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Speaker 1: This is the business of sports. Should Major League Baseball

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Speaker 1: shorten up the season? How do we present football to

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Speaker 1: the audience of the future. I don't think that most

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Speaker 1: players understand the power that they have. The future of

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Speaker 1: IndyCar racing is looking bright. Scott Sahnick. Very basic math here,

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Speaker 1: more bidders means more money. Evan Nobody Williams. The team

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Speaker 1: value has essentially quadruples. And the leaders in the sports

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Speaker 1: industry time to bring in our guest, al Stinnbrunner, National

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Speaker 1: Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, Atlanta Braves president Derek Schiller,

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Speaker 1: Patriots President Jonathan Kraft. Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio. Hello,

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Speaker 1: I'm Michael barn I'm Evan Novie Williams, and I'm Scott Sashnik.

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Speaker 1: Every week at this time plus Monday's, Wednesdays and Thursdays,

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Speaker 1: we explore the big money issues in the world of sports.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm giggling myriad reasons I cannot even guess

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Speaker 1: while you're I'm this week's show. Yes, we speak with

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Speaker 1: the President of NASCAR, Steve Phelps. But first let's look

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Speaker 1: of some of the other topics in the week. You

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Speaker 1: just can't wait to get this day felt pole position.

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Speaker 1: Michael Barr. Well, first, you know what I gotta I

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Speaker 1: never want to see anybody don't take too much pleasure.

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Speaker 1: You're taking pleasures. I don't want to see anybody lose

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Speaker 1: their business. Prime Time Sports they are closing. That's out

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Speaker 1: of Colorado. Again, I don't think this is like the

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Speaker 1: biggest sports story of the week, but this is something

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Speaker 1: that people would want to know about. Why it's it involved?

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Speaker 1: This was the Yeah, let me set this up now.

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Speaker 1: The owner of this Prime Time Sports, he was the

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Speaker 1: one that said he was not going to sell any

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Speaker 1: Nike apparel because of Colin Kaepernick and the endorsement that

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Speaker 1: they had with Nike, and for that reason, he stopped

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Speaker 1: selling Nike, and I think he also stopped selling Brandon

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Speaker 1: Marshall jurgy. Yes, yes, he did. Well how'd that work

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Speaker 1: out for him? Well, I think as as somebody said, uh,

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Speaker 1: it's like end of being a milk store within he

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Speaker 1: said it. Yeah. Yeah, I think he said it himself.

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Speaker 1: He realized that oops, there are said what was the

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Speaker 1: what was the quote? I think was I think there's

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Speaker 1: more Kaepernick fans out there than I realized. Yeah, but

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Speaker 1: again he doesn't regret do even though he's now closing

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Speaker 1: his shop because he didn't really sell a whole lot

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Speaker 1: of stuff. He says, I don't regret doing it because

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Speaker 1: of my military background or my my affinity for the military.

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Speaker 1: It was disrespectful and well I put my money where

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Speaker 1: my mouth was and and a backhanded great compliment to Nike. Right,

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Speaker 1: you mentioned the milk comment, Michael. The quote is being

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Speaker 1: a sports store and not having Nike jerseys is like

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Speaker 1: being a milk store without milk, or a gas station

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Speaker 1: without gas. Yeah. I imagine that Nike should make an

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Speaker 1: advertisement around that. Right, just said, what is it? What

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Speaker 1: are the milk AADs? What does it say? Got milk, milk,

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Speaker 1: got Nike? He got a business? Uh, Pilot Flying J. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I guess they're pulling their extensive advertising and sponts ship

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Speaker 1: agreements with ESPN. Why. Well, I'm just gonna say, first,

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Speaker 1: on my heck drive back from Buffalo, I made my

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Speaker 1: first stop ever at a Pilot Flying J. Yeah, so

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Speaker 1: that you know I have that experience. Now, I bought

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Speaker 1: some winchher wiper fluid and I went inside. So now

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Speaker 1: at least I know of big truck stop. Yeah. Absolutely,

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Speaker 1: But they have a you know, an advertising deal with

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Speaker 1: ESPN centered around the SEC makes sense, um, But ESPN

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Speaker 1: wrote a story that was sort of critical of Jimmy Haslum.

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Speaker 1: Of course that's his company, and he also wants to

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Speaker 1: leave the Browns, and the story was critical of the

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Speaker 1: Browns and their operations and hassleman. Guess what now they

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Speaker 1: pulled the business from ESPN. You know, one critical story,

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Speaker 1: we don't want to do business with it. Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: think kind of lost in this in this whole discussion,

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Speaker 1: and it's something we talked about with Mike Neely, who

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Speaker 1: runs the Fiesta Bowl when when he was on the

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Speaker 1: show a couple of months ago. ESPN is kind of

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Speaker 1: behind the scenes, in addition to being a major rights holder,

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Speaker 1: a very dominant force in the in the corporate world

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Speaker 1: than college football. Right, they own the right, the corporate

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Speaker 1: rights to all of the SEC, which is you know,

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Speaker 1: one of the main areas pilot Flying Juh was working.

