With NASCAR heading into a new season on the heels of a season unlike any other in its 50-plus years, perhaps no issue burns in the motorsports consciousness as much as safety.
NASCAR, historically, has taken a hands-off approach toward safety, largely leaving safety issues up to the drivers. NASCAR did an about-face in mid-October of last season, however, when it was announced that drivers in its top three divisions would immediately be required to wear some type of head and neck restraint system, either a HANS device or Hutchens device. Several companies are working toward improvement in seats, and at least one effort (supported by Wheeler) has focused on an energy-absorbing bumper. Also, work continues in other areas related to safety, including the implementation of in-car crash data recorders during the 2002 season and the development, in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, of new barrier technology for racetracks.
Beginning with the 2002 season, NASCAR will have a medical liaison traveling with the Winston Cup Series. This person will coordinate with local medical personnel at each track to offer better on-site medical care for drivers.
These key issues-safety and public relations-were intertwined last season, melded by a single incident that rocked the sport and vaulted NASCAR headfirst into the court of public opinion.
Maintaining GrowthLost somewhere between the gloom of the Earnhardt tragedy and the giddiness of surprisingly strong TV ratings is the challenge of how NASCAR keeps the sport growing. Among major sports, only the NFL lies ahead in terms of TV strength. If NASCAR is to seriously challenge the NFL, the trick will be to balance what's offered for the hardcore fan, the one who helped the sport get where it's at, with what's offered for the new, Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, youth market, the segment NASCAR has courted heavily in recent seasons.
And will NASCAR be quick enough to respond to growth opportunities that might pop up, the expected ones as well as the unexpected? This is, after all, an organization notorious for moving exceedingly slow when faced with tough decisions or the need to react quickly.
Future growth, according to Hunter, is one of the foremost issues facing NASCAR. He says the sanctioning body must develop a short-term and long-term business plan that includes drivers, teams, tracks and sponsors.
A group of young, talented drivers positioned to rise in the sport may offer just what NASCAR needs in terms of growth, regardless of boardroom decisions made or not made by the sanctioning body.
"There's nothing that turns the race fans on, as far as ticket sales, stronger than a new winner," Wheeler says. "This has gone on forever. People just really get a kick out of that new winner."