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NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 18, 2018

Steve Phelps

THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Homestead‑Miami Speedway, championship Sunday, and this is also our final media availability for the weekend, so we're pleased to welcome Steve Phelps, NASCAR president, to the media center. Steve, I believe you have a few words.
STEVE PHELPS: Thanks, John. It's a pleasure to be here, and thank you all for coming. Couldn't be happier about what we're going to see this afternoon into this evening.
Before I get started, I did want to thank you, the media, for all you do for this sport. It is a gloriously long season that we have. Many of you have come to every race. We want to thank you. What you do for our fans and how you provide access and insight for our fans is invaluable to our sport, so I want to thank you. I'm looking forward to a great race today.
Before we go any further, I do want to go back to Friday night, historic, unbelievable race with Brett Moffitt and Shige Hattori and Hattori Racing. What a story. We've had so many story lines this year, but that is a fantastic one certainly for our Camping World Truck Series.
And then last night, the race that we saw, Tyler Reddick and that JR Motorsports team, watching him lap after lap after lap just up by the wall rim riding, it was phenomenal. Everyone waiting for him to make a mistake, and he didn't. He brought it home. As his lead kept growing and growing and growing, you see this trepidation from, I'm sure, tons of people, like get away from that wall, and he didn't. He just stayed the course and stayed the course. It was fantastic.
As for today, kind of the big show here, we're thrilled. We've got four future Hall of Famers racing here for the championship, arguably the best Championship 4 we've ever had. I'll put my fan hat on. I can't wait. We've got fantastic racing here historically at Homestead‑Miami Speedway, so I don't think it will disappoint. Really excited about that.
The season overall, I think we've had a tremendous amount of story lines, as I said, and I believe that the racing product is as good as we've seen. I think that bodes well for the future. I'll talk about 2019 in a second and the rules package, and I'm sure there will be a question or two about that.
But I mean, phenomenal story lines, and I won't go into each and every one of them, but the racing itself is great.
On the kind of behind‑the‑scenes piece, if you look at the collaboration that this industry has had, and I know we talk about collaboration a lot. I know specifically I talk about collaboration, I think, again, it's an all‑time high. And I think that's really, really important for our sport. We're facing some headwinds, or we have faced some headwinds. We're hitting those head on. We're working with our teams and we're working with our tracks, our drivers, our media partners, our sponsors, so make sure that we put on the best racing product we can, to make sure this sport stays healthy for many, many years to come. Truly excited about it.
Why don't we open up for some questions. I'm happy to answer any you have.

Q. Steve, with the recent announcement by NASCAR of acquiring outstanding shares of ISC and the changes in leadership, including your own position, should people consider maybe not the sport but the organization of NASCAR sort of in a transition stage? And if you agree with that, do you think is there a time period of weeks, months or years in which those changes will be kind of visual to the fan as far as how races are conducted or at tracks or things of that nature?
STEVE PHELPS: So a lot of pieces in there, in your question. So let me start with structure. So our chairman and CEO is Jim France. For those of you who have gone to all the races since Michigan, you have seen Jim France at all the races since Michigan. He goes to driver councils, OEM councils, team councils. Jim is involved in the business in a significant way.
Jim is a man who has lived NASCAR his entire life. He is a racer through and through. He raced himself. He loves racing. He loves NASCAR. The top of that pyramid, the top of the structure is incredibly strong.
Are there other structural changes that will come down the line? There probably will. I can't speak to the ISC acquisition, but what I will say is to me, if you look at the message that has been sent from Lesa Kennedy and Jim France, it's that we're going to double down on this sport because we believe in it. We believe this sport is going to grow. We believe this sport is‑‑ its best days are ahead of it. I'm thrilled to be part of that. I'm thrilled to be part of their management team.
We have a lot of opportunity, and we're excited about where we're going.

Q. You mentioned the new aero rules package. Do you view that rules package as kind of a savior when it comes to declining ratings and attendance, or how much do you believe it will impact ratings and attendance versus any initiatives on the marketing or scheduling side?
STEVE PHELPS: You know, I think the rule package was put in place because we want to have the most competitive racing we can. We believe the 2019 rules package is just exactly that. What effect it has on ratings or what effects it has on other things that are outside of our control, I can't say.
I can say that we do believe that this racing, which today arguably is the best we've ever had, is going to get better. We have a promise to our fans, and that promise is about close, competitive, side‑by‑side racing, and we believe that this 2019 rules package will give us exactly that.