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Speaker 1: You know, they own a lot of the bowls, they

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Speaker 1: control the sponsorship to a lot of those. So as

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Speaker 1: you read through the stories about Pilot Flying Jay, it

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Speaker 1: actually presents a pretty good picture of just how intertwined

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Speaker 1: ESPN's businesses with a lot of the back end of

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Speaker 1: college football beyond just showing the games. You know what,

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Speaker 1: I'm surprised about it being part of the deal was

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Speaker 1: like promotion from individuals individuals at s Paul find Bomb

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Speaker 1: and Laura and there there may be. With all due

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Speaker 1: apologies to commissioners of the SEC and others, is still

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Speaker 1: Mike's lives there others? I don't know. But with all

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Speaker 1: dual filogs. If if Mike's live out, I don't know

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Speaker 1: who's the next who's commission to the seccon it is

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Speaker 1: I'm asking you get to your computer and kind of

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Speaker 1: picture the guy perfectly. Okay, there, yes, yes, I remember right, Okay,

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Speaker 1: Paul Findbaum there. He may be the most powerful person

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Speaker 1: when it comes to SEC football. He shapes opinion and

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Speaker 1: he's part of the deal. That's a little troubling. Is

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Speaker 1: Michael barn not sponsored by NASCAR? He should be. He

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Speaker 1: should be, by the way, I should add the reason

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Speaker 1: has them got upset? According to the ESPN story, it

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Speaker 1: said that he tightly gripped every aspect of the Cleveland organization,

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Speaker 1: often creating as much chaos as he inherited. And that's

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Speaker 1: according to the story, is wild. It's worth a read.

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Speaker 1: You know the full season Baker Mayfield, you know, the

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Speaker 1: firing of the coach Jackson, mid season, the whole thing.

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Speaker 1: It's it's a good reading. English Soccer's Premier League. They're

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Speaker 1: looking at the possibility of launching its own Netflix style

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Speaker 1: streaming service. I just like to go to Evan because

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Speaker 1: he absolutely hates the Netflix of soccer. Oh yeah, it's right,

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Speaker 1: you hate that, don't But we do know the international

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Speaker 1: rights are going up, the local rights, you know, the

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Speaker 1: in country it's went down for the e p L.

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Speaker 1: So in this new world order, can you make up

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Speaker 1: rather than sell the sky for X dollars, what would

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Speaker 1: you be able to command for a service where you

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Speaker 1: put on whether all the games are part of the games.

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Speaker 1: Something tells me people around the world this O T

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Speaker 1: T flat world would pay a hefty sum per month

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Speaker 1: to get their ep L. This is a natural evolution.

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Speaker 1: I think American fans out there can think of the

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Speaker 1: the u UK sports media world from a right standpoint

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Speaker 1: is essentially what America was ten or fifteen years ago.

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Speaker 1: Right it is is one big package sold largely just

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Speaker 1: to to a cable operator. I'm sure that the English

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Speaker 1: Premier League looks at what MLB has done, you know,

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Speaker 1: with its own O T T offering, and you know

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Speaker 1: NHL NBA, you know they've gotten as well. I'm sure

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Speaker 1: they're looking at that across the pond and thinking, you know,

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Speaker 1: you know, that's something that we should be debaring. Doesn't

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Speaker 1: and maybe you could do both. Doesn't necessarily bastardized, because

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Speaker 1: really the first O T T was NBA pass. You

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Speaker 1: can still get all those games, but not your local markets.

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Speaker 1: So there is something perhaps a hybrid EPL certainly popular.

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Speaker 1: Hey man, I haven't Evan. You know, he realized that

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Speaker 1: the interview coming up was going to be about racing anything.

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Speaker 1: But he realized it was gonna and that didn't really

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Speaker 1: need in the in the room, he took the yellow

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Speaker 1: flag in mine, went to the inner part of the

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Speaker 1: the nice part of the outro. Al Right, Evan, we

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Speaker 1: love having your insight. I know you have to go

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Speaker 1: take care of some business, so Scott and I will

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Speaker 1: continue the show without you. You know, you get excited.

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Speaker 1: It's the start of the NASCAR season officially. Now you

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Speaker 1: see you see it, now you see the veins just

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Speaker 1: of excitement on my forehead. Here the I gotta explain this.

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Speaker 1: By the way, the President of NASCAR, Steve Phelps, is

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Speaker 1: with us. Thank you so much for joining us. Michael Scott,

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Speaker 1: it is a true pleasure to be on with you.

