ÿþ <html> <head> <TITLE>NASCAR President Mike Helton: Steward of the Sport</TITLE> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Pragma" CONTENT="no-cache"> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META http-EQUIV=refresh content="7200"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="NASCAR, Tickets, 2011 Sprint Cup schedule, Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="NASCAR, Tickets, 2011 Sprint Cup schedule, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip, Scanner, Auto Racing, Car, Speed, Next Race Info, Insider, Headline News, Rumors, RaceCars, Stock Car, Speedway, Raceway, Racetrack, Car of Tomorrow, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Brian France, Toyota, Kevin Harvick, Juan Pablo Montoya"> <META NAME="author" CONTENT="Insider Racing News, Ron Felix"> <META NAME="copyright" content="January 2000"> <style> h1 { text-align: LEFT; font-size: 17pt; color: #FFEBCD; font-family: Times New Roman; text-decoration: font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } h2 { font-size: 14pt; color: #000066; font-family: Times New Roman; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } h3 { font-size: 12pt; color: #FFEBCD; font-family: Times New Roman; text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } </style> <style> .nd { text-decoration: none; } a:hover { color:#ff0000; text-decoration: underline; } </style> <!--Image Preloaded --> <script language="JavaScript">var image1 = new Image();image1.src = "/image_path/image_name.gif";var image2 = new Image();image2.src = "/image_path/image2_name.gif";</script> <!--End Image Preload --> </head> <BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" MARGINWIDTH=0 MARGINHEIGHT=0 TOPMARGIN=0 LEFTMARGIN=0 TEXT="#ffffff" LINK="cccccc" VLINK="#cccccc"> <TABLE bgColor="660000" border=0 cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=0 Height="3" width="98%" ALIGN="center"> <TR> <TD> <img src="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Image/Trans-Pixel.gif" width="1" height="4" border=0> <center> <img src="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/BlueBar.jpg" Width="100%" Height="3" valign="top"> </center> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE bgColor="660000" border=0 cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" ALIGN="center"> <TR> <TD> <center> <b><font color="ffffff">Sprint Cup Commentary and Race Coverage</font></b> </center> <img src="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/BlueBar.jpg" Width="100%" Height="3" valign="bottom"> <TABLE background="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/BGBlackline.gif" border=1 bordercolor=red cellPadding=5 cellSpacing=0 width="98%" ALIGN="center"> <div> <tr> <td width="98%"> <center> <img src="http://insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/Ford7.jpg" width="100" height="62" Border="0"> <!-- LOGO --> <a href="http://insiderracingnews.com/" target="new"> <img src="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Images/Logos/2007/IRNLogo.jpg" Width="475" Height="60"></a> <!-- End LOGO ---> <img src="http://insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/Ford5.jpg" width="100" height="62" Border="0"> </center> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE bgColor="660000" border=0 cellPadding=5 cellSpacing=0 Height="3" width="98%" ALIGN="center"> <TR> <TD> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <!-- THE MAIN SIDE TABLE --> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="7" WIDTH="98%"> <!-- SIDE CELL ###################################################--> <TR> <TD WIDTH="22%" BGCOLOR="#660000" VALIGN="top"> <!-- ############ Start Time Display ######### --> <b><font color="ffffff" size="-1"> <p align="center"> <!--Place this script anywhere in a page. 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As President of NASCAR since 2000, Helton oversees and manages the day-to-day operations, presides in the "big hauler" on race weekends, and serves as the most visible leader of the sport in the eyes of competitors and fans alike. <P> After sitting down with him for a one-on-one interview in Phoenix yesterday, I believe the best way to summarize how Mr. Helton sees his role is as steward of the sport: a man who not only presides over NASCAR, but cares deeply about its history and future. <P> <TABLE bgColor="FFFFFF" border=1 cellPadding=5 cellSpacing=0 width="104" ALIGN="left"> <TR> <TD> <center> <img src="http://insiderracingnews.com/Images/Nascar/MHelton.jpg" Width="84" Height="126" align="center"><BR> <center><img src="http://Insiderracingnews.com/Image/Trans-Pixel.gif" width="1" height="3" border=0></center> <font color="000000" size="-2"></font> <TABLE bgColor="660000" border=0 cellPadding=0 cellSpacing=0 width="84" ALIGN="center"> <TR> <TD> <center><B><font color="FFFFFF" size="-2">Mike Helton</font></B></center> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </center> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P> Helton used the term "steward" in describing the meetings taking place with drivers and team owners over the next few weeks to prepare for the 2011 racing season, which officially begins with the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 on February 20th. Among the items being explored is a major overhaul of the NASCAR championship points format. Helton points out that, while the meetings are much more than a mere formality, the ultimate decision rests with the sanctioning body. <P> "We don't hold these meetings for the sake of killing a couple of hours each day with a team," he told me. "We hold them to go back and forth and get their input. But, in most cases, it's