Atlanta Motor Speedway was a major NASCAR track in Georgia. The guest is talking about starting his career there and learning the sport from the ground up.
A race weekend is the days around the race where teams get ready and practice. The interview is saying that back then, there was more downtime between weekends.
This refers to a major sponsorship agreement timeframe—NASCAR securing a long-term sponsor in the 1970s. In motorsports, sponsorship deals often directly influence prize money, marketing, and the ability to attract top teams and drivers.
RJ Reynolds was a big sponsor for NASCAR. When a sponsor like that puts money into a racing series, it can help the sport grow by offering bigger prizes and getting more promotion.
The “Earnhardt press conference” is a major public moment after Dale Earnhardt’s serious incident. The speaker is saying it was one of the hardest situations to deal with, not just for racing but for the people in the sport.
This means the driver seat was installed differently in the car. The goal is to keep the driver positioned more safely during a crash so restraints and protection work better.
They’re trying to understand why drivers get hurt in certain ways during crashes. Once you know what causes the injuries, you can change the safety design to reduce them.
They’re talking about making racing safer. You can’t eliminate crashes, but you can design things and learn from accidents to reduce how badly people get hurt.
They’re saying you can’t make everything perfect down to the tiniest measurement. Instead, engineers aim to get extremely close and consistently protect drivers.
A fire lane is an area you’re not supposed to block because it needs to stay clear for emergencies. The story is about pulling up there to get access quickly.
Rick Hendrick is a major NASCAR team leader. He’s involved with one of the biggest racing organizations, and the conversation highlights how even team owners are using newer social platforms to reach fans.
That phrase means a fight got so out of hand that people from more than just the original argument got involved. It’s basically an all-out scuffle that spreads beyond the initial moment.
LIVE
That was probably the hardest situation you ever had to handle to earn heart press conference without a doubt
But it was the hardest moment that that we all that were in the sport had to ever go through
I think the maddest I've ever seen you was at Richmond you drug me up in that trailer and that's the maddest
I've ever seen I think today's leadership in NASCAR is as good as it's ever been
My thanks for taking the time
You know for for me
There were a couple people that were really influential in my career
You mainly because every time that I got in trouble you were the guy that was
There to remind me how things work and Jim Hunter
So I look back at at my time and just the way that that you went about things and took the time to
And still here. I mean you started in
1980 as a in the PR department at Atlanta and still as as much a part of our sport as ever
So thanks for thanks for taking the time to tell stories and talk about our sport today. Thanks
Well, let's just start there you started in in
1980 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway
How did you even before that? How did you even become interested in racing?
So you got my grew up in Bristol, okay, and with the track in Bristol
You you don't grow up there and not know about NASCAR. Yeah, so it was just a just a natural
Fit and then in those days most particularly tracks like Bristol and even in Atlanta some the
You would run two weekends you'd run a weekend and you would do nothing until the next race weekend
So there was a lot more part-time than there were full-time the full-time staff
When I first got to Atlanta was like four or five people
And then you would ramp up run the race clean up wait for the next one
and so I was kind of doing that a little bit part-time mission Bristol and and
Eddie Gossage and and Ed Clark were running the Bristol track and they also ran Nashville and
Eddie said hey the Walt Nix is from Atlanta is coming up and he's looking for someone to
To come down there and it was asking and I said I'll say so I went to meet Walt and I
Ended up in Atlanta Raceway just by dumb luck. So I packed everything up in Bristol and went to Atlanta and
Got to Atlanta and then really got to the full of experience of
Year-round involvement in a racetrack the peak times and the knots of peak times
So you you go to Atlanta and you and you work yourself up up through the ranks and and eventually
Eventually become the president of NASCAR
that evolution and we talked a little bit about this before we started that evolution of
Starting where you did to where the sport was when you took over and into when when you ended your tenure as as the president I
Don't even know
How to ask the question because there's so many big moments that that happened
But that that evolution of of moments that happened
What do you think that the biggest moment was during not not from when you started but just during that presidency of
In time at
Right before that at NASCAR. What were the biggest couple moments that you think took the sport from?
regional
To where we were and I would say two thousand
What three four five six right in there was the was the peak of it somewhere in there
What do you think those couple moments that that really?