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Speaker 1: And I gotta explain this. Only five guys have been

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Speaker 1: the president of NASCAR seventy years. Only five guys. Steve Phelps,

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Speaker 1: before that, Brent the War before that, Mike Helton was

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Speaker 1: on the show. By the way, we should say that

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Speaker 1: we had Branch on the show before that, Bill France Jr.

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Speaker 1: And before that the big guy, Bill France Senior. So

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Speaker 1: you are in elite company, Sir. I am pretty humbling,

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Speaker 1: very feel, very fortunate to be in the role. And uh,

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Speaker 1: it's exciting. First let's start with the day Now. For

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Speaker 1: people who don't know, it's the super Bowl for NASCAR,

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Speaker 1: And I know it's been a used phrase, almost cliche,

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Speaker 1: but for NASCAR fans, this is our super Bowl. It is. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's the Great American race. It is you know, kicks

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Speaker 1: off first season. So our first regular season race is

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Speaker 1: the Daytona. So would say, hey, you have your biggest,

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Speaker 1: biggest race first. Um, seems like it's out of place.

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Speaker 1: Um they started running. Uh, you started running this race

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Speaker 1: in in fifty nine and it is a it is

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Speaker 1: a spectacle. So watching forty cars run around this two

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Speaker 1: and a half mile high bank track, uh at two

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Speaker 1: miles an hour three wide. Uh, it's it's an incredible

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Speaker 1: thing to watch. It's one of those things where you

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Speaker 1: just kind of can't take your eyes off the television

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Speaker 1: or whatever device that you're using, or if you're lucky

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Speaker 1: enough to be here in the stands. It is. It's

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Speaker 1: action packed and you're waiting for, you know, something incredible

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Speaker 1: to happen, and typically it does. Steve has the city

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Speaker 1: select let me jump in though, why not have it

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Speaker 1: at the end of the year, the culmination in the

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Speaker 1: big race. What's the thinking behind the beginning of season

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Speaker 1: and not culmination with the biggest event you've got? Well,

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Speaker 1: this is that's a good that's a good question, Scott.

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Speaker 1: So this is historic when we run this particular race,

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Speaker 1: so it's and it historically has kicked off our season. Now,

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Speaker 1: what we've tried to do is, you know, borrow from

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Speaker 1: our our stick and ball brethren where we now have

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Speaker 1: a playoff system. So our playoffs are ten weeks and

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Speaker 1: we've got different cut off races and kind of re rack.

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Speaker 1: It start with sixteen and twelve, then down to eight

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Speaker 1: drivers and then four four drivers running for a championship.

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Speaker 1: Whoever crosses the finish line first wins our championship. So

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Speaker 1: we've had a lot of momentum with this new format

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Speaker 1: and so the season, any race in Miami is now

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Speaker 1: a big deal as well as Michael can tell you.

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Speaker 1: So we kind of start off with a bang in

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Speaker 1: in Daytona, UH, and then we finished down in Miami

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Speaker 1: with just a phenomenal race and um, the last year's

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Speaker 1: champion was Joey Logani won the race and it is

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Speaker 1: a it's just a very cool, you know, kind of

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Speaker 1: beginning and end to our season. Now, for people who

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Speaker 1: don't understand the qualifying in NASCAR, it's a little different

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Speaker 1: for the Daytona five than it is for the rest

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Speaker 1: of the races. The start for the yes you you

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Speaker 1: you clocked the lapse and obviously the top two UH

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Speaker 1: have won the front row. And this year the pole

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Speaker 1: sitter is William Byron. But now comes and when we

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Speaker 1: air this the duels will have already run, and it's

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Speaker 1: it's a little complicated. If you can explain that to people,

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Speaker 1: what it's all about sure. So essentially we have more

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Speaker 1: cars here who are trying to get into the race

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Speaker 1: than we actually will have run race. So we we

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Speaker 1: have forties forty slots. There are forty two cars that

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Speaker 1: will be running. There are certain cars that are as

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Speaker 1: Michael talked about, the front row is set that was

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Speaker 1: set through qualifying UM and so William Byron uh is

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Speaker 1: on the pole UM and his teammate Alex Bowman will

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Speaker 1: be the outside pole. And then we have two races

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Speaker 1: which are called the the Duels UM and sponsored by

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Speaker 1: by UM Gander Gander Outdoors, and it is they run two,

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Speaker 1: so they separate the field into two, so they'll be

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Speaker 1: twenty one and the first duel in twenty one. In

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Speaker 1: the second duel, where are you finished in that race

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Speaker 1: determines where you start for for the Daytona five, there

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Speaker 1: are folks that are automatically in and there is a

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Speaker 1: group of folks that are not already qualified to get in,

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Speaker 1: and so they're racing their way into the day and

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Speaker 1: as they said to two of them will go home.

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Speaker 1: That's the only time we actually do our qualifying this way. UM.

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Speaker 1: Typically qualifying happens on a on a Friday or on

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Speaker 1: a Saturday for the Sunday race. And it's you know,

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Speaker 1: it's done based on you know, kind of how you're

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Speaker 1: how you run your speed and you set your entire

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Speaker 1: field that way. We are chatting with NASCAR President Steve Phelps,

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Speaker 1: and Steve, let me just pivot to the business of

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Speaker 1: NASCAR a little bit. Um this the series has hired

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Speaker 1: Goldman Sacks to explore sale of an LP steak in NASCAR.

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Speaker 1: Where does that stand and what is the thinking behind?

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Speaker 1: Looking at an investor. I can't get into the specifics

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Speaker 1: about taking i C, which is owns twelve race tracks. Um,

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Speaker 1: they are a public company and so NASCAR has made

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Speaker 1: a bid to bring them to make to bring them private.

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Speaker 1: So and that is um, you know, can't really talk

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Speaker 1: about where we are in that particular process. What I

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Speaker 1: can't say is that kind of the reasoning around it

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Speaker 1: is we believe that it will actually make the sport

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Speaker 1: much stronger. Um, you know, you will be making decisions

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Speaker 1: if they comes through, making decisions that are in the

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Speaker 1: best interest long term of where the sport is, not

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Speaker 1: just hey, what's what is in the best dangers for

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Speaker 1: that particular quarter. So there are a lot of reasons why. Um,

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Speaker 1: we're excited about that opportunity for us. We're on a

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Speaker 1: day to day basis, we're just you know, we're moving

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Speaker 1: forward as if you know, we are a NASCAR and

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Speaker 1: they are i C and then they're doing the same thing.

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Speaker 1: So we're very very focused on, you know, making the

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Speaker 1: racing it can be doing a cost effective way, giving

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Speaker 1: the fans exactly what they want from a racing product standpoint. Um.

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Speaker 1: And then obviously we're out talking to new sponsors and

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Speaker 1: we have a new sponsorship model that we're putting in place.

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Speaker 1: So a lot of things that are going on that

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Speaker 1: are incredibly positive for the sport. So very bullish on

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Speaker 1: where we're going in the future. Yeah, you have been

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Speaker 1: quoted as saying you need to reset the narrative on

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Speaker 1: NASCAR and that and that NASCAR struggling a track, attendants

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Speaker 1: down television ratings. What is then, if that's the incorrect

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Speaker 1: narrative or is it just changing to what you are

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Speaker 1: doing looking forward? Yeah, I think it's a changing to

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Speaker 1: what we're doing forward. Listen, they're they we have had

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Speaker 1: some you know, some ratings declines. They are what they are,

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Speaker 1: and you've had some attendance declines. In fairness, everybody across

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Speaker 1: TV has had ratings, there's no question. And so what

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Speaker 1: we what we're trying to do is we're making sure

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Speaker 1: that we're trying to service that fan wherever they are.

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Speaker 1: So yes, on balance, all television is down and people

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Speaker 1: are consuming sports and entertainment in a different way, So

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Speaker 1: we want to make sure we're servicing them properly, so digitally, socially,

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Speaker 1: you know, whatever offerings that we can provide to them,

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Speaker 1: both from a you know, race day experience standpoint as

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Speaker 1: well as content that we would push throughout the week.

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Speaker 1: So yes, the getting back to the original question, you know,

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Speaker 1: it is a moving forward position. And so essentially the

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Speaker 1: kind of the change in the narrative isn't hey just

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Speaker 1: be positive, it's it's hey. We have new leadership at NASCAR.

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Speaker 1: So Jim France is our chairman and CEO, and he

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Speaker 1: has been since August of last year. And Jim has

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Speaker 1: a vision for where he wants the sport to go.

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Speaker 1: Um and we have a plan that we are executing

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Speaker 1: executing again and you can you can feel this industry,

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Speaker 1: the narrative actually is already changing. So you can say, hey,

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Speaker 1: go change the narrative or be positive. You have to

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Speaker 1: deal with with things that are going to drive your business,

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Speaker 1: and that's what we're doing. So when you hear team

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Speaker 1: owners or you know, track presidents, or our broadcast partners

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Speaker 1: or auto manufacturers or sponsors, there's a momentum that we

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Speaker 1: are feeling as a sport that I think is going to,

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Speaker 1: you know, manifest itself in very positive ways for the sport,

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Speaker 1: including what happens from an attendance standpoint and what happens

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Speaker 1: from a rating standpoint. We're speaking with the president of NASCAR,

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Speaker 1: Steve Phelps. You made a quote not too long ago

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Speaker 1: and you said that in a way that NASCAR kind

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Speaker 1: of lost its way. Can you explain more on that