Q. Earlier this year we sat down and talked about a new model for sponsorships for the future of the sport. With Monster stepping out at the end of the next year, can you tell us where we are in that particular aspect of the sport, of changing over and that transition that you addressed with us?
STEVE PHELPS: Sure. So yeah, we did talk about a new sponsorship model. For those of you that are unaware of what that is, I'll explain it briefly and then try to answer your question.
The model was meant to make NASCAR easy to do business with, right. So it combines assets that are from the sanctioning body, from our racetracks, from our broadcast partners, and ultimately the teams, as well, because we want the teams to be part of it, and it makes it easy for us to do‑‑ for someone to do business in our sport. And we think it will allow us to have sponsors who want to be at the highest level come in and make sure they're activating against the sport in a significant way. And that's what we are expecting of them.
Monster has been a great partner for two years now. They have one more year. We're excited about their last year, and we will transition to this new model. Right now we have no news to tell or announce at this particular point about who is going to be there. I can say that we've had a significant number of meetings with potential sponsors. There is a general excitement around what the model could be and where it's going. So I'm bullish on making sure that we have the right sponsors in there, and I'm bullish that it's going to do what it is intended to do, which is to make sure that we are getting sponsors at that highest level and rewarding them for what they do for our sport.

Q. The four championship drivers were asked about how they feel the direction of the sport is going. They all expressed excitement and confidence. The representatives of the four championship teams did the same thing, and I think that in light of maybe some of the things that are happening with sponsorship troubles, the 78 team closing, your truck champion not having a job yet for next year, I think that the perception could be that maybe things aren't as great as everyone wants to portray. I also understand from a collaboration standpoint with your stakeholders, they probably are better than they've ever been. You did mention headwinds; what is NASCAR's position on where you are right now? Is everything great, or is there a lot of work to be done?
STEVE PHELPS: Listen, we always have work to be done, for sure. The sponsorship component of this, there are‑‑ and I've been accused of being Pollyanna‑ish before. I believe the state of sponsorship in this sport continues to accelerate in a positive manner, not just because we have a new sponsorship model coming. If you look at the state of where the teams are‑‑ I went to a Penske summit that I was fortunate enough to speak at, and I was speaking to Bud Denker, Tim, and they were saying, hey, we have 15 new sponsors here. That's fantastic. You talk to Joe Gibbs; hey, we've got a bunch of new sponsors here, sponsors that have been signed at the sanctioning body.
Do I think the state of sponsorship is‑‑ we're always seeking to have new sponsors in the sport. We have a competitive advantage over other sports, I believe, because of our great fan base. Our fans understand what it means to be a sponsor of NASCAR, and they are‑‑ they understand that that product or service or whatever it is, if I support that, it helps my sport.
That's the competitive advantage we have. I think we'll continue to make gains on the sponsorship front.
Do we have a lot of work in collaboration with our race teams and our racetracks? We do. And that's what we're doing. So we are going to be laser focused on driving consumption, so driving ratings.
Our digital and social numbers are doing incredibly well. They're through the roof. So sponsor‑‑ fans are engaging in different ways. We've got two great broadcast partners, and those broadcast partners are‑‑ we'll work with them, as well. We need to drive ratings, and we're going to do that. So we're singularly focused on that, and I don't know if you can be singularly focused on another thing, but we are going to be focused, as well, on driving ticket sales. It's important.

Q. The inspection process, is that something that needs to be addressed over the off‑season?
STEVE PHELPS: I think, listen, we're going to look at the inspection process. Will there be changes to it? There might be. That will be up to Steve and his team to figure out the best way to do that and figure out what is going to be in the best interest of the sport. You know, and we'll look at that. Obviously we'll have discussions with our race teams and make sure that folks are comfortable in the direction that we're going in, but at the end of the day, we will make that decision.

Q. A couple years ago, there was talk about biofuels and going green, and I think you made a very successful transition to that. Also you went from carburetors to EFI. The next transition obviously is going to be as hybrids become more and more on the road, Formula1 has a hybrid engine, the OEMs yesterday sat on that very stage and talked about how they're looking at it. Going forward to that, do you envision a time when we could have a hybrid type engine in one or more of the series?
STEVE PHELPS: Sure, I think it's a good question. I think‑‑ is electrification on the ‑‑ in the future potentially? Yeah, it certainly is. Can I see a time in the future that we will have that? I definitely do.
When we get there, how we get there, what it looks like, there's a lot of work to do between now and then. But I can assure you that we are looking at it right now.

Q. Kind of a two‑pronged question. You guys went to Australia to visit with Supercars. You guys talked about the Gold Coast. What is the level of interest there? What did you learn from Supercars, and on the international front, are you guys interested in having exhibition races, taking the three national tours international in some capacity?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, the trip that Steve and John Probst made to Australia was exploratory in nature. It wasn't specifically about racing down there. It was really more of a sharing of ideas. So I think much was made of that or more than actually was there.
What that looks like in the future, I'm not sure. Are we open to exhibition races? I think we are open to exhibition races, and we'll certainly work with our race teams to look at that. International is a very important area for us. We think it's incredibly fertile ground for us as a sport. We've got successful series in Canada, México and Europe. Could I see other grass‑roots racing series around the world? I can. We're on television in 185 markets in some form or fashion. It's an important growth area for us.

Q. Steve, I got a chance to go to a few different kinds of racing series this year, and one thing I was struck by coming back here was that it doesn't seem the drivers here have as much fun or show passion or joy or happiness in that same way that they do in other series. Is there anything NASCAR can do to get the drivers here back to where it looks like they're having fun again?
STEVE PHELPS: You know, I think that's‑‑ this afternoon you're going to see a driver having fun for sure. He's going to win a championship. There's going to be raw emotion. It's going to be amazing. There are three of them that are going to win a second championship or one who will win his first. So there will be raw emotion and excitement around that for sure.
You know, we have a long season, and I think that if you look at our drivers, to generalize it as they're not having fun I think is a little bit unfair. Are there drivers that have bad days and not as excited as they might be? You probably have that now and again.
With that said, we've got some tremendous, young and up‑and‑coming drivers who are excited about going to the racetrack and trying to win and compete every day, and so, again, I think it's a‑‑ I know I'm having fun. I hope you guys are having fun out there, too. But I think to say that our drivers are not having fun I think is a generalization.

Q. Along those same lines, because I was going to ask you the same thing, as somebody who comes from a marketing background, how do we have our drivers market the sport to be ambassadors for the sport, to show more of their personalities so they can be the best possible people out there selling the sport for you, for us, for everyone?
STEVE PHELPS: No, listen, our drivers are the single most important ambassadors for our sport. There is no question about that. I was struck by something Ryan Blaney said earlier in the year. He's like, I'll do anything you want me to do. I want to be an ambassador for this sport.
We are at a competitive disadvantage relative to other sports because we don't have as many athletes that are participating at our highest level than say the NFL. They have 1,600 players. We don't have that. And so every driver is really important for us to help drive star power in our sport.
It is about the driver. Listen, you have other players that are important, crew chiefs and teams, but it's really about the driver. And so we have worked for seven or eight years to try to get drivers when they're young and try to train them about media training and try to get their personality out there, trying to build their brand, so the NASCAR Next program is an important program that we do. We have a group called Driver Marketing. It's their entire day job to try to make sure that drivers are marketing themselves in the best way possible.

Q. Is there a little more give here since the sponsors expect something out of these drivers, and sometimes that personality might not be exactly what the sponsor is looking for?
STEVE PHELPS: I think that's a fair statement. I think if you look at‑‑ they're representing brands, right, and so if you have a conservative brand and you have an edgy driver, those things don't always work together. Ideally you find edgy brands with edgy drivers, and you can‑‑ that's a very good marriage to do that, and then find drivers who are a little more reserved and conserve that represent other brands.
I think is there a brand filter out there? I think there is. Would I like to see one filter taken away? I would love to see that because our fans want to have their driver being authentic. And if their driver is a difficult driver, so be it. If their driver is a super nice guy, then that's what the fan wants to‑‑ that's what they want to see. It's all about authenticity.

Q. Now three years into it, do you feel that the Cup Series charter system has lived up to what it was intended for? And do you think that there are any improvements that could be made to it?
STEVE PHELPS: Has it‑ I'll paraphrase‑ met expectations? I think the charter system has allowed us to have dialogue with our race team that is formal. Do I think that's a positive thing? I do. Do I think we were going in that direction anyway? I do. Do I think it can improve? I absolutely think it can improve. And that really has to do with us working with the race teams, more than, hey, it's faulty. We are going to work with our race teams to figure out how we put on the best racing. We are going to work with our race teams to try to figure out how to make owning a race team as efficient as it can be, and that's both driving revenue and looking to create efficiencies in owning a race team.

Q. Is there a scenario where you see Brian France maybe not returning to his position? You mentioned Jim France being here a lot; that was one thing Brian was criticized for. If Brian comes back, do you expect we'll see him at more events?
STEVE PHELPS: You know, I can't speak to whether Brian is coming back or not. I do know that Jim France is our chairman and CEO. I do know that Jim France is incredibly involved in this sport, at the racetrack, off the racetrack. I've heard some criticism about, hey, why isn't Jim here. Why isn't Jim sitting right now talking to you. I can assure you that Jim France is talking to a lot of people. It's my job to talk to the media. Jim is not‑‑ something Jim feels is part of what he wants to do. We'll respect that. But he's talking to Roger Penske and he's talking to Jack Roush and he's talking to racetrack owners, he's talking to drivers, he's talking to sponsors. That's what Jim does, and he is driving this sport, and as we look to 2019, we are going to execute against Jim's vision.

Q. In the political sphere, a presidency is defined by their first 100 days. You're on about day 48 of your presidency of NASCAR. What have you seen accomplished, and what do you want to accomplish in the next 52 days and in the future?
STEVE PHELPS: How do you think I'm doing so far? (Laughter.)

Q. You know what, I'm‑‑
STEVE PHELPS: Day 48 or whatever day, it seems longer than that. I'm not sure why. I'm having a lot of fun, in all seriousness. I think that I've been fortunate to have people around me who are very good, both at the sanctioning body level and then the different folks that we touch at racetracks, at race teams, our media partners. And this sense of collaboration that exists, and you heard it yesterday, you heard it the day before, it's at an all‑time high.
I believe that's part of what my job is. So we talked about Jim's vision. We're going to execute against that vision. The role that I can play in doing that, I hope it's meaningful. I do believe as we head into 2019 that our best days are ahead.

Q. Steve, across all three national divisions, what is NASCAR doing to entice or encourage new ownership to come into the sport?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think it comes back to looking at what‑‑ making sure that owning a race team is something that's just not a hobby. You know, it is a business. You need to have people who love it, so Roger Penske loves racing, and we need to make sure that we find that next Roger Penske, we find that next Jack Roush, we find that next Rick Hendrick. If they're not going to have folks in their family that will carry on that tradition, we need to go outside.
I do believe that making sure that teams are healthy will help us in all three series. So we have made some changes from a structural standpoint, a cost standpoint in the Truck Series that has made that series more viable. You take a look at the NT1 engine, and it makes it more viable to own a race team.
Do we see that as a positive step in the health of that series? We do. We'll see some of the same things in Xfinity, and then I believe ultimately we'll see the same thing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Q. Seven, eight years ago NASCAR implemented the Next program really as this youth movement was starting to swell a good bit. As the driver turnover continues and the age gets younger in all three of the top series, how much excitement does there continue to be, and what is NASCAR doing to try and help engage the fan base with some of these younger drivers to try and keep that attachment?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think it's‑‑ listen, our NASCAR Next program has been a huge success. So you look at a Daniel Suárez or Kyle Larson and others that have been part of that program, or someone currently, like a Hailie Deegan, I believe that they are our future. So we've had some very high‑profile folks retiring, drivers retiring, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Danica Patrick and others, Matt Kenseth. Obviously Matt coming back and what the future looks like with Matt, I'm not sure, but we are poised now with this next generation, which I believe is the best crop of young drivers that we've seen in two decades, both at our national level and then what's going on down in the tours in ARCA and others that we will see progress.
That particular program is just one thing that we do. We do need to have them connect, and they connect in different ways than traditionally that we've seen. So a lot of it was all sponsor driven. Do we still have sponsors who are activating against the sport and driving driver personality and driving looking at a driver's‑‑ how well‑known they are? We have some of that. But we need to make sure that they're doing things themselves.
So we have some of our own channels, whether it's NASCAR Social, NASCAR Digital, and then they have their own social opportunities, and then working with their race teams and their sponsors.
It takes a village, and it is important for us to make sure that we have the tools in place that allow those drivers to be successful, so when it is their turn to get on the big stage that they can take advantage of it and our fan base knows who these drivers are.

Q. Steve, when do you expect the ISC transaction will close, and what type of structural changes are expecting? Is NASCAR planning to make a similar business for SMI? And are there any plans by NASCAR to sell off any interests to outside organizations?
STEVE PHELPS: I can't comment on the first one. I can't comment on the second one. I can't comment on the third one. Triple play. You can ask another question. I'd be happy to answer another question that you may have.

