate, especially the off-season points transfers that have put some new teams in the top 35.

While NASCAR allows point transfers, Helton said there are many that were not allowed. He said NASCAR needs to continue look at it and make sure the rule makes sense.

“The top-35 [rule] was a good move for us when we put it in place,” Helton said. “A lot of it was around the direction we were going with impounding [cars after qualifying] but it also was a function of we had a lot of new teams get on the radar very quickly and it was a reaction to be respectful, add another layer if you will, of success for teams that have been earning [their way]. … We have to keep looking at that and see if it still makes sense or not.

“And … from that comes a lot of off-season activities that swirl around that try to utilize that. As long as everything fits and abides by the rules, it works.”

Helton indicated that start-and-park teams are part of the system. He said NASCAR must make sure that there is an opportunity for anyone who wants to field to have a qualified driver try to qualify for a race.

“There are teams that are trying to become regular competitors in NASCAR,” Helton said. “What you don’t want to do is create a situation that prevents somebody from having that opportunity. And in the meantime, we’ll just have to manage with what we’ve got.

“We’ll see how it unfolds this year. But the good thing is that the opportunity to participate in NASCAR, you don’t want to crimp that style, you don’t want to take that away.”

In addition to the current changes – Helton said the key test for the new spoiler will be the March 23-24 test at Charlotte Motor Speedway – Helton addressed other potential changes.

One change could be modifying the front end of the Sprint Cup car to make it look more like a street car. NASCAR has been discussing that with manufacturers, but Helton said there would not be a major overhaul in that area.

“The challenge comes in, what that means to one manufacturer might not mean [the same] to another manufacturer,” Helton said. “It’s an age-old question. … There will be changes coming because the manufacturers are already talking about what that next car looks like from their perspective and we have to take a look at all of that.”

The fact that the NASCAR’s auto manufacturers, as well as the overall economy, are more stable gives Helton a good feeling going into this season of change.

“Every season is critical for NASCAR,” Helton said. “Standing here in 2010, there’s a good deal more optimism than there was this time last year. There were a lot of unanswered questions last year, a lot of uncertainties, a lot of challenges that circumstances beyond our control put us into.”