a function of explaining why we've come up with the decision we have and answering all the questions that we answered in coming up with the decision, so that they understand what we're thinking. At the end of the day, with all the information we get from everybody, whether it's the track here in Phoenix, or Denny Hamlin and Dale Jr. or Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart, I think we're better stewards of the sport when we listen to all these folks and make the right decision based on the entirety of the sport. And that's our responsibility. That's what we do. Everybody knows that the final decision rests on our shoulders, but, as we continue to have these meetings, I think they understand better that we want to be sure we do the right decision." <P> Helton continued, "I think NASCAR in 2010 and 2011 is a much more collaborative NASCAR than it's ever been. We get the fact that, in modern times, it's all the stakeholders working together to create the right product that everybody benefits from. In doing that, we spend much more time in dialog with the stakeholders. In the cycle of meetings with the drivers and the owners, especially the drivers' opinions are important, as are the owners'. Depending on what the topic is, one of them may have more influence than the other, but I think everybody has a great concern for the general health of the sport." <P> Helton declined to elaborate on any specific Chase changes, stating there would not be a decision until the team meetings have concluded. "That's part of the conversations that we're having in the team meetings. We do them one team at a time to be fair and to be very dialed into their issues and have a very efficient dialog about what's going on. We've started those meetings, but we're not through with them - we're kind of in the middle of them and there's going to be three days of testing in Daytona that's more important and we'll focus on that. Then we'll get back to the meetings next week and wrap them up and then we'll make our final decisions from that. But, in the meantime, there will probably be conversations about some of the things we talk about in those meetings. The final decision rests on us to make and we'll try to do that as timely as we can and certainly by the end of this month and the start of the season." <P> When the 2011 season does kick off next month, Helton predicts a much different Daytona 500 race due to the off-season resurfacing project at the venerable track. "It turned out very nicely," he said of the new surface. "It's a very clean and very black strip of asphalt that the Florida sun will fix over time [smiling]. It replaced a surface that was 30 years old, so it has a very different appearance right now. From the Goodyear tire test, from what we know from the resurfacing at Talladega, and what we'll find out in the next three days with Daytona 500 testing, it's going to be a completely different race. There will be three- and four-wide, at least, which is more Talladega-typical than it has been Daytona-typical. I think the Daytona 500 will be more like Talladega, but the Daytona 500 is such a milestone for competitors to win that it will be the Talladega-style racing with a lot of thought put into it at Daytona." <P> This year's Daytona 500 also marks ten years since the tragic racing accident that claimed the life of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt on February 18, 2001. Along with being a close personal friend of Earnhardt's, Helton was the man charged with announcing to the world that Earnhardt had passed away that day. "The anniversary of it will cause a lot of conversation and articles to be written and attention paid to it and, therefore, the memories will all be relived," Helton said. "Everybody has to figure out how they will deal with that. He was a good friend on top of being very iconic for us. Everybody just has to get through it." <P> While many older race fans feel that Earnhardt's loss was a tragedy that the sport never fully recovered from, Helton believes today's NASCAR was built by its storied past - the highs as well as the lows. "Every milestone NASCAR has reached throughout its history, good or bad, the time tells. I think the future of the sport speaks to that. We'll just see how that plays out." <P> Though Helton said he has not talked to Dale Earnhardt Jr. about the upcoming anniversary, he is confident that Junior is prepared to handle the situation and that this year's tributes and remembrances won't affect his performance in the race. "I think he's sorted out the responsibility that came with that from his side. I think he's sorted all that out. He's a mature man and he knows how to handle it." <P> Earnhardt Jr. has struggled on the track the past few years, winning just one Cup race in his last 170 starts. Helton admits it would be a boost to fans if Junior can turn things around this year. "We have a lot of fans, young and old, that, when Dale wins, they feel good about it. The sport is made up of a lot of people and no one individual carries the load by himself. It's all of us together that do it and all the drivers together do it. But, he has a following that he inherited from his father and then he has a younger following that he has built himself, and both of those groups would enjoy him winning." <P> One theory about Dale Jr.'s lack of success in recent years has been his inability to adapt to the Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in the Cup Series in 2007 after years of research and development, in part to improve driver safety after Earnhardt Sr.'s death. Regarding Junior's struggles, Helton said, "I don't have a theory, but