Q. There have been various people lobbying for changes to the schedule, shortening the season. Which kind of changes as NASCAR evolves do you feel are most realistic to happen in regards to the schedule and shortening the number of tracks you go to, and what's not in play? Are there some things that are so engrained in the sport that you're not willing to consider changing?
STEVE PHELPS: In short answer, I think everything is in play. So we've heard from our fan base that they would like to see more short track racing. They want to see more road courses. They want to see less cookie cutter tracks, whatever that means.
I think that we are looking with our broadcast partners and with our tracks and with our teams and drivers to get input on what each of them believes would be an ideal schedule, and then we're obviously doing fan research as part of it. So do I believe that everything is on the table? I do. Will we see a lot of the things that have been talked about, so more short tracks, more road courses, double‑headers, mid‑week racing, pulling the season forward? All those things would be in play. I don't know what's going to happen, but we are working diligently on what a 2020 schedule would be. As soon as we have something to talk about, we will get to you.

Q. In talking with a lot of new fans or fans on the periphery of the sport, they are of the mentality or they think that if a driver is not competing in the Cup Series, they're not in NASCAR. They don't understand the extent of NASCAR. When the sport was growing like a wild freight train, Jim Hunter was going to all short tracks every week on the plane. With the acquisition of ARCA, do you foresee maybe NASCAR strengthening its sanctioning among the short tracks again and helping the short tracks build a fan base that in turn builds the base all the way up?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, that's a good question. I don't know‑‑ we're obviously in discussions with Ron and the folks at ARCA on a weekly basis about what the future of that series looks like, what the future of our touring series looks like. So a lot of dialogue that's there.
We have and I have stated publicly, we are going to work with our short tracks to try to make sure that from a cross‑promotional standpoint, us promoting the short tracks and the short tracks promoting the big tracks, that's something that we are interested in doing. As part of our 2019 plans, we will see work with our racetracks to make sure that we are working with them in order to find ways to drive attendance both ways.
And I'm excited about what that looks like. Is that a panacea for any attendance headwinds that we've had? It's not. But I think there's a strengthening that will happen for both that will be good for both entities, will be good for motorsports in general.

Q. Last month it was reported that ISC and IndyCar were discussing a potential NASCAR/IndyCar double‑header. Obviously it doesn't look like that's going to happen next year, but is that something that discussions are continuing with either Jay Frye or Mark Miles, and is it a possibility it could be a road course instead of an oval?
STEVE PHELPS: Again, I'll go back, the 2020 schedule is something that we're looking at right now. Whether it would include IndyCar and NASCAR, I know there are people that would like to see that. I think it would be a good show. We have to figure out how that works and kind of the broader plans of what our schedule looks like for 2020 and beyond. Do we have conversations with Mark and Jay? We do. There are many people that do. And I think that we share a common broadcast partner in NBC. NBC would‑‑ I'm sure would enjoy something like that, as well. So it's a possibility.

Q. I'm just wondering what updates you could offer us as far as NASCAR and the sports gambling front is concerned, and what you see as the advantages and disadvantages and sort of leaning into that a little bit more in the future?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think a lot of sports are taking a hard look at sports gambling, and we're doing the same. Are we as far along as some other leagues or teams? At this particular point, we're not. Our sport is unique, right, and we need to make sure that we have looked at all angles. I do think there are opportunities on the sponsorship front. I do believe there are opportunities from an engagement standpoint, from a fan standpoint. But we have to make sure that we are being very disciplined in how we get there.
We'll probably have more to talk about as we head into 2019, but nothing more to share today.

Q. To follow up the question that was asked about the schedule shortening, can you give me an assessment of what the shortened enhanced weekends have been like? Are there more of those down the road? What about shortening races themselves to fit on more of that maybe 3‑hour sweet spot you're looking for?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think, not to give you a middle‑of‑the‑road answer, which I'm going to give to you, I think there's‑‑ we have shortened some races, as you know. Is that something we'll continue to look at? It will. Obviously our 2019 schedule is set, so again, not to be repetitive, but I think all those things are on the table. To answer your first question on enhanced weekends, I don't see enhanced weekends growing in 2019. I think for the most part what you saw this year you will see again. We'll try to get that schedule out as soon as we can. I know that there are folks here that need to make travel plans and want to be‑‑ as soon as we can get those things out, we will.

