Have
you heard? An Industry Summit has been
called!
It
was on April 30, 2017, about an hour before the start of the Toyota Owners 400
at Richmond International Raceway NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France held a
surprise press conference during which he announced he would be calling an
industry summit in May at Charlotte.
Interesting
word choice for the description of the upcoming event.
A
"summit" goes way beyond "brain-storming sessions",
"conferences", "meetings", "talks" or appointment
of "blue ribbon committees".
World leaders or in this case leaders of the "world" being
"summitized" (borrowed from Summit
Performance Parts, but you get the idea) attend summits.
When
you think of who attends summits you think of Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin ...
France.
For
historical purposes, summits are often named after the city they are held -
Yalta, Potsdam, Vienna... Charlotte.
To
show their importance summit names, like Ohio State University, are often
preceded by the word "the" when referenced.
Summits
are history making, history shaping or history changing historical affairs...
in other words, summits are BIG deals
Will
that be the case with the Charlotte Summit or will this just be another mis-named
gathering? Only time will tell.
In
his April 30th remarks, France gave little hint as to the specifics of his
summit. He acknowledged some of the many
challenges the sport faces today in one breath, then reassured us that all was
normal and not to worry. Besides,
collaboration of this type, which is his forte, is what makes NASCAR different
and in some ways more advanced than the other sports we are not isolated from.
With
this lack of specificity, it leaves much to the imagination as to what is going
to be "summitized".
Will
they announce a magic formula for bringing new fans in and keeping the
"core" fans happy? Is ME going
to be adding to or enhancing their "great" activation efforts he has
seen to date?
Is
the Chase/Playoffs going away? Will the
Cup Champion now be crowned by a season of work instead of 10 races? If it stays, will the format remain the same
or can we expect more enhancements?
Are
the points going to be adjusted so the race winner always leaves the race with
the most points?
Is
Stage Racing here to stay? Will stage
lineups be set by the finishing order of the previous stage or continue to be
set by how they came out of the pits from the Stage break?
Are
they looking at changes to the inspection process? Are lasers here to stay? Will stage winners be subject to post race
inspections like the race winners? They
get points... why not?
Does
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s retirement announcement so affect the sport that everyone
has to come together to develop an industry-wide plan for "Racing After Dale" (RAD).
Are
they finally going to eliminate qualifying against the clock to set the
starting lineup and adopt the "Race For the
Green"? (Sorry folks, but you know
I had to throw that in there).
Is
this summit announcing how the industry is going to adjust and adapt to the growing trend of cord-cutters and advertisers who are fed up of being charged for
smaller audiences? This is television, NASCAR's "Golden
Goose" we are talking about here.
Is
this to announce that finally all tracks will be completely covered by SAFER
Barriers? Has the Aero Push issue
finally been solved? Is there a new
manufacturer entering the sport? Are
Charters being revoked?
Or
will this be the occasion when Brian France announces he is stepping aside as
NASCAR Chairman and CEO, who like Dale Jr. is seeking to leave on his own
terms?
Or
will it be something entirely different?
I'd place my money on something entirely different.
Now
whether it's correctly named or if it is history making... as said earlier only
time will tell.
Summit
is an interesting word and when you look at the history of its usage for such
gatherings it has ties back to mountain climbing and conquering Mt. Everest
specifically. With that background, I
wonder what happens when one "summits"?
I'm
sure there is a celebration that the pinnacle has been reached. Selfies taken and shared to document the
accomplishment. Paths taken to the top
documented. Evidence placed and left to
prove to those who follow that on this day, this group had been there.
There
are probably more actions taken by those who summit but only one more comes to
mind and it is the one action all summits require once done... descent.
Descent
– specifically, just how do we get back down from this highest place?
I
hope Chairman France called this gathering a summit because it is a
history-maker... and not because it is determining the sports path down.
Only
time will tell.