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Speaker 1: and expand more on that and what you meant? Sure,

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Speaker 1: you know, I think Michael, there was a school of

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Speaker 1: thought at one point that UM by NASCAR's leadership, that

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Speaker 1: our hardcore fans would always be with us, that there's

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Speaker 1: nothing we could do or say that would drive our

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Speaker 1: fans away. And I think there was a bit of

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Speaker 1: you know, we're calling an arrogance, but it was we're

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Speaker 1: not going to do that. So we we created UM

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Speaker 1: years ago, actually a a Fan Council, which is made

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Speaker 1: up of twenty five our most avid fans. Before that,

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Speaker 1: I think the fans were thought of it as, hey,

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Speaker 1: NASCAR is just not listening to what we have to say,

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Speaker 1: NASCAR doesn't care what we have to say. And I

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Speaker 1: think there was some of that. So when I'm talking

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Speaker 1: about losing our way and we're not listening to our fans,

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Speaker 1: it's not something that was a year ago. This is

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Speaker 1: this is you know, a decade ago. Um. But so

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Speaker 1: we've been on this journey to make sure that our

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Speaker 1: hardcore fans are most avid fans, that we're giving them

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Speaker 1: what they want. And that is through you know, trying

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Speaker 1: to create the best racing product we can, trying to

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Speaker 1: deliver things at places where they are going to be,

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Speaker 1: whether that's on television, digitally, socially, you know, the pushing

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Speaker 1: of content. All those things we get better and stronger

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Speaker 1: each year. So last year, we for example, we had

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Speaker 1: four or five different groups that were part of our

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Speaker 1: that created content. We created a central content group and

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Speaker 1: that central content content group pushes content throughout the week

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Speaker 1: and on the weekends that we know our fans would

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Speaker 1: be interested in. Both from a hardcore fans standpoint. And

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Speaker 1: then like any franchise, any business, we need to bring

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Speaker 1: new folks into the franchise. So we need a you know,

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Speaker 1: a new audience that comes in. We're going to speak

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Speaker 1: to that audience in some ways much differently than we're

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Speaker 1: going to speak to our to our most avid fans,

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Speaker 1: and we need to do that, and they'll be actually

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Speaker 1: in different channels. They'll be you know, kind of spoon

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Speaker 1: fed different things. There may be a different way for

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Speaker 1: them or as we talk to them that will be

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Speaker 1: slightly different than what we're doing or talking to our

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Speaker 1: most avid fans. We're speaking with the president of NASCAR,

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Speaker 1: Steve Phelps, and we have to bring up a brand

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Speaker 1: new rule this year and it's important along with the

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Speaker 1: business of sports. And I'll and I'll connect the two.

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Speaker 1: I call it the d Q rule that that is

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Speaker 1: out there. Can you, first of all, can you explain

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Speaker 1: that to the listening audience, and then I want to

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Speaker 1: get back to why it's important, especially involved responsors. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's you know, Mike, we do have a

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Speaker 1: new rule, right, and so we are going to expect

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Speaker 1: and look at how we inspect the cars differently. So

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Speaker 1: we've had things up front that we're doing differently. So

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Speaker 1: if there is a an infraction, the team gets you know,

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Speaker 1: gets an opportunity to try to fix it um and

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Speaker 1: if they don't, then their penalties that that start to

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Speaker 1: be incurred. So the UH something called the car chief

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Speaker 1: will be asked to to leave the race track and

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Speaker 1: to add home um, penalizing, restricting practice time, things of

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Speaker 1: that nature. So that's the kind of up front piece.

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Speaker 1: And then typically what we would do is we would

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Speaker 1: take UH a number of cars, including the winner, We

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Speaker 1: take them back to our research and development facility in

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Speaker 1: North Carolina, and we break that car down to see

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Speaker 1: if they're infractions. If there were infractions, then we wouldn't

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Speaker 1: they wouldn't cur penalty. And some of those are you know,

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Speaker 1: the significant number of points as well as a financial

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Speaker 1: hit from a you know, a penalty standpoint. So we've

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Speaker 1: decided to do this year instead of doing that and

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Speaker 1: then coming out with a penalty. On Tuesday or Wednesday

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Speaker 1: of that week, we're going to break down the cars,

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Speaker 1: the first and second cars at the racetrack and so

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Speaker 1: within you know, roughly two hours of the race concluding um,

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Speaker 1: you know, we will give the thumbs upside that the

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Speaker 1: cars have passed inspection. If they do not past inspection,

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Speaker 1: then one or the other then they will lose it.

