NASCAR chief pleads for drivers to show emotion

Jimmie Johnson celebrates winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup championship in victory lane after the Ford 400 NASCAR race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida November 16, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NASCAR drivers are being encouraged to show their emotions and not be too concerned about offending the companies behind their lucrative sponsorship deals, the head of the racing body said on Tuesday.

NASCAR chief executive Brian France praised the talents of Jimmie Johnson but conceded that the triple series champion has failed to become a household name outside racing circles.

"He's a California guy, a very nice guy, a cool customer and obviously very talented," France said at the Reuters Media Summit.

"But he's not going to do a lot of things that are going to wow you or stun you or surprise you in the ways that sometimes other athletes make their mark.

"We need to do more with our athletes to bring out their emotions."

Many NASCAR fans long for the days of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Sr., known to sideswipe a rival's car to gain a competitive advantage or jump out of his car at the end of a race to confront another driver.

France admits that merchandise sales of the companies that sponsor NASCAR vehicles "are based on doing the right thing."

"But our fans like to see the emotion," he said. "If you're running 200 miles an hour and you're about to win a race and somebody spins you out, you don't need to hop out of the car and act like you're in the library.

"You're mad. You're upset. Our drivers have some restraints built-in because of the commitments they have.

"And that's not all good at times when we're working to build up their awareness and image. But we're going to work on that."

France said NASCAR has lessened penalties for drivers who show their frustration.

"We're telling the drivers that's what the fans want to see," he said. "We're trying to encourage them to have some new flexibility to be themselves."

France also said NASCAR had no plans to tinker with the season-ending Chase format, a system designed to have the series winner determined on the final day of the season.

The five-year-old playoff-type system has lacked excitement in recent years due to Johnson's dominance.

"As leaders of sport, you always want the World Series to go down to a seventh game or the Super Bowl to end on the final play. You don't always get that.

"Jimmie Johnson has put on the kind of performance that it doesn't matter what kind of system you had. He has just been so dominant three consecutive years. It shows you how good he is."

In the midst of the economic slowdown, France said NASCAR, which has seen television ratings and attendance decline in recent years, has postponed any plans to expand to cities like New York, Seattle or Denver.

"We're having to adjust to falling advertising revenues," he said.

(Editing by Alan Baldwin)