In the face of declining television ratings and flat attendance, NASCAR CEO and chairman Brian France strongly defended the health of the sport he governs, then refused to discuss his public support of President-elect Donald Trump in his annual season-ending press conference Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR CEO Brian France defends sport’s viability, refuses to discuss Donald Trump endorsement
NASCAR’s CEO and chairman conducted his annual year-end press conference on Sunday.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
France acknowledged NASCAR is dealing with challenges, but said overall NASCAR is in a good state and is optimistic going forward. He said fans are engaging the sport to the same level as previous years, though doing so by different consumption methods.
Four of the past six races had television ratings decline by double digits, according to Sports Media Watch. The Sprint Cup Series concludes its 2016 season with Sunday’s championship race at the South Florida track.
“You’re seeing TV ratings slide all over the place in sports,” France said. “You’re seeing all kinds of things happen in TV ratings. The big events, they go one way, the digital audience is consuming things different. We’re no different from that. It’s not a surprise on that. Attendance has been fine.”
The most contentious moment of the 17-minute press conference occurred when a reporter asked France about the juxtaposition of his support for Trump -- who’s made several inflammatory comments about immigration -- just a day after Mexican Daniel Suarez became the first foreign-born driver to win a national tour championship.
The 24-year-old Suarez is regarded as one of the sport’s rising stars and won the Xfinity Series championship Saturday night at Homestead.
As the question was being asked, France interrupted the reporter by saying, “Nobody wants to hear my political views. Not one person on this stage wants to hear from me politically. And so I won’t be talking about that.” France, whose family founded and owns NASCAR, publicly endorsed Trump at a Feb. 29 rally.
“On my diversity, nobody, nobody in this company, has worked harder, done more and resourced it better than me,” France said. “I founded the Diversity Council. I fought for every single thing that makes sense, because that’s my core belief about diversity. It’s very, very important. I talk about it frequently.
“And my efforts there should never be challenged, no matter what my political views might be. That’s a ridiculous thing to do.”
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