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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Brian France Vague About NASCAR's Stance On Drivers' Confrontations

NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France “isn't bothered by seeing contact and conflict on the race track, suggesting it's part of the sport's history, but he wants to make sure it doesn't go too far,” according to Ron Green Jr. of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. France: "We have said we can over-officiate and over-regulate in some circumstances over a 60-year period of time.” He added, “You can't go around with a missile and a weapon out there. But if you're having contact, that's part of NASCAR. ... We're going to remain a contact sport with the basic philosophy that we're putting more in the drivers' hands. If they go over a line we think is there, we'll deal with that." Meanwhile, France said that he is “open to the idea of shortening some races if tracks, television and fans want that, and he expects attendance to be up for both” the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway over last year. France: "We have shortened races over the five or six years, we've shortened several including some Nationwide series. Yeah, I think we would be open to that. If it works [for] the tracks, if it works for our network partners and obviously if the fan base wants that, that will be something that will be case by case." He said of the use of split-screen advertising on future telecasts, "It's not a brand-new concept. It was tried a decade or two ago with mixed reviews. If it enhances the viewing experience and works for the advertisers, we're all open to that” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/21). In Charlotte, Jim Utter noted NASCAR drivers “would love to know what every ramification is for every action so they could measure their retaliation against other drivers.” But that is “exactly what NASCAR does not want" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/21).

BOYS HAVE AT IT: France on Friday said NASCAR has every intention of leaving things "in the drivers’ hands,” and YAHOO SPORTS’ Jay Hart asked, “Why wouldn’t he?” The competition “is tight, TV ratings are slightly up and after a few seasons on the slide, NASCAR appears to be on the come again.” France for the “first time in years” was “left to talk about the positives of the sport, rather than defending its shortcomings.” Meanwhile, Hart noted having Dale Earnhardt Jr., the sport’s “biggest star," being "competitive makes everything more interesting.” Hart: “Earnhardt running well begets TV ratings going up (which they have) which begets NASCAR becoming more attractive to networks which begets racing readily available on TV, and that benefits everyone” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/20).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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