France: NASCAR focused on economy, going green

The following is a transcript from Brian France's news conference at the Sprint Media Tour in Charlotte, N.C.

Good afternoon.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the season to start. It's been an interesting and challenging offseason for everyone.

The Daytona 500 is just around the corner and fans will once again start debating on-track topics rather than off-track issues. Topics they typically debate, like whether three-time champion Jimmie Johnson can win a fourth Sprint Cup title? Can Ryan Newman win the Daytona 500 again? When will Jeff Gordon get back in Victory Lane? How will two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart fare as a driver-owner? Will Carl Edwards pick up where he left off last season, when he won three of the last four races?

NASCAR race teams are eager to get back at it, and this season promises to deliver plenty to talk about.

In tough times like these, strong people tighten their belts, put a little extra zip in their step and focus on the things they do best. In our sport, that's racing and no one does it better than our drivers and teams.

Last year, I stood at this podium and pledged that we would hold the line on major change --

and we have. The sport -- and the fans -- have been through a great deal of necessary change over the past 10 years. Now, we're in a period where we're letting those changes mature.

And you know those changes are working well. Things like the new car, realignment, and the Chase are proving to be good for the sport and competition.

Despite the fact that there are no major changes, the NASCAR management team has been extremely busy this winter, working with teams and tracks to face the challenges of the economy and to keep our sport moving in the right direction.

One of the key areas we're zeroing in on is helping our teams develop new business models to fit today's ever changing economy; exploring ways to manage costs; working with our media partners to explore additional ways to take our product to our fans; meeting with our tracks to brainstorm new promotions for ticket opportunities; and continuing our efforts in diversity, working hard to facilitate opportunities for minorities and females, on and off the race track.

I'm proud to say the entire NASCAR industry is getting behind this initiative.

You saw a great example of that support earlier, when we introduced this year's D4D class (read more). And I'm proud to welcome to our team someone as talented as he is passionate about this sport, Max Siegel.

And the future is indeed bright for this most important project.

I want to tell you something else today that is ever increasingly important to the industry of NASCAR and that's our comprehensive approach to making this sport greener and environmentally smarter.

What that means is that we want to do our part to be a better partner with the environment.

And that's not only important to NASCAR but it's really important to our fans and they've told us that not only are they concerned about preserving the environment for the outdoors, but they're also concerned about high fuel cost, global warming and energy independence.

We recognize this must be one of our priorities moving forward.

Last June I chaired an internal committee meeting with former vice president Al Gore in conjunction with the event at Infineon Raceway. In that meeting, we discussed ideas for what we can do as an industry to be greener.

One of the recommendations was to have a point person to coordinate with the industry.

As a result, NASCAR has hired Mike Lynch as managing director for green innovation. Mike's responsible for planning and executing a comprehensive industry-wide green initiative.

He comes to NASCAR with nearly 20 years of experience in strategic planning and working with major companies on "breakthrough technologies." Mike is in the process of developing an industry-wide, multi-discipline strategic green Initiative to include all NASCAR departments, drivers, teams and tracks.

Mike will work with the entire industry to identify best green practices among facilities, transportation and operations.

It's important to know we embark on this strategy with significant efforts already underway.

Track operators such as International Speedway Corporation and Speedway Motorsports Inc. work diligently on the issue of recycling.

And NASCAR partners such as Goodyear, Safety Kleen and Waste Management -- leaders in their respective industries and environmental ambassadors in their own right -- are setting benchmarks for dedication to keeping NASCAR green.

There's an exciting new development I want to mention. NASCAR recently announced the acquisition of the Grand AM Road Racing organization.

Grand AM kicks off it's season this weekend with one of the biggest events in all of auto racing --

the Rolex 24 at Daytona. 2009 promises to be a memorable season for Grand AM and we're looking forward to helping grow Grand AM road racing in the Americas and maybe beyond.

Ultimately, throughout NASCAR, there are a lot of people working in a lot of areas, doing everything they possible can, to make sure our sport continues to succeed.

Our fans, as we've said many times, are the most loyal in sports and we appreciate that loyalty. They have come to expect the best racing in the world and we're going to keep working with our teams on every front, to ensure it stays that way.

I'm extremely proud of my role with NASCAR, continuing the six-decade tradition established by my father and grandfather. Both of them believed in surrounding yourself with smart, strong people who share a common passion -- NASCAR racing.

We certainly have such a team at NASCAR today, and you're going to meet some of our key team members in a few moments. In closing, I want to thank you personally for your time today. As Jim [Hunter] alluded to at the outset, the media's coverage of our sport is much appreciated by everyone at NASCAR.

Enjoy the rest of the program.