OF SPEED AND LIBERTY: A MOTORSPORTS TIMELINE

ReMit88

The date is December 1st, 2017. Motorsport pundits and journalists are gathered in a ballroom at the Wynn Las Vegas for a press conference by Brian France. The main consensus is that the NASCAR CEO will announce the new premier sponsor for the Cup Series. Speculation has run rampant with rumors of who this sponsor will be. Some suggest Coca-Cola or one of its subsidiaries because of their long time involvement in NASCAR and other motorsports. Some believe that a big outsider company like American Express might try their hand at NASCAR. But these rumors could not even come close to the actual announcement. On to the stage walked three familiar faces and one unfamiliar foe. Brian France, Mike Helton, reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, and Greg Maffei all take their seats. What followed would be one of the biggest announcements in the sports world in the past decade. It was announced that NASCAR had been sold to Liberty Media. A shocking move as the organization has been owned by the France family since the very beginning. This announcement also had international implications. In September, it was announced that Liberty Media would be purchasing Formula One. But, a failure to finalize the deal led to Liberty backing out and setting their sights elsewhere. Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty Media, stated at the press conference that disagreements with Bernie Ecclestone during the finalization process led the deal to fall apart. Maffei also stated that while F1 is more global, NASCAR showed a greater potential for return of investment. During the conference, it was also announced that Mike Helton would take over as CEO of NASCAR as Brian France would be leaving the sport. He felt that he had done everything he could do with the sport and felt that it was time to give it to someone who could take it further than he could. Helton stated he was thankful for everything that Brian had done and was thankful to Liberty Media for picking him as the new CEO. Helton believed that with their involvement and his experience, that big changes that could grow the sport while ensuring its integrity could be done. Helton also placed emphasis on listening more to the drivers in the decision making process. Jimmie Johnson also made a statement showing his support for the move as he believes it could grow the sport exponentially. The conference wrapped up as they announced that the Cup Series would not have a single premier sponsor but would simply be known as the Cup Series. They also announced a new modern logo for the sport and the series. With this announcement, it was clear that NASCAR had entered a new age.
 

Samsonov

As a bitter F1 fan, does this mean more races, more gimmicks and more bad tracks? Anyway, will read with interest.
 

ReMit88

In the aftermath of the announcement, many NASCAR fans showed some optimism. While unsure of the impact of a media corporation owning the company, many believed that this was a good move, especially with Brian France leaving. NASCAR owners and drivers shared this same half optimism. However, across the pond, the feeling is quite the opposite. Formula One fans and teams alike are very disgruntled. Many believe that Bernie Eccelstone had ruined a deal that could have brought F1 into the future. This disgruntlement was increased tenfold with the fact that Liberty had bought into NASCAR instead. Seeing this golden opportunity go to its American counterpart, Formula One knew that the odds were against them, especially in the United States.
 

ReMit88

By mid-December, more had become known about the Liberty Media age of NASCAR. Under the new leadership of Mike Helton, NASCAR had placed more emphasis on the opinion of those in the sport. While this would not be a over-night change, it was definitely noticeable right away. One of the first decisions of Helton was to bring on Robbie Reiser as an advisor on car development. Reiser, who had just been released from Roush Fenway, had a storied career in the sport and was definitely a big gain for NASCAR R&D. Reiser would report straight to Helton and work alongside Steve O’Donnell. It was also rumored that Greg Biffle would join as an advisor as well but was weighing all options.
Closer to the mid-December mark, Helton and a Liberty Media representative held a series of meetings with various parties. They would mainly meet with groups of team owners, drivers, and TV executives. It was reported that these meetings were mainly held to alleviate fears but to also gain input on what changes they would like to see. The biggest rumor from these meetings was that NASCAR had brought up the possibility of commercial-free broadcasts to FOX and NBC executives.
 

ReMit88

On December 22, encouraged by the NASCAR sale, Dodge announced its intention to rejoin the organization. Much like 2001, this would be spearheaded by Ray Evernham. Evernham would restart Evernham Motorsports and essentially be the Dodge factory team. In an effort to be ready, Evernham bought several assets from the closing HScott Motorsports. The team would make select starts under the Chevy badge in the 2017 season. He also announced his driver for the car, Greg Biffle. Biffle would drive the #91 Chevy part time in 2017 and race full-time, once the team moves to Dodge, in 2018. No sponsorship was announced but Hooters was rumored after it was reported that they were looking to return to NASCAR after Biffle ran a Alan Kulwicki throwback earlier in the year.
 

ReMit88

Entering the new year, the realization that the Daytona 500 was just around the corner was bigger than ever. With the influence of Liberty Media, advertisements for the sport were being done by bigger companies and being shown to more people. Instead of just being on FOX and NBC, the commercials were on more channels than ever. One ad caught the eye of many as it stated that the Daytona 500 will now be commercial free. The day after the commercial started to air, NASCAR issued a press release. It announced that races on FOX and NBC would present green flag racing commercial free. While races on Fox Sports One and NBCSN would not share this same privilege, they ensured that their partners were working on ways to make these cable broadcasts more unique. It was this news that overshadowed the other news announced around the same time.
It was also announced that Texas Motor Speedway would redevelop Turns 1 & 2 of the track, lowering the banking from 24 to 20 degrees. A move done to increase passing opportunities. Only time will tell if it is a good move.
 

ReMit88

On January 9th, Toyota revealed the newly redesigned Camry chassis for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season. The redesign would be based on the 2018 Camry production model. This announcement comes as rumors began to swirl if the 2018 Cup Series car would be changed. Many point to previous articles and talks about the X-3 test car and begin to wonder if any of those changes would be implemented soon. This began to increase as it was reported on Reddit that the X-3 car was being taken to the Goodyear tire test on the 10th and 11th. This would be confirmed true on the day of the test by Bob Pockrass. He also reported that each driver selected for the tire test would take laps in the car. These drivers were Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, and Matt Kenseth. They would all take laps and report their findings to Robbie Reiser. With this test, many began to speculate that a car similar to the X-3 could debut as soon as 2018. NASCAR representatives could not confirm nor deny this but did state that leadership believes that the car could increase race quality but would not make such a decision without driver input.
 

ReMit88

It is hard to imagine a world where a story about an Earnhardt wouldn’t be the top story during a NASCAR offseason but that is the world that we now see. In a world where NASCAR has been purchased by a multi-billion dollar company and Dodge announcing their return, the story of Dale Earnhardt Jr. being medically cleared just became another story. After his concussion in the summer, Junior had been working hard to make a return and it paid off. After a test session at Darlington, he had been cleared to race for the 2017 season. After this, Dale Jr stated that he is excited for the 2017 season and is even ready to restart contract negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports for 2018 and beyond. This most likely will be Junior’s last contract extension as he enters his 17th Cup Series season. Along with this, a few of his counterparts have already decided to retire such as Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart so it is safe to say he is entering the twilight stage of his career. On the topic of retirement, the retirement of a champion shocked the Formula One world. Reigning F1 champion Nico Rosberg announced his retirement less than a week after the season finale. This, along with failure of the F1/Liberty Media deal, dominates the F1 media scene for December. After the new year, Mercedes finally announced that Valtteri Bottas would be Rosberg’s replacement. With this hectic offseason, it is hard to imagine that it would get even more crazy. But it was about to.
 

ReMit88

Early January in the F1 world was dominated by one story. It was reported that the British Racing Drivers’ Club was thinking about activating its break clause in its contract with Formula One to host the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. While the deal would only allow the contract to stop after 2019, it is required for the BRDC to notify F1 of this before the 2017 British Grand Prix. The track states that the 5% escalator clause in the track’s contract with F1 has created a financial burden for the track. It is also reported that the BRDC is more likely to split from its deal because of decreased confidence in Bernie Eccelstone and Formula One leadership. A type of feeling which is seen among many in the paddock area. Some are even speculating that losing Silverstone from the F1 calendar could be more demoralizing than the failed sale to Liberty Media. However, optimism can be seen from F1 leadership. Some report that Eccelstone and his crew see this as a new opportunity. If Silverstone were to leave, an idea like a street race in London could be the only way that Eccelstone allows a F1 race to take place in Great Britain in 2020. While a circuit like Brands Hatch could take Silverstone’s place, Eccelstone could use the leverage of a F1 season without a British Grand Prix to gain support for a street race in London. Eccelstone supporters show this as an example of how Bernie can still find the silver lining in bad situations. His detractors, however, see this kind of like falling up the stairs by doing something so bad that the end result is somehow good.
 
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