BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Minutes before scheduled media availability sessions with drivers were about to begin Friday at Michigan International Speedway, word came down that NASCAR had orchestrated an abrupt change of plans.

All Sprint Cup drivers and car owners present were ordered to report to a meeting, where Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, was to hold court.

TNT Summer Series

Date	Race	Time
June 8	Pocono	12:30 p.m. ET
June 15	Michigan	12:30 p.m. ET
June 22	Infineon	3:30 p.m. ET
June 29	N. Hampshire	12:30 p.m. ET
July 5	Daytona	6:30 p.m. ET
July 12	Chicagoland	6:30 p.m. ET

• TNT Summer Series

Was it about the $225 million lawsuit filed last Tuesday by a former NASCAR employee, alleging sexual and racial discrimination and wrongful termination? Was it about the new car, which continues to generate widespread complaints? Or was it about something else?

The answers to those questions depended on who was asked after the brief meeting, which lasted all of eight minutes.

Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications, insisted that the meeting was not called on the spur of the moment at the last minute. He also said it was all about reminding the drivers and car owners that the fans are the ones who really drive the sport.

"We've done periodic meetings with drivers over the years. We felt like it would be a good time to sit down," Hunter said. "We're going back to the basics, our theme for the year: don't forget the fans. The fans are really going through a lot of hardships with the price of gasoline and all the sorts of things they have to do to get to the races. We want them to remember the fans and to remember why we're here, and that's to race.

"That was pretty much it."

Hunter said the meeting had nothing at all to do with the lawsuit. He also denied that owners and drivers have been instructed not to talk about the lawsuit.

"This meeting had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Nothing. Go talk to the drivers," he said.

Well, first a stop was made at the NASCAR officials hauler, where Cup Series director John Darby reiterated that not only did the meeting have nothing to do with the lawsuit but also that drivers and car owners were not ordered to stop complaining about the new car.

"We wanted to make sure that the weather was good, and that the scheduled practice would start on time," said Darby, with the hint of a wink.

The drivers, on the other hand, didn't get the memo about the contents of the meeting. They said it was all about ceasing to air their complaints about the new car in public, and several said they didn't even recall any mention about working harder to reconnect with the fans.

“

There are a lot of components to what we do. And one of those is taking the time -- because it doesn't take a lot of time -- but taking the time at the racetrack to keep the fans pumped up, keep them involved, make them feel like the drivers want them to be here, you know?

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JOHN DARBY

"It was just Helton reminding us that we've got it pretty good and you've got to be careful when you start complaining and whining and acting like things aren't great. It's detrimental to all of us and to the sport," said Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford. "So he was just making us aware of the weight of our comments, and saying you've got to take a moment and think about what we have here. I think it was a good little wake-up call."

Greg Biffle, Edwards' Roush Fenway Racing teammate and driver of the No. 16 Ford, added: "I think it was them saying, 'Hey, we haven't raced this car at all the racetracks yet.' I think that was the message. They were like, 'This is our first time at Michigan with it; we haven't been to Chicago and all these other places with the car yet. So don't jump to conclusions prior to actually seeing what it's going to be like.'"

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Toyota owned by Joe Gibbs Racing, agreed that in his view the meeting was all about quieting public criticism of the new car.

"It was just about the car and I think Mike [Helton] wanted to make sure everyone is on the same page," Hamlin said. "This is early in the building process and we don't need to rush to conclusions that this car is junk and it's never going to be any good -- because that's not going to be the case."

Several drivers said they did not recall much about the fans coming up. Hunter and Darby, on the other hand, insisted that reconnecting with the fans was the main thrust of the meeting.

"I think periodically we sort of get on all the outside things," Hunter said. "We said earlier this year that we were going to focus on the racing, the competition. And so many times, things outside the competition seem to take over. And that's life. It's not the fault of anybody. I think it's good from time to time to remind them what we do, and that's put on the races for the fans. The fans are the reason we're all here."

Darby added: "There are a lot of components to what we do. And one of those is taking the time -- because it doesn't take a lot of time -- but taking the time at the racetrack to keep the fans pumped up, keep them involved, make them feel like the drivers want them to be here, you know?"

Asked if the sanctioning body felt the drivers had been getting away from that philosophy lately, Darby added: "No, not necessarily. It was just a good time to remind everyone of what we do, and who we do it for. They were very simply reminded that we are a fan-friendly sport, and that the participation of our fans affects them directly, and much like the guys that did it in 1948 and '58 and '68 and '78, they need to follow suit."

One of those guys from the early days who is still around is Richard Petty, the legendary driver who now is the head of the two-car operation at Petty Enterprises. He said he wasn't surprised the meeting was called; he was just surprised at the topic.

"I thought it was going to be about the lawsuit," he said.