Were the key moments to take it to the next level
There were probably three when you when you look at the timelines that were really impactful
the first one was when RJ Reynolds signed up in the 70s and
Gave the sport
resources
for prize moneys and promotions and
They supported the racetracks. They supported the series and they did a lot of things that that boosted
the the
The sport and the participants in the sport everybody benefited from that. Yeah
around that same time
the consumption of
television was changing because I
Grew up and the only thing you could get was
Two or three channels on TV and it was only click. Yeah
You're remote control is your thumb and your forefinger
Of and then and then the the advent of cable though
That was in the in the 70s and particularly in the 80s kind of creeping through the urban
I mean the rural areas and all these cable companies needed content
And live sports has always been a very demanded
Content for television
And so we were we were poised to we're in
79 when CBS did the live flag-to-flag in Daytona and
Although elements that made that very successful also woke up a lot of media executives
That were developing cable companies as well. Wait a minute. Why that was one
But but I understand they've got a whole year's full of these things
and so we began to we began to make deals and and
end up on TV which gave us more coverage and and
The fans of a local track like Atlanta or Martinsville or Daytona
All of a sudden said hey, that's my racetrack
So it just it just grew the whole sport from that aspect and the biggest thing I think it did that, you know when you listen to
Racing on the radio and even today. It's it's it's a it's an impressive way to cover it, but it's different
TV is different because in TV you get to see the characters that they would be talking about
So, you know for your career you were a character that fans were able to see
Climb in and out of the car and do what you did climb out in Victory Lane and
That evidence of what you could do. I think was really successful for so all those all of those came together
And and gave us a great opportunity to go for a long period of time and really grow the sport
Yeah, and I think even just from the time that that I got into the sport. It was it was obviously
In a very unique time with with Dale and his accident and everything happened and you know, I think we we probably
shared
different sides of that
Emotion of that moment and and I always tell people today, you know, it's it's still the biggest press conference
I've ever done still the biggest race that I've ever done and
you know that that
Circumstance that was probably the hardest situation you ever had to handle from from the Earnhardt press conference without a doubt
But it was the hardest moment that that we all that were in the sport had to ever go through
But I think when you when you look at the the where the sport was and in the accident everything that happened it
Carried that growth for another couple years
But I don't think that the biggest thing that came out of that moment was anything to do with growth or
Television or just a notoriety and the things that were happening for all the wrong reasons. I believe that that moment
And I tell people this that moment changed the safety and what we do on the racetrack for a
Lifetime yeah in NASCAR and I'm you're I'm really curious from
that moment to
The difference in thought process for NASCAR from a safety aspect as to just
How it changed because I mean I was wearing next thing I know I was wearing a Hutchins device
And I had a new helmet and the seats were all mounted different and then I look at it today
And that hasn't stopped. I feel like our safety initiative today is probably as good as it ever has been because the evolution keeps going
but
What was the what was the difference in how did that flip the thought process from a safety standpoint and the conversations from?
Okay, and because you guys redid it
I mean it was three years and we started having soft walls that were put up and and what was that like because I feel like
From from my time that was the biggest change from Dale's accident
Was the overall safety of the whole sport for a long time before?
2001 we were kind of trying to figure things out because we've gone through a tough stretch in 2000 with
Adam and Kenny and Tony Roper and and
similar
Injuries that were fatal
Indianapolis was going through the same things that Tony George came and we we kind of hooked up to
Create soft walls right and Indy did they already have soft?
Well, we were trying to figure that out. Okay, so we started that relationship
Prior to even 2000, but it was it took a while to and then they tried
Elements of that before we did but it took a lot of effort and we brought in a lot of very specialized
Engineers to help understand it and and from that exercise you learn a lot
Yeah, but but that was going on we were we were trying to figure out
Why our drivers were having those particular injuries when they hit and
And through Adams and Kenny's and you Hampshire and Tony's in Texas
We were we were
We were
Turning up the wick
Where safety has always been important?
I think what we were at that point looking at is saying it needs to be
A leg of our table and not just a just an effort not something you depend on everybody else
It needs to be priority. Yeah
And when you look at our sport and you go back and you look at even the fences that
Separate fans from the racetrack and their development over time
Every time something happens at the racetrack and you you attempt to anticipate everything, but you know you can't
You learn from it and then you start, you know reacting to it
What what what I think when we lost Dale
whatever effort
we
The American OEMs the the few race teams that will wanted to help us with it
That turned into a global effort
After that day everybody wanted to say tell us what to do to help and
And the exposure from that day took us into corners of the globe that
They may have known about NASCAR, but that now they started to understand it because of all the attention that came with that
And everybody wanted to be part of the solution
from the Indy car side from the NASCAR side from the
suppliers the OEMs
everybody wanted to help and
and
We we had bought a building in Conover, North Carolina that we were going to do our own safety efforts around which was going to be our first R&D center
We instantly knew that was not going to be a big enough facility
So we found another one that ended up being our R&D center in Concord
and and
The energy around people wanting to help is what?
elevated the topic and
And you you got into sport just at that moment where you were driving racecars one way and then over a three or four or five year period
Between you as a driver your race team NASCAR and outside sources
Your your geometry in that car changed drastically
The geometry in a racetrack
Changed drastically and all that was a result of everybody collectively coming together
to advance safety in motor sports for
participants for fans and
It's never lost its energy. We're sitting here 25 years later and
And and it's it's not lost any of its energy
Which is great for everybody. Yeah, and it changes things
I mean when you you had to go to a hidden neck restraint
You had to go to a full-face helmet. You had a you know, you all of a sudden your seat becomes a cocoon
Well, you had to you had to figure out how to get Tony Stewart to put a Hans device on it
It wasn't just it was just one just tell me but it was Tony
And and we had had the Hans device
You know a red bull died had been wearing it some races and a couple of Indy car guys and I knew Jim Downing from my Georgia days and
and he was he was helping try to explain it and and
He would go through the garage and somebody said well
I can't wear it because of this and he said well, tell me what to do
so that that effort went just like everything else did and it got to a point where
The scientists and the engineers that we were using prior to Dale's accident
Elevated
So we could figure out what happened in Daytona that day and
from all of those efforts the things that we learned were incredible
about about the cockpit you would sit in as a driver the dynamics of
Your shoulders and your helmet and your head and and keeping your head
And in tune with your shoulders and your body when the violence of what would go through an accident
Occurs, it's just it's nobody really has a good understanding of that unless you're in it
Yeah, and you're even in it and you don't know it until somebody maybe show you a video and said well
I didn't know I did that you didn't know your neck stress that far
It's it's it's it's incredible and so we learned all of that and from that learning we're able to advance
safety yeah, and and
It makes me very happy and proud that that it's I walked through the R&D Center this week
And it's the same level of attention to things and now it's I mean it's just it's incredible
One of the doctor dr. Melvin out of Texas that was working on all this with us. He took a yardstick and said
You guys have got a pretty good program. So out of 12 inches. You're about 11 and three quarters
you got a quarter of an inch and
So we got to work on that quarter of an inch, but I want to tell you something
You're never going to get all of it. Yeah, you can get you can get within a millionth of an inch of 12
But you're never going to get there, but you have to get as close to it as you can and so everything we've been doing
He's trying to creep up against the the
Knowing that you can't make it perfectly safe that people are going to get hurt
But you want to do everything you can to keep it from happening. Well, it's been pretty unbelievable
And I'm glad that to hear you talk about those things because that's how I've always felt about
And I think it surprises people when you when you talk about what was what was the most impactful thing from that day
And I think that for the sport in general
And I think that that the safety piece of it has been has been unbelievable
we're at Martinsville doing this interview and I
Probably had one of my most humbling days here
But it happened in a truck race and I'd already been in a little bit of trouble at the beginning of that year
So I get parked and I pull into the pits down there and and the NASCAR trailer
Not parked. I guess it's parked in the same spot
and I'm like pull right up to the back of the truck down the fire lane and
Standing on the back of the truck is Jim Hunter and I get out of the truck and and he is
Hysterically laughing at me smoking a cigarette and he said boy
You are in a heap of shit and I was like I didn't really care at that moment
But those I got thrown out that day. I think you guys were in Nashville if I remember where we're done
Yeah
But those were the moments where I had to speak on the telephone in the in the hauler
I got in trouble a few more times, but I
Feel like
That voice of reason and that iron fist and but every time I always spoke to you it was always
For the most part calm, but it was always very matter-of-fact and I and I feel like that for that era of
racing was
The best thing that that could have ever happened because it had a strong leader it had
Somebody who I could ask you about I could ask you about
Racing I could ask you about hunting I could ask you about
Mowing your grass and you always had a very knowledgeable answer for all of us not just me
but for for everybody and
I'm curious today because now I feel like we're in this position where this year
We've had this massive change and in thought process and culture
You've got Steve O'Donnell who's been a long time
Part of the sport who I love to argue with and he loves to argue with me, but we get along great
And and we we both love the same thing much like you and I did right we love the sport
Where do you feel like from the NASCAR side?
I mean you sit back and watch all these changes and moves and everything that happened in the offseason and and it feels
Different to me this year
Where do you where do you feel like it is from from your standpoint from the guy that used to be the the iron fist of
What we what we did to my generation?
I
Would tell you that that in my 40-year career with the France family
80-year history of this sport
I
Think personally
The leadership for the next 15 20 years with through Steve O'Donnell been Kennedy
The support that they have from other
Really qualified individuals
All of them working side-by-side with each other to do the right thing for the right reasons
I think today's leadership in NASCAR is as good as it's ever been now we've had
we've had the continuity of the France family since day one back in 1948 and
Having that is one of the greatest assets that any company can have
Not just in sports entertainment not just in motor sports any company that has that same culture
But has respect for the evolution that that culture needs to go through to stay current and relevant
That is that's as strong as ever and
Steve O'Donnell and then been Kennedy coming and
The different executives and the different support groups that are behind them John probes and Elton Sawyer at the R&D Center
But all the other people that work on so many different disciplines that NASCAR is part of
On the imps of side John Doonan and they had been it
There's there is a unified effort for our company and our sport
to do the right thing for the right reasons and
It's it's it's the fans. Yeah, I
Was a I'm the I still declared that I'm the luckiest fan and all of NASCAR to have gotten the opportunity to do everything
I did Steve O'Donnell is a fan. I know that from from having a long time experience with him
Being Kennedy grew up in this sport and wanted to be a part of it and now he is a part of it
So that's that's in that's that's priceless for a company
That has all the different stakeholders and personalities and characters
That it needs to be the government of and it's not easy. It's not it's not
And that's why I think that the organized group of the confidence that
Jim and Lisa and the rest of the board of directors at NASCAR has with all of these
Elements that we've got to manage
Correctly is as good as it's ever been
So what's what do you think that the hardest thing the biggest challenges that they have to navigate in today's
NASCAR world compared to
Your your
Time as as the president. What do you think the biggest difference in challenges now for the sport are compared to then?
How is it evolved today's too modern for me?
so I was I was in the
perfect era to be the
Fan of this board and got to know all the characters that I've gotten to be friends with and know
But but Bill senior a long time ago used the line
I think it was Will Rogers he gave credit for
That even if you're on the right track, you're gonna get run over
so you've got to constantly be doing something and
And I think it's pretty remarkable that NASCAR exists today very similar to that did in 1948
but has adjusted and
Has modified itself to be current and reasonable with all the stakeholders
the era that I was in was real simple it was
Team owners and drivers and racetracks and fans and all of those had to go together
I was lucky that I had to experience at a racetrack like at Bristol, Atlanta, Talladega
That I understood they're part of this sport and then I come to the NASCAR side and after all the years
I was in the sport and all the people and the relationships that I got to establish and
Now I'm in the government side of it and I learned oh my gosh
This is totally different. Yeah, and so I went through a large learning curve
But I had the best mentors in the business between Bill France junior and Jim France
I had to I had the best shoulders to lean on. Yeah, and so we get through all of that and we keep growing
We do things we do things differently and oh by the way at the same time
the world is just getting smaller and smaller and smaller because
The things that I did in my generation and even things that you did in your early joint part of your generation
they were they were without the resources that we've got today to to
Enjoy content whatever that content may be but our world evolves around
live
Racing content right and it evolves around the consumption of that
By our our fans our customers and how do you do that and though by the way?
How do you stay respectful to the people like me?
Yeah, they're older and say well, I remember well
You can remember all you want to but it's not gonna be like that
Yeah, it's not the same it know if the world's got to go on and it's got to go on differently and that's where I think
Between the characters that are in the garage area now
Steve O'Donnell's unique experience versus his broad thinking being Kennedy's just a master of
understanding
Modern consumer and translating that to a fan
That's that's why I think we're geared up, but it's a different world
I could I don't think I could be leader of the company today
And one of the one of the funniest things that I've learned this year is Rick Hendrick has a tick-tock account
Do you have a tick-tock account? I do not
But I'm surprised Rick does I think somebody sign him up
I got I got a text from Rick one day and it was a tick-tock video and I was like what in the world
Well, how do we communicate through tick-tock? But I mean it has changed and I think social media has has changed
Just the way that the world works unfortunately, and I think I'm like you
I mean that that time that that we were able to race and live in and not have to worry about all those things
It's a very challenging time for the drivers for your management group and ownership group and all the things that are
constantly changing in the world, but it's but it's
You know, it's always gonna change it evolve or die. That's what I always I always tell our people every week
It's we can we can either keep doing it the same way or we can either evolve or die and so
But you're a race fan and I and that's what got you into the end of this business
Do you have a favorite place to go? Like do you have a favorite track the right now?
It's Martinsville. Yeah, I like that love being at the racetrack. Yeah, and I'm really a lot
I do as much as I can I do a lot of sports car and so races
Jim's family's involved in motorcycles. I'll get to go to
Motorcycle events and everything sports fan. I just I just love being at the racetrack the it's when
Monday through Friday, and you're sitting in meetings or you're having conflicts with people that you got to sort out or be part of
decision-making processes
It it's going to the racetrack
Fixes all that it makes it all worth that. Yeah, and it did
40 years ago, and it still does today when I get to the racetrack
I mean it just feels like your people your home. Yeah, and you're around people that you love to be around
And it's just and I don't find in today's world
Yeah, and you know I think in today's world
It's just it's hard to find a group of people that are better to be around in this group of people. All right last question
What's the maddest that you've ever what's the maddest you've ever been at me? Do you remember that meeting? Which one was it?
If I had to pick the maddest I've ever seen you was at Martin or is that Richmond and
You came in that trailer, and you had you had the 21 team lined up down one side of the hauler
You had my team lined up down the other side of the hauler, and I was I was sitting at the far end of the hall
And you came in the back door you slammed the back door open and and all he said was you caused it
I won't use all language you caused a bench clearing brawl
And and you drug you drugged me up in that trailer, and that's the maddest I've ever seen you
So I don't know I
Don't at that I don't remember being overly mad. Yeah, but other than
That was probably the most fatherly moment. Yeah, and I remember between two of us. Yeah
Some of the greatest relationships I had were with people like you that I
Started off being a big brother to then I ended up being a father to you and now I feel like I'm the great grandfather
There's some of them if I get involved
But but but I guess
when I my responsibility evolved to the point where I
Felt like I was custodian of an incredible sport that needed to be
What it was
When there was something that distracted from victory lane when the racer's over. Yeah
Now I would tell you today whatever you want to do. Yeah, you know, whatever your kids want to do
No, you can't get a refund. There's nothing right there do this. Yeah
But but I think I felt like I was a guardian of the guy and victory lane should be getting all the attention
So if there was something else going on that everybody else would rather pay attention to
Then that's not fair to him. Yeah, so I would but I didn't last long
Yeah, I mean we had our moment at all. That's what I liked about those days
We get it up within the holler and then we walk out of arms around each other's shoulders
That's what I tell people all the time. They're like, man, it just seemed like you had a rocky relationship
