Brian France: Chase has 'exceeded' expectations

However, the unmistakable topic of the day was the new format, which emphasizes winning and features an elimination-style format that culminates Sunday when the "Championship" foursome of Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman will settle the title in the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN). The highest finisher among them Sunday evening will hoist the Sprint Cup trophy.

"I don't think there's any doubt about the level of competition that is up, which has our fans excited and it has the interest level of the sport as a result of that higher, and that's precisely what we want to achieve," France said in his opening remarks Friday.

Asked if he thought NASCAR would make any changes to the Chase format in light of the success the sport is enjoying, France said he doubted it. However, he quickly added, "we reserve the right if there's a modest thing that we might make an adjustment on, but like I said, it's exceeded what I had hoped for and it's done precisely what we thought we wanted to do, which was recalibrate competition on winning and still have a strong place for consistency and all the rest.

"It's only one year, but clearly we're on our way."

During the question-and-answer portion of the morning, France said he was firm with the new limited 2015 testing policy, saying it was well-received by the teams for its cost-reducing potential. He said the door was still open to more NASCAR XFINITY Series (currently the Nationwide Series) races in Canada. And when the subject of domestic assault allegations against driver Kurt Busch arose, France asked that everyone allow the legal system to play out first and reiterated that NASCAR takes the issue seriously.

"We realize the heightened awareness of this important topic and our policies will reflect that as we go, they'll reflect how serious it is," France said.

France was also asked specifically for his take on the high-profile 2012 Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski, who has been at the center of controversy for several weeks. And France immediately defended the young driver.

"I think he's doing exactly what he should be doing and I've told him that," France said of Keselowski, who has recently drawn the ire of other drivers for his aggressive driving style.

"Everybody has got a right to have their own style of driving out there," France continued. "If you go back to any of the great ones, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, all of them, they faced a similar discussion from time to time as they started to have success on the track, as some of those drivers believed a little bit more contact was necessary sometimes and they were young and they were getting words about that.

"But if you look through NASCAR's history, that's what we're about. Late in a race, we expect -- there are limits and lines -- but we expect tight, tight racing that sometimes will have some contact. It's in our DNA."

As for the post-race altercations that intense, rough racing can produce -- one at Texas resulting in nearly $200,000 in fines when crew members got in a physical altercation -- France said there is a line of what will and will not be tolerated.

"We don't think what happened in Texas -- crew members getting into a fist fight -- is a good thing for NASCAR," France said. "... but the bottom line is we want the drivers to be able to express (themselves)."

He reiterated, "We don't want to get ourselves in a situation where no one can express themselves, no one can do what they historically have done in all of auto racing, which is to let a driver know what they think happened or didn't happen.

"We expect them to do that in a way that is civil, but we also know that there are going to be some moments where the emotions will get the best of anybody.

"Look, when Matt Kenseth is chasing you down like Charlotte, those were high emotions," France said with a laugh. "He's a pretty mild‑mannered guy. So we dealt with that."

That DNA of high emotion and tight racing France referred to and the intensity NASCAR's new format has produced was a familiar line of questioning.

France was asked if despite all the excitement, it's produced, could the new elimination-style, win-and-you're in championship format be flawed because one of the final four competitors, Richard Childress Racing's Ryan Newman, is winless and yet championship eligible.

It's been a hot topic of debate among fans, but France said, Newman's position only validates the balance the new format has created between winning and consistency.

"We're not going to be able to have a system, and we don't want a system that ignores consistency," France said. "The question is do we have the right balance, and I would say unmistakably we do. I think that wanting to win events has taken on an undeniable importance."

And, he added, "if you get through those three rounds, and I don't care how you do it frankly, if you get through to the finale on Sunday and then beat those other three teams, that will be an achievement for anybody."

As for the "Game 7" moments France has long said NASCAR needs, he said 2014 has supplied plenty. And that Sunday is likely to provide more.

He referred to Keselowski's last-lap win at Talladega to advance to the third elimination round, Harvick's dominating win at Phoenix last week to earn a spot in the final four and Newman's aggressive last-lap pass at Phoenix to join Harvick there.

Does he expect that same kind of hard knocks win-at-all-costs style of driving to occur in Sunday's finale? He thinks it better. And that will be the exclamation point and truest confirmation of NASCAR's new playoff system.

"We're excited about it," France said. "This is a format that is not a one-time phenomenon. This is a format that when we've thought about it carefully, we realized this is something you can build on.

"This is the future for Sprint Cup racing."

MORE: