FanHouse NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR Chairman Brian France addressed the media Friday afternoon in the infield of Daytona International Speedway and insisted that despite the downturn in the economy, sagging television ratings and lagging attendance, he considers the sport to be relatively healthy - competitive racing and compelling championships trumping the downsides.

"Everyone would like to point to me that the world is crumbling,'' France said. "I'm not telling you it's not difficult, it is. But we try to keep things in perspective. Lots of people would like to have our problems.''

And then France tackled the hot topic of the weekend here in Daytona -- a federal judge's decision Wedneday to lift NASCAR's suspension of driver Jeremy Mayfield, who failed a drug test in May.

"We don't just go laying the hammer down and ruining someone's career,'' France said emphatically. "We know what it means to anyone to get such a positive test back ... we are very comfortable that the test is accurate and reliable and will hold up, ultimately, when all of the facts are heard.''

Less than impressed.

That was pretty much the consensus of drivers following Wednesday's Goodyear tire test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- the sixth test since a tire debacle at the track during last year's NASCAR race resulted in no green flag runs more than 16 laps.

"The tires still are not ideal,'' said Ryan Newman, who represented the Chevrolet contingent in the four-car test. "I know Goodyear is still working on that. It is just a tough situation, man."

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Mark Martin has won his third pole of the season, qualifying first Friday night at Phoenix International Raceway.

Martin ran a lap at 133.814 mph in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to beat Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch for the top starting spot Saturday night. Before this season, Martin had not won a pole since 2001.

While nothing has been officially announced, it appears the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series postseason awards ceremony will be trekking across the country from New York City to Sin City in December.

The powers-that-be in the NASCAR world, specifically SMI Chairman Bruton Smith and NASCAR, have long bantered back and forth about taking their awards banquet to Las Vegas but never before has the city represented so much potential to NASCAR.

As NASCAR heads into a rare stand-alone Nationwide Series race weekend, the debate inevitably heats up as to whether it's fair for the Sprint Cup drivers to crash the Nationwide parties.

The majority of Nationwide drivers say they welcome the competition and see it as a way to raise their game. But what are they going to say?

Stand-alone shows, like this Saturday's in Nashville, Tenn., give the Nationwide drivers slightly better odds at winning because fewer Cup drivers bother to make the commitment on an off-weekend or don't want the extra travel when the Nationwide race and Cup venues are different.

Instead of debating this recent phenomenon, why not change things up? NASCAR went decades with old-school thinking and rigid rules, but this is the era of free will and the will to change. NASCAR's had no problems altering the Cup championship formula and introducing a radically different car. So why not fix the Nationwide Series?

During the NASCAR offseason - November to February - as the U.S. and world economies headed deeper into the tank, we heard a lot of gloom and doom about the future of America's most popular motor sport. Corporate sponsorship, the lifeblood of racing, is currently hard to come by and the '09 season opened with an unhealthy number of cars lacking high-dollar logos on their hoods.

Though I am no economist, I have, through all the naysaying, remained bullish on stock car racing. Harvard MBAs, correct me if I'm wrong, I believe when there is less money to spend, a wise strategy is to spend less money. And at risk of curmudgeonry, I believe the stock car economy, bloated through more than two decades of runaway success, has plenty of room to tighten the old belt.

Kevin Harvick has found the key to winning the biggest races at Daytona International Speedway: lead as few laps as possible. Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500 after leading just four laps, led just one Saturday night en route to winning his first Bud Shootout.

His improbable win was just the tip of the iceberg on a wild, full moon Florida night as 28 of NASCAR's stars knocked the dust of the steering wheel in the season-opening exhibition.

NASCAR Chairman Brian France really loves the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

And because of that, don't expect any major amends to the format, or a complete reversal back to the standard point system -- regardless if many fans and at least one top driver questions how it affects the sport's future integrity.

France cited the increased point amounts for winning a race as a major reason why the Chase is working so well.

Example 1-A? Jimmie Johnson last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I actually called Jimmie Johnson on the phone and told him that [afterward]," France said. "By going after that win, he risked a lot -- because he knew how close it was and he knew that those bonus points were maybe going to be necessary to win it all. I think in the old days, a couple years ago, somebody might have settled for second."

Sure, you can't argue with the fact that adding 10 points to the winner's prize for a race was a good move. In fact, that number should be 20 to 30 points higher.

But are winning championships in the 10-race Chase playoff comparable to the "old" point system? Jeff Gordon doesn't see it that way.

So that Thursday announcement didn't pan out.

But the the Friday one certainly will. (At 12:30pm EST, actually!)

That announcement also won't likely carry any new news along for Lowe's Motor Speedway vs. Concord City Council, either, as Speedway Motorsports CEO Bruton Smith is expected to announce a purchase of Bob Bahre's independently owned track in New England -- New Hampshire International Speedway.

On Friday, Smith is expected to announce only the purchase of the track in Loudon, N.H., and not speculate on any plans to move either of its two Nextel Cup Series race dates, multiple sources said.

Smith has previously stated his desire to add a second Cup date to his track in Las Vegas. He also has expressed interest in an earlier date for his second Texas race to avoid a conflict with the opening of white-tail deer hunting season.

Yes, you read that correctly -- to avoid a conflict in Texas with not an open wheel race, a Cowboys game, or a rodeo but rather white-tail deer hunting season.

Think that just threw out every stereotype that the NASCAR bigwigs in Daytona have been trying so hard to abandon? You can bet Brian France is cringing to hear that a track owner is trying to help the fans that don't drink martinis or Perrier -- but rather is making them us a priority.

And to think, just Tuesday, I was questioning Bruton's commitment to the fans. (And well, I probably still would if he moves LMS, but as for now, he's got some points in my book.)

But the real announcement on this issue, apparently, isn't being made Friday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Ricky Rudd will miss his third consecutive race this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Rudd suffered a serious shoulder separation during a crash at California Speedway.

Kenny Wallace has filled in Rudd's No. 88 since that time and will continue this weekend with Dover's Dodge Dealers 400.

Wallace says that he is looking forward to running in the Dodge Dealers 400.

"I really have a love/hate relationship with Dover," he said. "I've had some good runs there, and those are the runs I always try to remember when we head there for a race. I really enjoy the track a lot, and I'm just waiting to love the track, but I really feel that I can do well up there in the car of tomorrow this weekend. For as much as I enjoy Dover, I haven't had the finishes that I should have so far, but I'm just going to keep on trying."

During his time in the RYR Ford, Wallace has posted unremarkable finishes of 28th and 34th respectively at Richmond and Loudon.

David Gililland, the other Yates driver, has only posted finishes of 22nd and 39th at the same events -- showing that the Yates machines aren't exactly up-to-par at the moment, however.

For Wallace's future, you've got to hope that Yates brings a better package to the Monster Mile this weekend.

It's not known when Ricky Rudd, who is retiring at the end of this season, will come back -- if at all -- from his injury.