NASCAR’s Phelps on 2020 and 2021, social justice, schedule/venue changes and more
2021 will be a season of change and new venues for NASCAR
By Michael Eubanks
The times, they are a-changin’. Especially in NASCAR.
America’s most popular motorsport will see a variety of new and exciting changes this season, including the addition of new teams and venues to the Cup Series.
The next few years also hold the promise of even more changes for NASCAR. The Cup Series debuts its next-generation car in 2022, there may be additional tweaking to the schedule, additional new tracks may come on-line and it will be interesting to see if additional TV or cable networks seek to get in on the broadcast action as the current contracts for both FOX and NBC expire following the 2024 season.
On Friday, NASCAR president Steve Phelps participated in a 40-minute Zoom conference with members of the media to address a variety of topics - many of which involve the future direction of the sport.
Below are some key takeaways from the conference:
2020 WAS UNCHARTED TERRITORY; NASCAR TO BUILD UPON THAT MORE FOR 2021
Phelps began by addressing how unusual the 2020 season was, from challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic to the sport’s embracing of greater diversity, racial equality and social justice. Here’s an extended portion of Phelps’ comments:
“Obviously, the storylines that played out on track last year and some of the things that played out off the track, frankly, were very important to us. As we head into 2021, I’ll try not to look into the past too much. As extraordinary as 2020 was for all of us, 2021 we’ve got real excitement as we head into this season, probably more excitement and more wind at our back than we’ve had in decades. That’s gratifying, feels good. We need to make sure that as a sport we continue to pour gas on the growth of this sport. It’s important.
“As we head to the (Daytona) 500 this weekend, lots of different storylines here obviously. We have a great crop of young drivers, a great crop of first-ballot Hall of Famers that will be part of this sport racing side-by-side: a great young champion in Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson coming back, Bubba Wallace. Obviously new ownership. We have three new teams, obviously highlighted by the 2311 group with Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin and obviously their driver Bubba Wallace.
“You have Justin Marks and the Trackhouse team with Pitbull, and Live Fast (Motorsports) with the Tiffts and B.J. McLeod. That part is very exciting. Lots of new sponsors coming in as well. There’s a lot of momentum in the sport.
“I think that if you look at our partner FOX, their promotion right now, they’re calling it the best season ever. I’m hopeful that’s exactly what is going to happen. It’s been an incredible off-season.
“The point I transitioned to is one of the most important things that happened last year was our stance on social justice. We had talked about being a sport of action. We were at that time. We continue to be. I’m happy to talk about that moving forward. It’s important for us.
“(On how NASCAR tackled Covid) I think if you look at where we were from being the first sport back without fans, then the first sport back with fans, those were important things. Some great things that happened on the racetrack, us being innovative in how we got back, just a different way for us to do business.”
The biggest challenge the sport faced initially early in the season was the Covid-19 pandemic and how it forced NASCAR to stop racing for nearly two months. Even so, NASCAR assumed the most significant leadership role of any major professional sport, implementing and adhering to key protocols and delivered on its promise that it would ultimately run a complete 36-race schedule — when some fans and critics doubted such an initiative could not only be undertaken but successfully completed with aplomb and minimal deviation from its goal.
“I thought (Covid protocols) worked very well,” Phelps said. “Nothing’s perfect. We did have some cases, a couple high-profile drivers as well. But all in all, I think if you look at our protocols relative to other sports, I think it worked really well. I think our competitors felt safe and I think our drivers, for the most part, they’re very pleased.
“We have some competitive advantages as we had spoken about before. Drivers, they already have PPE (personal protective equipment), their fire suits, their helmets, gloves, all of it. It’s different than other sports. Same with the crew members, our officials. It’s outdoors. All kinds of things that are positive.
“For 2021 it’s going to be largely the same. We’ve done a little tweaking here and there, but for the most part, it’s the same.
“If it didn’t work, we’d do something different. But I believe it worked, so we’re going to stay with the protocols that we had.”
