Nascar Drivers Form A Council To Deliver Feedback To Series With A Unified Voice

The NASCAR drivers’ council is finally happening.

On Friday, a press release announced the formation of the Drivers Advisory Council. The Council will be made up of current and former drivers and seven drivers will serve as Board of Directors for the newly formed group: Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Corey LaJoie, Joey Logano, Kyle Petty, and Daniel Suarez.

The press release said the council “is an independent group of eligible members that, through its passion for competition and sustainability of racing, is committed to further improving the areas of safety in motorsports, growing and enhancing the sport, and maximizing the opportunities for drivers to achieve success both on and off the track”.

That last drivers’ council was an effort by NASCAR at the end of 2014 to gather input from the drivers. It began to meet in 2015 and was a group of eight to 10 drivers who met with NASCAR officials on a quarterly basis primarily to discuss competition issues, and rules.

However, that drivers’ council fell apart at the end of the 2018 season. Since then, NASCAR has been seeking input from drivers informally, normally during race weekends when drivers visit NASCAR’s hauler at the track, but at times during the week via phone and email.

Those conversations though have not been taking place since Covid shut down much of the track activity in the sport.

The issues of NASCAR officials getting feedback from drivers came to light after the results of a crash test involving NASCAR’s Next Gen car last year were revealed. Several drivers said they had little information beyond what NASCAR had released bringing up the issue of a lack of feedback from the sanctioning body- whether real or perceived.

NASCAR’s Next Gen car will have its full points paying race with this week’s activities leading up to Sunday’s season opening Daytona 500.

“As a current driver and also a team owner, I now see things from a different perspective and that has made me appreciate the importance of collaboration across the industry,” said Denny Hamlin, current NASCAR Cup Series competitor and team owner. “The new council will deliver a unified, collective voice from the drivers to help address any challenges we face and help accomplish the common goals the industry shares.”

Jeff Burton, former NASCAR driver, will lead the effort in conjunction with the Board of Directors. The veteran leader will serve as director of the council.

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“I’ve been fortunate to have many roles within the sport and I’m excited to add this venture into the fold,” Burton said. “I’m humbled and honored that the drivers have asked me to help with this effort. I believe we have a great sport, and this council has the opportunity to work together with the entire industry to make it even better. Personally, I will also continue my work with NBC and provide fresh insight to our viewers at home. This new role with the council will only elevate the broadcasts.”

According to reports it was Burton, now an NBC Sports analyst, who started the talks to form a new council in December, shortly after NASCAR met with all its stakeholders to try and address the worries around the new car.

While the goals of the council will be on safety, fan experience and competition other issues will be addressed, including NASCAR’s continued work on diversity.

“Since I started my career in NASCAR, after arriving from my home country of Mexico, I have seen a great deal of positive changes,” said Cup driver Daniel Suarez the only graduate of NASCAR’s diversity program. “I believe the creation of the Drivers Advisory Council will add a first-hand perspective and, in my opinion, help create more positive changes and increase the speed that diversity can have in the sport. This will benefit present and future sponsors, our current and future fan base, as well as the teams and viewership in general. I say this with great sincerity and commitment to support this sport, the fans and the sponsors we represent.”

The Race Team Alliance (RTA), consisting of 14 Cup Series organizations, will support and work alongside the council.

“One of the keys to our sport being successful is collaboration among all of its stakeholders. Having a formalized group through which the drivers can better communicate will be a great asset for all of us. They picked the perfect guy to lead the Drivers Advisory Council in Jeff Burton and have assembled a solid Board of Directors to get the group started with a strong, unified voice,” said Dave Alpern, President of Joe Gibbs Racing and Co-Chair of the Team Owner Council.

In the past NASCAR has had a contentious history when the talk of drivers organizing surfaces. In 1961, driver Curtis Turner tried to form a driver’s union with his business partner Bruton Smith as they built Charlotte Motor Speedway. They approached the Teamsters Union who helped as they organized the Federation of Professional Athletes. NASCAR founder ‘Big’ Bill France would have none it and banned any union driver from racing on NASCAR sanctioned tracks. The rest of the drivers toed the company line and refused to join the union except for Turner and Tim Flock.

France expelled Flock and Turner from NASCAR for life, and Charlotte Motor Speedway was forced into bankruptcy just over a year after it was opened. In 1969 11 drivers, led by Richard Petty, formed the Professional Driver’s Association (PDA). While not called a “union” it had all the elements of one. That too fell apart when France ran a field of non-PDA drivers at Talladega.

This time around, as in 2015, NASCAR officials, seem fully onboard with the new council.

“Collaboration is critical to our growth, and we welcome any opportunity to strengthen communication with our drivers,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president, and chief racing development officer. “We often look to drivers for input when making decisions that affect the sport, and the Drivers Advisory Council will help streamline that communication. Working together, we will continue to deliver the great NASCAR racing experience our fans expect and deserve.”