I'm like, it was rocky at moments
And I think for for me when when Jim Hunter was around it was he was kind of the he was the mediator
So the hunter and I had a deal when I knew whether it was you and there were several other characters. Yeah
And I had to be get a handful. I had to be the parent. Yeah, I had to be the parent
I told Jim I said go check on so-and-so because I was kind of tough on him and I want to make sure he
Yeah, and so Jim would go in as the grandfather. Yeah, and so I you'll be okay
You know my brother his soul and style, but he was the only person that could do that
He was the most incredible individual of being able to cut through and just be Jim on yeah
And I gotta I gotta tell you, you know thinking back on that
I think I think back to those meetings that you probably called and how many how much smoke I inhaled in that motorhome
And how many hot dogs I had to eat during that time, but I mean those were the greatest times ever
I mean with with the cast that you guys had with
John Darby and Jim Hunter and yourself and O'Donnell was already in the mix
I mean there were just it was a it was a great time to be a part of the sport and I just you know
I can't thank you enough for everything that that you did for me and the sport and in general and here today
Taking the time to just it's glad to do it and I hope you really understand
I think you do that to have much respect
I've got for you and Delana and your whole family you view and Delana have just been part of motor sports
Once you stepped on the property. Yeah, even before you got to any level of
Being able to show the world how much talent you had and you've kept that you've done everything
But but my deepest respect for you was because of having to step in and
That 29 car when three went to 29
There was no way you had signed up for that at the beginning of 2001
but the world had to go on and
You were one of the greatest
Healers in that going on because you did it and you did it with your own way and your own style
but you stepped in and most difficult circumstances a driver could walk into and
And then you kept on going you kept winning races
You kept you kept you and Delana had your own truck team
You you're watching building your son's career right now and that's what NASCAR is NASCAR is a family sport
multiple generations and
You you kept us glued together
In one of our most difficult times. Well, there isn't anywhere else that I'd rather be than at this racetrack
I'm just like you. I love being here. I love the people
You know wouldn't change the way that it went
I think every moment teaches you something and you know people always ask what you would change
I'm like I wouldn't change anything because the hard moments are what made you better and the better the good moments
You were able to celebrate so thanks for taking a time today. I appreciate
All the conversation and everything that you do for this sport same here. Thank you
About this episode
Mike Helton reflects on his long NASCAR career, from starting in PR at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1980 to becoming NASCAR president, and credits three big growth drivers: major tobacco sponsorship in the 1970s, the rise of cable TV and flag-to-flag coverage, and the way television let fans connect with personalities. He also revisits Dale Earnhardt’s 2001 press-conference aftermath, arguing it permanently reshaped NASCAR safety—accelerating soft walls, cockpit design, and global OEM involvement. Helton praises today’s leadership continuity under Steve O’Donnell and Jim France, and shares personal stories with Kevin Harvick and Jim Hunter.
Mike Helton reflects on his rise to becoming NASCAR President, the lasting impact of Dale Earnhardt’s death on safety in NASCAR, and the ongoing evolution of the sport as leadership looks toward the future. On this episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Kevin Harvick sits down with Helton to discuss how he got his start in racing and worked his way up through NASCAR, the critical changes made to cars and tracks in the wake of Earnhardt’s passing, how those safety improvements continue to evolve today, the biggest challenges facing the sport moving forward, and personal stories from Harvick’s driving career that highlight Helton’s leadership and the relationship between drivers and NASCAR.
0:00 - Intro
0:31 - Mike Helton Joins The Show!
1:17 - Early Journey Into NASCAR
3:30 - Biggest Moments Which Grew Sport
8:15 - Increased Safety Measures In NASCAR
18:16 - Future Of NASCAR
24:30 - Social Media Changing NASCAR
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