FANS SUPPORTIVE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES
NASCAR made international headlines last year when the sanctioning body banned the display of the Confederate flag from its tracks. The move was called on by Bubba Wallace — the Cup Series’ lone full-time Black driver — following the killing of George Floyd last May.
While NASCAR was praised by many for banning the flag, the move also produced backlash by some longtime fans who felt angered by the decision.
However, Phelps said he thinks the decision to ban the flag was the right one.
“There was a question at the time: did NASCAR go too far to ban the Confederate flag?” Phelps said. “Social justice, is that something a sport should do, NASCAR should do? Do we have permission to do it? The answer is yes.
“The question was: How is that going to affect our core fan, our avid fan?”
NASCAR recently got back the results of a 2020 “brand tracker” survey, which included polling of avid fans on what they thought of the sanctioning body’s stance on social justice and banning of the Confederate flag.
The results showed avid fans were overwhelmingly supportive of NASCAR’s actions regarding social justice:
Those who have been avid fans of NASCAR for 16 or more years were three times more likely to approve of NASCAR’s actions.
Avid fans of four to 15 years were six times more likely to approve of NASCAR’s actions.
Avid fans of zero to three years were eight times more likely to approve of NASCAR’s actions.
“To me, it really speaks to our fan base,” Phelps said. “If you go to a racetrack and you’re walking through the campground, you go up to someone, they’re going to offer you a beer, a hot dog, they’re going to say, ‘Hey, who is your driver?’
“They say, ‘Hey, I’m new to NASCAR.’
“‘Come in, I’m going to tell you about NASCAR, how great this community is, what it’s like to be a fan of this sport.’
“We have an opportunity with so many different things where we are bringing these new fans who are going to sample our great sport. It’s an exciting time.”
SCHEDULE VARIATION LIKELY TO CONTINUE
Cup Series drivers will be turning left AND right seven times this season, as more road course races join the schedule. Phelps said that he’s “thrilled” with the 2021 schedule and that the addition of more road courses has been a long time in the making.
“The fans had said they want more road courses,” Phelps said. “ The OEMs (car manufacturers Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota)) said they want more road courses. Our broadcast partners said they wanted more road courses. As evidenced by what happened on Tuesday night (in the Clash), I think having stockcars on road courses works well. They’re slipping and sliding, they get into each other. It puts on great racing.”
Phelps also said he thinks the 2022 NASCAR schedule will have even more variation.
“We have a promise to our fans that we’ll continue to create new opportunities at new venues and new formats,” Phelps said. “That’s what we’re going to do for ’22.”
STREAMING EXCLUSIVITY NOT LIKELY
While streaming services continue to grow in popularity, Phelps said he does not foresee Cup Series races being aired exclusively through a streaming service such as NBC Sport’s Peacock.
“I would say right now that’s not something that’s on our radar,” Phelps said. “I think that making sure there is a place where people can watch over-the-air broadcast is important to us. It’s important to our teams and our sponsors. Cable, we’ve got a good balance at this particular time.”
However, Phelps said he does eventually envision a role for streaming services within NASCAR, using the success of NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass as an example.
“Do I believe that there’s a place for motorsports and NASCAR specifically in streaming? The answer is yes,” Phelps said. “I just don’t see that being done in the foreseeable future for our NASCAR Cup Series races.”
NASCAR NOT EXPECTED TO GO ALL-ELECTRIC
In a changing automotive market, hybrid cars will undoubtedly make their way into NASCAR in the near future. But fully electric cars probably won’t find their way into the Cup Series anytime soon.
The reason? Sound.
NASCAR’s loud V8 engines may not be the most relevant automotive technology these days, but the distinct sound they make is a huge part of the entertainment experience. Racing with quieter, electric cars would change that.
“I don’t foresee a time in the future where we would go, with all of our series, to all-electric,” Phelps said. “Sound is a major part of who we are as a sport. It’s going to continue to be.”
While electric cars are currently a no-go in Cup, Phelps did say that an all-electric exhibition series is something NASCAR would consider in the future.
“That would be something that we might explore,” Phelps said.
Watch the entire Steve Phelps conference call, courtesy CupScene.com: