The contracts expire this year, and NASCAR will essentially have the ability to reconfigure the entire schedule for 2021. NASCAR, a private company owned by the France family, last year swallowed International Speedway Corp., giving Jim and his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, the power to do just about anything they want.
"It makes a big difference," Jim France said of the merger. "It gives us an opportunity to respond quicker to the changing environment out here with the economy and all the things that are going on that impact motorsports. It was a major big step that we needed to make probably for quite a while."
NASCAR this year will debut a new sponsorship model in which the elite Cup Series will not have a single entitlement partner. The Winston Cup/Nextel Cup/Sprint Cup/Monster Energy Cup will be just the Cup Series going forward, with "premier partners" Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO and Xfinity taking on large roles.
As Jim France and Lesa France have found their footing, the stock car series has shown flexibility, too: After acknowledging the rules package was a bust at short tracks and road courses, NASCAR did an about face and made changes for those specific venues.
Adapting to it all will be Johnson, who said this year will be his last as a full-time NASCAR driver. His 19th season will be his last attempt to win a record eighth Cup championship, but Johnson said he has shaken off the pressure of chasing Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt and plans to enjoy his time in the No. 48 Chevrolet.
"I've been able to have some clarity and to really understand it on a deeper level," said Johnson, now 44. "One thing that I've come to grips with and I'm enjoying letting go of is: I feel like I've been a bit out of character and a bit focused on a number, a statistic and I've never in my life been that way. I've never raced that way."
It's a full house at Joe Gibbs Racing, which put three Toyotas in the final four last season and returns its entire lineup, with Norman native Christopher Bell finally earning his promotion to the Cup Series in a satellite ride for Leavine Family Racing. It was the only place to put Larson's sprint car-loving buddy, who was ready for the big leagues but stuck in Gibbs' crowded system.
Bell will be in a race for top Cup rookie alongside two-time Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer. The trio raced each other for the Xfinity title the last two seasons.
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February 04, 2020 at 05:52AM
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Christopher Bell's Cup Series debut one of many changes ahead as NASCAR season arrives - Oklahoman.com
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