Budweiser “Good Sport Program” Featured at Sonoma:
Sonoma Raceway and Budweiser will team up to help race fans make it home safely during the 2014 race season, as the Budweiser Good Sport Designated Driver Booth will be featured at all major event weekends. Good Sport is designed to help facility operators and concessionaires encourage fan responsibility at sporting events. The program is activated in partnership with 95 teams in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Soccer. Good Sport programs have also been integrated into high-profile brand and sporting events throughout the year, including the MLB All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Game, NHL Winter Classic, and select NASCAR races, among many others. At Sonoma Raceway, the California Highway Patrol and Budweiser will work together to promote safe alcohol consumption and designated driving during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing and Verizon IndyCar Series event weekends. Fans who visit the Good Sport Designated Driver Booth and pledge to be the designated driver for their group will receive a free non-alcoholic beverage in exchange for refraining from drinking and helping to make sure their group has a safe ride home.(Sonoma Raceway)(6-19-2014)
NASCAR president Mike Helton sat down with NASCAR Race Hub co-host Danielle Trotta for an exclusive, two-part interview airing at 5:00pm/et on Wednesday, June 18, and Thursday, June 19, on FOX Sports 1. The NASCAR president talks topics ranging from limiting Sprint Cup Series drivers in lower series; the possibility of adding a road course to the Chase; the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format; the "Dale Earnhardt Jr. effect"; race attendance; the move toward a more technologically-policed pit road in 2015; and a horsepower reduction next season.(FOX)(6-18-2014)
UPDATE - Helton interview part 1 transcript in part: NASCAR President Mike Helton sat down with NASCAR RACE HUB co-host Danielle Trotta for an exclusive, two-part "state of the sport" interview whose first installment aired Wednesday, June 18 on FOX Sports 1.
Part 2 continues on NASCAR RACE HUB on Thursday, June 19 at 5:00pm/et. On Wednesday's show, Helton discussed a variety of topics that have made headlines in the 2014 NASCAR season, including the new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format; the "Dale Earnhardt Jr. effect;" race attendance; the youth movement in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; and the possibility of limiting NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in the lower series.
The transcript in part, from the interview:
ON WHETHER HE HAS BEEN PLEASED WITH THE CHANGES IMPLEMENTED IN 2014, INCLUDING THE NEW CHASE FORMAT AND KNOCKOUT QUALIFYING:
Helton: "I think we have. Yes. Obviously the qualifying format has grown a lot of interest at the race track, on TV and the 'water cooler talk,' as old folks would call it. Now it's social media, I guess. And it's fun. It's fun to watch, which a sport should be fun. The Chase format was an element to put emphasis on winning. I think that's happened early in the season. The new format is yet to come but leading up to it has been very exciting. So we're pleased so far."
ON WHETHER RACE ATTENDANCE IS A CONCERN, DESPITE THE ON-TRACK PRODUCT:
Helton: "Obviously the product is a priority, and I say 'product' for everybody. But the viewership and the live attendance is something that the whole industry uses to judge successes, and that's something that we've all collectively been working on ever since the swing through the economy. We think we see signs of that. We're encouraged by the uptick. We're encouraged by the enthusiasm that seems to exist among the community now."
ON WHETHER NASCAR IS CONSIDERING LIMITING THE NUMBER OF STARTS THAT CUP SERIES DRIVERS CAN MAKE IN THE NATIONWIDE OR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES:
Helton: "It's a conversation point that doesn't so far go very far because NASCAR is open-minded. It's open-field, too. We don't believe it's correct to tell someone they cannot compete somewhere. We have NASCAR drivers who go compete in IndyCar or ARCA or a weekly track or a weekly show or open-wheel racing in different programs, and that's the culture of NASCAR to be open-minded about who participates. No one is excluded from participating. You can earn your way in. We have, however, changed some of the rules and regulations around in hopes to encourage and get attention to the ones who are competing on a fulltime level in the Nationwide. It happened a couple of years ago. We had the drivers to select what series they would gather points in ... We saw some signs of being successful there. We're just not of the mindset to exclude somebody from participating. We'd rather encourage everyone who wants to participate to participate. So, if we said, 'You can't play over here,' it's kind of contrary to our culture.'"
On Thursday's show, Helton shares his thoughts on subjects that could impact the 2015 season and future of NASCAR, including the likelihood of adding a road course race to the Chase; the move toward a more technologically-policed pit road in 2015; and a horsepower reduction next season.(see interview at FoxSports)(6-18-2014)