I have an observation that he is as committed now as I've ever seen him be and I think we'll see results from him. Everybody has the same car and I think the shift from DEI to Hendrick - even though it was originally done with the same persons in the Eurys, his uncle and his cousin - I think that culture change has taken him a while to figure out. But I know he is committed to it and I know Rick Hendrick is committed to it and they'll figure that piece out. They're close to doing that and I think 2011 is a good year for Dale Jr." <P> Pundits pinpoint last year's Daytona 500 as the start of NASCAR's "have at it, boys" philosophy, which encourages drivers to be more aggressive on the race track without fear of repercussions from the sanctioning body. Helton believes the trend actually began a few years prior, but added that the "line" drivers cross which causes NASCAR to take action is still not clearly defined. "We actually started giving more responsibility back to the drivers a couple of years ago and reiterated it at this time last year and made quite a big to-do about it. The drivers wanted to wait and see what that really meant when things happened on the race track and I think what we saw toward the end of 2009, and certainly saw in 2010, was that we were serious about letting them carry more of the responsibility for their actions on the race track and us sitting back and just being sure they didn't cross the line. I think that learning process continues - they kind of watch and they would probably tell you that they would have to wait and see where we drew the line. I don't think they necessarily know it, but, from everything that happens and we react to it, that establishes the relationship. We had a couple of incidents last year where we had to get involved, so obviously they know that's over the line. But there still may be some area in the middle that still is an experiment." <P> Following this year's Daytona 500, all roads lead to Phoenix, which moved up on the NASCAR schedule from the seventh to the second race of the season. As the first non-plate race in 2011, Helton believes the move will remind fans of the days when the second race of the year was held at Rockingham, a one-mile oval like PIR. "I go back to comparing Phoenix to Rockingham, when we used to leave Daytona and go to Rockingham. That was some of the best and highest level of interest that we had and we think that the move to Phoenix replicates that a little bit, because the Phoenix track is more specialized than a bigger track would be. The Phoenix market here is so strong for us. This is just a great destination. I mean, who doesn't want to go to Phoenix, especially in February or November? It's also very supportive and it's a great sports market and it has a lot of sports enthusiasts. We also have a history of motorsports culture here in Phoenix, whether it's open wheel or NASCAR, that's really good. So, it's a win-win. We think it wins with the track to host the race right after the Daytona 500, because it brings that momentum, but it's also a win for NASCAR and the teams and their sponsors because Phoenix really supports our programs." <P> While Helton declined to pick a dark-horse favorite for the 2011 season, he is optimistic that five-time champion Jimmie Johnson will face stiff competition by numerous teams and drivers. "Obviously, Jimmie's five straight championships put him in the catbird's seat. But we saw in 2010 a lot of teams - the Childress organization, Gibbs, Roush was making great improvements at the last part of the season - and that means for Jimmie to repeat, it's going to be a lot more challenging. He's brought the quality of everybody's organizations up, but, when you have someone that sets that bar up there, it may take a while, but I've got a feeling that there is going to be even more competition for him than there was in 2010. That's just the nature of our sport. <P> "As far as dark horses are concerned, that's the beauty of starting over. It's a clean sheet of paper and there are 20 or 22 guys that could fill that slot right now." <P> Note: The SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 on February 27, 2011, at Phoenix International raceway gives race fans their first chance to see the 2011 Daytona 500 winner in-person. Tickets are on sale now at www.PhoenixRaceway.com. <a href="http://" target="new"><font color="ff0000"></font></a> <BR> <BR> <P> Follow Rebecca on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/nscrwriter" target="new"><font color="000099">@nscrwriter</font></a> <P> <BR> <TABLE bgColor="FFFFFF" border=0 cellPadding=5 cellSpacing=0 width="57" ALIGN="left"> <TR> <TD> <center> <img src="http://insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/2007/AnimatedMailBox.gif" Width="47" Height="134" align="center"> </center> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P> <BR> <BR> <B><i>You can contact Rebecca at..<a href="mailto:NscrWriter@aol.com"><font color="000099"> Insider Racing News</FONT></a></i></B> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <img src="http://insiderracingnews.com/Images/Misc/RedPointer2.gif" Width="18" Height="12"> <a class="nd" href="http://insiderracingnews.com/Writers/RG/redirect.html"><b><font color="ff0000" size="+1"><I>You Can Read Other Articles By Rebecca</I></font></b></a> <BR> <BR> <p style="border:1px solid #FF0000;padding:5px;font:11px verdana;"> The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.</p> </font> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </center> <P> <!-- BEGIN INLIVE CODE -- Inlive need of AddFreestats button code! 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