Brian France to Gordon/Keselowski fans: 'That's racing'

   In an interview on Wednesday on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's NASCAR Channel, NASCAR Chairman Brian France was asked what he would say to angry fans who don't like the fact either Jeff Gordon or Brad Keselowski - both of whom had among the most wins this season - didn't advance in the Chase to compete for the championship in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

   Here was France's response:

   "In any format that we could ever devise, even if you had to win to compete for the championship, that's auto racing, that happens. Talk to Rusty Wallace. Talk to Bill Elliott. Talk to all the past competitors in NASCAR who had a stellar season but they weren't the best on any given day. In this format you have to be the best all the way through. There is no format that we're going to devise that weights it so much that if you win so many races you're somehow automatically going to be the champion. You've got to do it all the way through. This is the best balance in auto racing, no question about it."