France to deliver keynote speech at APSE convention

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Brian France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO, will serve as the keynote speaker Thursday afternoon at the annual Associated Press Sports Editor (APSE) National Convention, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn.

France accepted an invitation from APSE president Mike Fannin of the Kansas City Star, 10 years after his late father, Bill France, spoke to the same organization's national convention in Richmond, Va.

Brian France

"Back when NASCAR was founded in 1948, print coverage was more or less the only coverage for our sport," France said. "NASCAR owes much of its success to the media -- starting with the print media. They were there for us at the beginning."

Topics France plans to address include the changing landscape of the newspaper business, with special emphasis on the move toward increased online coverage -- and the NASCAR-related content available to assist that coverage.

"It's a changing landscape," France said, "and we're trying to change with it."

Fannin, meanwhile, cited the evolving NASCAR landscape as a reason for inviting France.

"We had Brian's dad speak in 1998 and a lot has changed in NASCAR since then," Fannin said. "And yet, the France family is still making auto racing 'go' in America.

"We wanted to hear from the man who's taking the sport into new places and adapting it for the 21st-century marketplace."