Everything old is new again in NASCAR. After Brian France gave what amounted to a “my bad” speech for alienating the old-guard fan base, saying, “We have experienced a lot of change,” and “we’re now going to try to build on what we have,” the sport got a huge boost Saturday when its most popular driver won the first competition of the year.

Ok, the Budweiser Shootout wasn’t a points race, or a 500-miler, but it was 70 laps of hard-diving fun at Daytona International Speedway, just what the doctor ordered with ratings stagnant and many fans scratching their heads over things like the Car of Tomorrow and the slow demise of Darlington.

Throw in the fact that Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driving his first competitive laps under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, won the race in a three-lap duel with Tony Stewart, and the powers at NASCAR could be heard breathing a sigh of relief.

“I had a blast those last few laps,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I hope the fans enjoyed that. I am so happy. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

To which, Brian France mumbled something that sounded like, “Amen.” 
 
Brad Ball Named NASCAR VP

In other news, the guy who brought you the Lindsay Lohan Love Bug movie, “Herbie Fully Loaded” has been named NASCAR VP of Entertainment Marketing.

Brad Ball, will be in charge of NASCAR’s Los Angeles office, which is a shock to many who didn’t know NASCAR had a Los Angeles office. He will be in charge of developing new and innovative entertainment content for the sport, which is something he knows well, having worked on the “NASCAR 3-D IMAX Experience.” 
 
Ball was a partner at Moroch Partners Advertising, and CEO of Ball Entertainment Group, where he consulted for NASCAR, Disney and Time Magazine.