NASCAR CEO Brian France calls Race Team Alliance unnecessary

NASCAR’s chairman is not in favor of the sport’s top teams forming a coalition.

Business as usual is the approach of NASCAR Chairman Brian France, who spoke publically for the first time Monday since a conglomeration of car owners formed the Race Team Alliance two weeks ago.

As it has since its inception, NASCAR will not deal with teams collectively but on an individual basis, France said Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The sanctioning body will continue to solicit opinions from multiple parties and not communicate with a single spokesperson.

"That would probably the worst thing that we could ever do, is to listen to one voice, even if it were a consensus voice."-Brian France

"The last thing we would want to do is not talk to everybody so we can understand where the truth lies, or the best that we can tell," France told SiriusXM. "So that's why one voice is just a bad idea."

The owners of NASCAR's nine largest teams created the RTA July 7 with the stated goal of streamlining expenditures such as travel and lodging and collaborating on possible business initiatives. The principles involved are Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Hendrick Motor Sports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motor Sports, Roush Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske.

France recently spoke with RTA chairman Rob Kauffman, the co-owner of MWR, and Rick Hendrick. NASCAR has instructed the RTA to communicate only through lawyers, which France described as legal "mumbo jumbo" Monday.

"We didn't think (the RTA) was necessary," France said. "We thought that the benefits that they would arrive at with this association would be much smaller than they do, but they're smart guys, and so they may figure out some things that we're not aware of.

"The one thing central to NASCAR, though, is when you hear one voice -- that would probably the worst thing that we could ever do, is to listen to one voice, even if it were a consensus voice."

Must Read

Key issues facing NASCAR, Race Team Alliance

Jordan Bianchi

The Race Team Alliance was formed to give NASCAR car owners a larger voice in the direction of the sport. But just how they decide to go about wielding their power remains unclear.

Must Read

Key issues facing NASCAR, Race Team Alliance

The formation of the RTA comes with NASCAR set to begin an $8.2 billion television deal with Fox and NBC next season. Teams receive 25 percent of that money with tracks getting 65 percent and NASCAR 10 percent.

Due to the rising cost of ownership compounded with reluctant sponsors still feeling the effects of the economic downturn, speculation has centered on teams seeking a large split of the TV contract that runs for 10 years. But France said NASCAR is not interested in a redistribution of the money.

"(The revenue sharing) is set for historical reasons and because it's the right allocation," France said. "Everybody would like to have more, the tracks would, anybody else would. That's natural and I think they've made mention that they don't have any desire to do that.

"The tracks -- Daytona Rising being a good example -- continue to make big investments in their facilities and they're going to need to rely on the idea that it's business as usual at NASCAR so they continue to put their own capital at risk."

from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1my26Pp