Kevin Harvick says NASCAR competitors have bigger voice with drivers’ council

Reporting from Daytona Beach, Fla. —  NASCAR competitors have a greater voice in the workings of the operations than ever before with the birth of the drivers council last year.

There used to be one or two drivers who essentially represented the lot.

Veteran Kevin Harvick doesn’t believe that needs to be the case anymore.

“I feel like this is as open of a sport as it’s ever been with the NASCAR folks and the drivers and the communication and things that are going on. It used to just be one guy here or there. I think that has changed,” said Harvick, noting the drivers’ influence in the revamping of the re-start rule.

“I think the landscape of that has changed a little bit with NASCAR creating the council and the drivers going in and talking about things.

“I think you’re going to be stronger if it’s not just one guy. I think the days of having one guy is probably not there anymore.”

Charter members

Last week NASCAR introduced a franchise system, awarding 36 charters to teams that ran full schedules the last three seasons. A charter guarantees its owner a spot in the field for each race, a larger revenue cut and a say in NASCAR matters.

Leave it to the drivers to ask whether they should receive a raise given the value of the charters because the franchise system adjusts how they are paid.

Weekly purse winnings will no longer be publicly released because charter teams are guaranteed a certain amount of money distributed from a fund each year.

According to Forbes, 13 NASCAR drivers made more than $10 million last year in salaries, endorsements and their share of winnings and licensing.

Car owners Chip Ganassi and Rob Kauffman don’t see a conflict in the situation.

“The driver contracts are multi-year,” Kauffman said. “The charter system is new, so there’s just a quick transition period, but it’s not really a big deal at all. It’s making a mountain out of a molehill. All the drivers, at the end of the day, those folks have to be happy. They’re a pretty important part of the equation.”

Added Ganassi, “Fortunately, our deals were structured in that. I think our drivers both know that we’re not out to take anything away from them. And if the pot gets bigger, we’re happy to give them part of the pot.”

Chase’s cheerleader

Now that retired Jeff Gordon is an analyst for Fox Sports, he’ll try to remain objective in the booth when it comes to Chase Elliott, as hard as that might be.

Elliott, who won the Daytona 500 pole, takes over Gordon’s iconic No. 24 ride for Hendrick Motorsports.

“When we were in the booth, there was nothing but gleaming pride coming out of me,” Gordon said Thursday. “I was so proud of them and of being a part of this process of bringing Chase to that group.

“We had meetings in March after a race and we’d be in a debrief talking about the race and I’d say, ‘Hey, just a note, this is for Chase: tell him that this part of the track or in this moment he needs to think about this.’ So we’ve been preparing for this for a long time.

“I’ve been 100 percent supportive. He’s a great kid and he’s going to be a superstar in the sport.”