Q. With the world growing more digital, social media on the rise, for the years to come, are you guys looking at different horizons, new outlets to promote the sport, especially for young fans?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think that's a good question. The answer is‑‑ the short answer is yes. What those are, we need to work with people like you to make sure that we continue to understand where young people, Gen‑Z, where you're getting your information, how you're getting your information, what are those tools. You look back, five years ago, the landscape looked completely different, two years ago, than what it is today. Today we've got Snapchat doing a live story. That's something that didn't exist, and so for us to make sure that we are looking at those outlets are really important. We need to make sure we as a sanctioning body are going and meeting fans where they are. And so whether that's new social media, it's digital media, whatever that piece is going to be or that medium is going to be, we need to be there.

Q. With the talk of possibly switching up the schedule in 2020, can you give any clarity as to how the five‑year track sanctions may affect that or not, and if it does affect it, 2021 might be the more big shake‑up?
STEVE PHELPS: To your question, we do have five‑year sanctions. The five‑year sanctions go through the 2020 season. So if we are going to make significant changes to our schedule, we need to make sure that our tracks are on board with what those significant changes would be.
Do I think that our tracks are interested in looking at that? I know they are. And they're doing that because that's what our fans want. Is every single decision or everything a fan will want, are we going to do that? Probably not. But for us, yes, we will need to have significant conversations both with our racetracks and the broader industry, but the racetracks in particular if we are going to have significant race schedule changes for 2020.

Q. In 2021 you could blow the whole thing up, though, right?
STEVE PHELPS: Well, we'll go to new sanctions. I don't characterize it as blowing it up.

Q. But you're not beholden to these five‑year‑‑ you don't need the racetracks to be cooperative in that‑‑
STEVE PHELPS: I would say that‑‑ listen, the dialogue we're having with our racetracks is really good dialogue. We need to make sure that we are making the smartest decisions we can that affect the sport most positively. They're a major stakeholder in this sport. Teams are a major stakeholder in this sport. Our broadcast partners are major stakeholders in the sport. All make it go around with the fan base.
Listening to all those inputs and all that data is an important way for‑‑ is the way that we are going to make informed decisions for both 2020 as well as for 2021.

Q. I was really struck when you said, drivers are the single most important ambassador of our sport, but in most sports, when athletes lose their job, it's typically due to performance. We may see in a situation like with Brett on Friday, it may simply be because a corporation doesn't believe in him. How do you bridge the gap with teams, manufacturers, other stakeholders to make sure that successful drivers still have their place regardless of how they relate to a company, and what do you say to fans who may say, performance has been lost in whether or not you are on the racetrack each week?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, listen, I'll address the Brett situation first and then more broadly. Listen, Brett Moffitt is obviously a very talented race car driver who has won more this year obviously than he's ever won. He has a bright future. What that future looks like, I don't know. What I do know is that we work with race teams from a revenue standpoint as much as we can. We also work with drivers to try to bridge driver opportunities.
Are we always successful in getting a driver who wants to be driving in whatever series they want to drive in? No. But there are a lot of historical things that we have done to try to make sure that if a driver is interested in continuing that that driver has that opportunity.

Q. Can you kind of comment and give your thoughts on how you think the ARCA acquisition is going, and with everything you've talked about here this morning, how that series kind of fits in with your initiative and new direction?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, as I've said before, we have a weekly call with them, and there are other folks that are actually meeting daily on ARCA. I think ARCA is a great opportunity for us.
How we look at it from a branding standpoint, how we look at it from a racing standpoint and what that's going to look like in the future, there is a lot of dialogue that's happening right now. I don't know exactly how that's going to look, but I do know that it's‑‑ we want this again, bring it back to the fan, we want it to be something that the fans want to see, right; what is the best racing at that level of series that is going to continue to reward the fan base that we have that watches the ARCA series, and again, do we overlay K&N East and West? What do those series look like? What are those owners saying? So there are just a lot of things in play that as we head into the 2019 season that will start to play out, and we'll get that out to you guys.

Q. How involved will that be with 2019 (indiscernible)?
STEVE PHELPS: Yeah, I think it's‑‑ listen, again, if you look at on the NASCAR side, Brandon Thompson kind of leads that for us, and he's doing a great job working with Ron and his team. There are sales opportunities that both organizations are looking at. So they're integrated. So although they will be separate and run schedules for 2019 that will look the way they have traditionally looked, there is a coming together behind the scenes that will inform what happens in 2020.
THE MODERATOR: Before we close, any final words?
STEVE PHELPS: Again, I just want to thank you all for what you do for the sport. It really is important. I can't thank you enough. I know it's not always easy. I know that there are times that can be quite difficult, and I know there are times that you guys are on the‑‑ in general are on the road, that you're just on the road a lot. The end of a fantastic season, and I just, again, want to say thank you.

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