Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin was pleased with the “town hall” meeting in Concord, N.C. this week. (PHOTO: LAT Photographic)
With three days having passed since the NASCAR “town hall” meeting in Concord, N.C., drivers still are carrying a positive impression about the session and hope it leads to improvement in the sport in a number of areas.
“We were just hearing out thoughts and ideas and feelings,” said Hendrick Motorsports driver Mark Martin, who prior to the meeting expressed concern about NASCAR’s drug-testing policy, but came away from Tuesday with considerable reassurance. “I think it was a good thing. I felt like (NASCAR Chairman and CEO) Brian France started the meeting by putting a little bit of calm on the anxiety and then directing focus to certain areas where we could try to give our sponsors and our fans a better show. A better value for our sponsors and a better show and better value for our fans as well.”
NASCAR being open to talk about ideas was something that was welcomed, drivers said.
“At the end of the day there are a lot of topics in our sport to talk about and I think having an open dialogue with a lot of different opinions is not a bad way to go,” said Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31. Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. “We’re at a really interesting time in our sport with TV ratings not being as strong as we would like them to be, with the economy where it is, there’s been a lot of talk about the drug testing, there’s been a lot of talk about a lot of things and it’s a good time to have a conversation.”
Among the hot topics at the meeting was how to improve competition. That sparked a lively debate, the drivers said.
“When I look at the world we live in and how the cars drive in traffic, my opinion was that we needed more downforce in these cars,” said Jimmie Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion. “The discussion opens up with teams, drivers, NASCAR, and everybody started talking about downforce and the pros and cons of it.
