Helton: 'I have no desire to leave NASCAR'

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Contrary to recent published reports, Mike Helton has not been offered a position at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and has no intention of stepping down as NASCAR president, Helton told NASCAR.com Friday.

	Mike Helton

"I have no desire to leave NASCAR. I have not been offered a job by Teresa (Earnhardt) at DEI," said Helton, resting comfortably on a sofa in the principal's office of the big red truck.

"I'm flattered that somebody out there thinks she would even offer me the job, but I'm happy at NASCAR and plan on staying at NASCAR throughout my career. I'm very thankful to Bill France and Jim France and their whole families for having faith in me to give me the responsibility they've given me and I have no intentions of leaving NASCAR."

Some folks in the garage took merit in the rumor because team ownership is one of the few executive positions in the motorsports industry that Helton has yet to experience.

From 1985 to 1989, Helton held management positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway before being named vice president of International Speedway Corporation in 1989, and receiving a promotion to Talladega track president.

He remained there until 1994, when he was promoted to vice president of competition for NASCAR. Then, in 1999 he became the first individual outside the France family to run the day-to-day operations of NASCAR. A year later, he was promoted to NASCAR president.

"Throughout my motorsports career, whether it was running Talladega, being the vice president of competition for NASCAR, being the senior VP of operations for NASCAR, I could have completed my entire career with any of those jobs and been perfectly happy," Helton said.

"And to be the president of NASCAR, particularly in a time like right now when NASCAR's popularity has grown and blossomed out, I can't imagine doing anything else the rest of my career."

That's not to say every day is peachy.

ALSO  Helton spoke recently with a small group of reporters about its safety procedures, reiterating the sanctioning body's stance that they way it does things is the right way to do it.  •  Complete story, click here

"Like this week, having to deal with Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch, it's not what we like to do," Helton said. "But the way NASCAR has philosophically done it since 1948, somebody has to make decisions. Somebody has to enforce the rules and regulations and police the sport. That's NASCAR's role.

"We ask the world to take NASCAR seriously as a sport. With that comes responsibility of being scrutinized and questioned, and we realize that and try to stay up to the task."

Under Helton's leadership, NASCAR has surged into mainstream American culture, inked a lucrative television deal and pulled alongside the NFL in popularity. The competition is as close as ever and money flows like water.

He chuckles at the thought of leaving.

"Every day during the week I get to work on the business elements of NASCAR and every weekend I get to work on what I think is the fun part of NASCAR, the core of it, the competition at the racetracks. I don't know how somebody could want to do more than this," Helton said.

"This is a great job, and I wake up some mornings and still can't believe I get to do it."