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Speaker 1: It's almost like they didn't come to the racetrack. They

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Speaker 1: will get last place points, they will get last place money, uh,

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Speaker 1: and they will forfeit their win. And the guy if

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Speaker 1: if it's the uh, the guy who had won the

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Speaker 1: race that is d Q, then the guy who came

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Speaker 1: in second is now the winner of the race. And

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Speaker 1: it moves up. If you know what this is going

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Speaker 1: to do away with in this new world we live in,

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Speaker 1: you can't tear up your betting slip right when the

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Speaker 1: race is over. You better hold onto Yeah, well, I

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Speaker 1: think and that's actually a really a good that's a

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00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:34,080
Speaker 1: good question right um in there, which is, hey, from

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Speaker 1: what we're allowing, we're being aggressive on the sports betting front.

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Speaker 1: And so you know that happens in real time, and

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Speaker 1: so there is going to be a winner that is

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Speaker 1: declared and and when that's done, the betting is I mean,

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Speaker 1: the betting is um is going to be Um, You're

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Speaker 1: you're going to pay out on those odds when that happens.

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Speaker 1: So and that's a that's a you know, part of

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Speaker 1: the difficulty of this because you can't you can expect

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Speaker 1: the car in a you know, in a in sixty sconds,

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Speaker 1: you literally are tearing down the car to make sure

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Speaker 1: that things are within code. Well, here's the thing that

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Speaker 1: I don't want to connect this to the sponsors. If

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Speaker 1: our car is d Q, the sponsors obviously are not

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Speaker 1: going to be happy, and that could result in the

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Speaker 1: loss of a sponsorship. And that's that's something the NASCAR

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Speaker 1: teams are going to have to keep in mind. It's like,

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Speaker 1: all right, let's see how far I really want to

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Speaker 1: push this because I could blow my whole sponsorship deal. Well,

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00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,920
Speaker 1: that's exactly right, Michael, And that's this is meant to

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00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:48,560
Speaker 1: be a very large deterrent. So bring your car, you know,

403
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Speaker 1: bring it legal and you know, get up to the line,

404
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:53,399
Speaker 1: you know, kind of the box that we put you

405
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Speaker 1: and get up to the line of keeping it legal.

406
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Speaker 1: But if you go over the line, we are going

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Speaker 1: to d Q you. And that is something that is

408
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,480
Speaker 1: that that's new for us. We've never done that. It

409
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Speaker 1: is important. Um, are there sponsor implications to it? There

410
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,520
Speaker 1: are sponsoring implications to it. If I'm a sponsor, I

411
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Speaker 1: don't want to be involved with you know, someone who

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Speaker 1: is being disqualified and so that sponsor, I'm sure we'll

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Speaker 1: voice their displeasure with whatever team that is, and they

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Speaker 1: will bring a legal card to the racetrack. Do you

415
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Speaker 1: think this will do you think these things will be

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Speaker 1: written into sponsor contracts a certain amount of d q S.

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Speaker 1: I mean, because nobody wants that, Like you said, reputational association.

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Speaker 1: I have no idea. I wouldn't be surprised, UM, if

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Speaker 1: that that were the case. I mean, we've had, on

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Speaker 1: the positive side, we've had sponsors and or drivers where

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Speaker 1: they're being rewarded for making our playoffs right, or making

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Speaker 1: to the championship four UM, or winning the title. UM.

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Speaker 1: Could there be something in here yet? Because there are

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Speaker 1: reputational things that that are you know, that are in

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Speaker 1: play here and listen, we don't want this to be

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Speaker 1: the story. You know, the story should be about the racing.

427
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,000
Speaker 1: The story needs to be about the winner. UM. You know,

428
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,199
Speaker 1: are we going to have a disqualification this year? I

429
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,080
Speaker 1: don't know, I S. I sure hope not. UM. But

430
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,199
Speaker 1: it's our job to officiate and do it fairly and

431
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,840
Speaker 1: to make sure that you know, all the competitors are

432
00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,080
Speaker 1: playing by the same roles. What about stars? Everybody Dane

433
00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:24,399
Speaker 1: Learned Hard and I'm talking about the casual fan like me.

434
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,520
Speaker 1: Certain names I know, certain faces I know. I'm saying

435
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 1: for me, I would have a hard time identifying. I

436
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,760
Speaker 1: think the people you would identify as the biggest stars

437
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 1: in NASCAR. How do you create stars? Yeah, that's a

438
00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:41,159
Speaker 1: good question. Listen. I think we've had a crop of

439
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,200
Speaker 1: drivers who have retired. Who were you know, household names

440
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,240
Speaker 1: and some questions some respects. Right, you have Darrel learned

441
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 1: Hard Jr. Or you have Jeff Gordon, or Tony Stewart,

442
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:56,080
Speaker 1: Danica Patrick, um, those are big stars. And so we've

443
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:58,880
Speaker 1: had all those retiring the last and some others as

444
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 1: well who have retired in the last three years. So

445
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: it's our job to work with our race teams and

446
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,679
Speaker 1: our drivers to try to build their brands, which is

447
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,240
Speaker 1: exactly what we're doing. Part of it has to play

448
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,840
Speaker 1: on the racetrack, So there's a job for them to

449
00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,920
Speaker 1: do off the racetrack, and they're promoting the sport, they're promoting.

