When NASCAR CEO Brian France endorsed Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, he drew a lot of criticism from people in the sport who wondered if it was wise to take a position in such a divisive campaign. But race team owner Chip Ganassi told the '16 Motorsports Marketing Forum crowd that France’s stance will end up being positive for motorsports. “You’ll find that it’s going to be good for the sport,” he said. “You’re going to see an uptick in business because of it. People are more interested in talking about opportunities now.” During an interview with SBJ/SBD’s Abe Madkour, Ganassi shared his thoughts on a wide range of topics, including the state of the sport, his role as an owner and why the auto industry is so important to the popularity of racing.
* On whether the racing was better this year: “There’s a small percentage of the people who give a damn if the racing is good. What is a good race? What we in the industry think is a good race is different than what the fans consider a good race. My idea of a good race is to be in the front all day and the hell with everyone else.”
* On how he views his role as an owner: “Everybody runs their business differently. I like the racing side of things. I’m lucky to have a guy like (Chip Ganassi Racing Teams President) Steve Lauletta who takes care of what I call the business side. I like to be in there talking to the guys, the engineers, crew chiefs, team managers, drivers. When it comes time to talk to the sponsors, I'm happy to do that. He lets me stay doing the things I like to do, and he does what he likes to do.”
* On the benefits of the Race Team Alliance: “It’s given the teams a little bit of stability. It’s sort of set a floor price for these teams, where you have something that’s of value now. I don’t think we’ll fully realize the benefit of that for maybe 10 years or more.”
* On how he identifies talent: “I start with heart. I’ve taken no-name guys instead of name drivers because of their value system or how they were brought up. All these guys at this level are fast. They can win races. But a guy who can win races and a guy who can win championships are two different guys. I rarely talk to them about racing. It’s more value-based. What’s near and dear to their heart.”
* On the importance of the auto industry: “The car companies are the fuel for our sport. If you go back to the days in the early '60s when Ford came out with the Mustang, they made cars exciting to drive again. I think that’s kind of what we’re missing today. The car companies and the government have made the car sort of a Point A to Point B thing. I think we … have to bring back the fact that it’s still fun to drive cars.”
