CUP: NASCAR Moving $$$ In Race Purses
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When Bruton Smith speaks, people listen.
Or so it seems.
Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., complained about NASCAR start-and-park teams last month and said NASCAR should do something about them.
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And NASCAR is.
NASCAR president Mike Helton said during a Tuesday appearance in Detroit that the sanctioning body is moving money from the final five race-finish positions to other spots in the field, thus removing some of the attraction of start-and-parking, the concept of running a few laps, going to the garage and collecting decent purse money.
Some teams have used start-and-parking to build a financial base toward better performance, but others clearly show up hoping to run a few laps, park and depart with a nice payday.
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The NASCAR changes will create a gap of $4,000 between finish positions from 39th to 43rd.
"We moved prize money higher in the purse, so if someone's intent is solely to run a lap or two and park, the revenue stream shrinks,'' Helton said during an Autoweek magazine panel discussion in Detroit.
Last month, Smith urged news-media members to campaign for an end to start-and-parking. In response, team owner Tommy Baldwin called Smith and his SMI group “greedy” and said there are legitimate reasons for new teams to start and park.
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It’s likely that NASCAR had been discussing changes in the start-and-park scenario before Smith opened the subject again last month.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 31 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.