450
00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,320
Speaker 1: Their sponsors is a big is a big part of that.

451
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,680
Speaker 1: So what we try to do is we try to

452
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,000
Speaker 1: make sure that we are. We are doing everything we

453
00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 1: can to make them, to make them household names. UM.

454
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 1: If you're going to do that, you have to make

455
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:33,680
Speaker 1: sure they're warning on the racetrack. And so these young

456
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,119
Speaker 1: drivers and we probably have the single best crop of

457
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,159
Speaker 1: young drivers that we've had in two decades, and we

458
00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:43,439
Speaker 1: need them. UM. And these young drivers are coming in

459
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 1: and they're you know, in some cases they're they're diverse. UM.

460
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:52,200
Speaker 1: And like Bubba Wallace Jr. Or Danny Suarez who's from Mexico. Um.

461
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:55,719
Speaker 1: Some of them are legacy drivers like a Chase Elliot

462
00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,359
Speaker 1: who's Bill Elliot's uh son? Or Ryan Blaney who who's

463
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,719
Speaker 1: Dave blaney son and some other folks that are coming up.

464
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:08,159
Speaker 1: They're young, they're aggressive, they're hungry, their social and digital natives.

465
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,080
Speaker 1: So there they understand the importance of doing that. UM.

466
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 1: We do things from an entertainment perspective with them, to

467
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,399
Speaker 1: put them on television shows and adjacent seas with music people,

468
00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,440
Speaker 1: and UM, it's important for us to you know, kind

469
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,480
Speaker 1: of expose who they are to both our most avid

470
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 1: fans as well as these casual fans. Are folks who

471
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: will be test driving you know, NASCAR in the future.

472
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 1: Let's keep this in mind as this is nothing new

473
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,920
Speaker 1: to NASCAR. This this happened in the eighties when Sterling

474
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 1: Marlin when he came into the sport. I remember Bobby

475
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 1: Allison saying, or Buddy Baker is saying, it's like the

476
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,720
Speaker 1: first day of school. Who are these new kids coming

477
00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,240
Speaker 1: in here? So we we've experienced this before now and

478
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:50,960
Speaker 1: I see and that that's it's exactly right. So we've got,

479
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,360
Speaker 1: you know, first ballot Hall of NASCAR, Hall of famers

480
00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,640
Speaker 1: who are racing with these young kids. You know, Kevin Harvey,

481
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,159
Speaker 1: Jimmy Johnson seven time, um, you know seven times when

482
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: we're in the championship, Um, Kyle Busch, Um, Kurt and

483
00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,800
Speaker 1: these guys are all Hall of famers, and so it's

484
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,280
Speaker 1: kind of a unique time. But you're you're right, Michael,

485
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:16,159
Speaker 1: it has always happened that way, right. So literally, the

486
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:21,240
Speaker 1: King's Richard Petty's last race was Jeff Gordon's and you know,

487
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,800
Speaker 1: a passing of the torch that we didn't know at

488
00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,679
Speaker 1: that particular point, but exactly what it was. And it happens,

489
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,639
Speaker 1: you know, every decade, right, You're going to have this wave.

490
00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,880
Speaker 1: And so I think this is a phenomenal, good young

491
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,280
Speaker 1: crop who want to do things to promote this sport,

492
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 1: and we're going to lean on him hard in order

493
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:45,600
Speaker 1: to do that, because that's how the drivers are the show. Um.

494
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: Just like every other sport, it's it is about the athlete,

495
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,119
Speaker 1: no different in our sport. And so we're, you know,

496
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:54,840
Speaker 1: we're really excited about what the future holds for us

497
00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 1: on so many different levels, including the driver front. Steve Phelps,

498
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:01,000
Speaker 1: the president of NASCAR. Of course, when I have my

499
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,000
Speaker 1: chicken wings and I'm gonna have my Derritos and I'm

500
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,000
Speaker 1: gonna have everything all set, I'm gonna be ready to

501
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,760
Speaker 1: watch the Daytona five. D Oh my goodness, tune in, folks.

502
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,640
Speaker 1: Steve Phelps, thank you so much, sir. We appreciate your time.

503
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,680
Speaker 1: Michael Scott, thank you for your time as well. Appreciate

504
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 1: you having me on takeaways. Okay, I have to say

505
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,760
Speaker 1: this and I'm about to pour my heart out before

506
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:27,680
Speaker 1: everybody music. Here we go, harps beef. The first sport

507
00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:32,760
Speaker 1: I ever got into was racing, and I got into bowling.

