During the interview, Helton was asked about limiting Sprint Cup drivers in NASCAR's other series but his answer didn't seem very encouraging for those who support that idea.
Q: Is NASCAR considering limiting the number of starts that Cup series drivers can make in the Nationwide or Camping World Truck series?
Helton: "It’s a conversation point that
doesn’t so far go very far because NASCAR is open-minded. It’s open-field, too.
We don’t believe it’s correct to tell someone they cannot compete somewhere. We
have NASCAR drivers who go compete in IndyCar or ARCA or a weekly track or a
weekly show or open-wheel racing in different programs, and that’s the culture
of NASCAR to be open-minded about who participates. No one is excluded from
participating. You can earn your way in. We have, however, changed some of the
rules and regulations around in hopes to encourage and get attention to the ones
who are competing on a fulltime level in the Nationwide. It happened a couple
of years ago. We had the drivers to select what series they would gather points
in … We saw some signs of being successful there. We’re just not of the mindset
to exclude somebody from participating. We’d rather encourage everyone who
wants to participate to participate. So, if we said, ‘You can’t play over here,’
it’s kind of contrary to our culture.’ ”
Part 2 of the interview will air Thursday at 5 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