508
00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,359
Speaker 1: Don't don't please any man. You are just like an

509
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: over the top director consumer guy. I The dayton is

510
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,000
Speaker 1: very near and dear to me and I every year

511
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,720
Speaker 1: from when I was a we lad up until now,

512
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:58,880
Speaker 1: you know, I always said, hey, it's time even to

513
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: kick the family out. I did from the even when

514
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,080
Speaker 1: they used to run the five hundred on the Old

515
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,560
Speaker 1: Wide World of Sports, it didn't run it live back then.

516
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,360
Speaker 1: You had to wait until you know, it came on

517
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 1: that that weekend. And I'll never forget that. So to me,

518
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:21,040
Speaker 1: the takeaway here is, uh, for NASCAR fans, uh, this

519
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,560
Speaker 1: is our super Bowl and uh I am sacrilegious and

520
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: I could probably take it if it was the Daytona fifty.

521
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,240
Speaker 1: I can't do five. Well, do you know what, there

522
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,440
Speaker 1: was a time when they really deducted I think, what

523
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 1: was it fifty laps because of the gas shortage and

524
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,560
Speaker 1: that's only still what is that? And I have a

525
00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:44,960
Speaker 1: question is that why they called the five hundred because

526
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:52,320
Speaker 1: they do five hundred laps miles A look at me.

527
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 1: But what they did was it's you know, because they

528
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,240
Speaker 1: cut it short fifty miles, which then became the dayton

529
00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,640
Speaker 1: to four fifty. But they counted it starting as lap

530
00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:06,560
Speaker 1: twenty five, right right, So that was that was the

531
00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:08,440
Speaker 1: way it was done. So be funny if it was

532
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,200
Speaker 1: like really gear short of days where if you had

533
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: remember even in odd days whether you were or even

534
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,560
Speaker 1: on your license plate. You don't get guests today. Sorry,

535
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 1: can't race get get ound X two five, one to three.

536
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 1: We had two cars back then to like these old

537
00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,280
Speaker 1: panel station wagons. My father used to send me out

538
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:27,080
Speaker 1: and I had to switch the license plates on the

539
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:29,400
Speaker 1: cars for the drive. I'm just saying we did. I'm

540
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 1: sure other people haven't did that when they were young.

541
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:33,400
Speaker 1: I was in charge of switching the plate of which

542
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,040
Speaker 1: our which car needed Guess on what day it was

543
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:40,800
Speaker 1: pulled at the corner of oaky and dok. That's it

544
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:42,800
Speaker 1: feels better to be number one than number five. I'll

545
00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,600
Speaker 1: wear a number because of Mike. We have a chance

546
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:46,200
Speaker 1: to go for three in a row. Kids, numbers in

547
00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,360
Speaker 1: a good time. When I first started wearing the number,

548
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: I was just happy in Floomberg business of sports. The

549
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 1: number of the week, number of the week. Now I'm

550
00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,640
Speaker 1: gonna work it backwards. This is the daytone of five hundred.

551
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:06,080
Speaker 1: What number is? What number? When did they start running

552
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 1: this thing? Let me think he said it in the

553
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,160
Speaker 1: interview um Bow and Luke Duke ran the first one

554
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 1: one by Roscoe Peek Cole trane Um boss Hog took

555
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:22,840
Speaker 1: the second one. I have no idea see and no,

556
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:27,840
Speaker 1: the first race was too much math Okay, sixty forty

557
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:35,720
Speaker 1: sixties something stunning. You didn't want me to get so

558
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:41,520
Speaker 1: I was good, Thank you, Medina. I was too. I mean, like,

559
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:43,000
Speaker 1: people are gonna listen to this and say, man, he

560
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:48,200
Speaker 1: really is a more. You have been listening for me

561
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,560
Speaker 1: in a very special one to a Bloomberg Business of

562
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,120
Speaker 1: Sports show. And we're here each and every week at

563
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:56,280
Speaker 1: the same time plus online as an Apple podcast, and

564
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,440
Speaker 1: you can catch that Monday's, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'm Michael

565
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,080
Speaker 1: Barr at Big Bar Sports on Twitter. Let's give a

566
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,160
Speaker 1: shout out to Evan since he's not here and I

567
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,000
Speaker 1: like the guy. Come on, we both know we all

568
00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,280
Speaker 1: we all like Evan. So by the way, you can

569
00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 1: catch him on Twitter at NOVI Underscore Williams and I'm

570
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,640
Speaker 1: Scott Sashnik. You can follow me on Twitter at sshnik.

571
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,080
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us. Please continue to tune in this

572
00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:21,240
Speaker 1: week when we speak about the biggest and brightest in

573
00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:24,080
Speaker 1: the sports business industry. You're listening to Bloomberg Business of

574
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,560
Speaker 1: sports from Bloomberg Radio around the world,