By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(July 3, 2009)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Other manufacturers may be welcome in NASCAR racing, but don't expect new entries into the top three touring series any time soon, says NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France.

France said three weeks ago at Michigan that the sanctioning body was open to working with foreign automakers. Factory support to the sport from American automakers has diminished in a floundering economy, and recent Chrysler and General Motors reorganizations under government supervision have limited the manufacturers' ability to provide cash and technology to race teams.

Toyota currently competes in all three series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck -- but France said bringing another foreign car maker into NASCAR racing would be a long-term project. Current rules require manufacturers to race cars built in the United States, as is Toyota's Camry.

"Our policy and our views haven't really changed," France said Friday at Daytona International Speedway during his traditional mid-year meeting with the media. Some of the opportunities for a new manufacturer to come into NASCAR probably have changed. Obviously, there are teams that were getting direct support or were affiliated with one manufacturer or another that are available now. So that is a fact.

"We have been talking, and we have routinely, because we are open, as we demonstrated with Toyota -- which worked well, under the right approach that's unique to NASCAR -- for a manufacturer to come in and compete at one of our national divisions. That policy remains open. It is not something that happens easily or overnight.

"…I do not anticipate -- there's absolutely nothing imminent that we will be announcing that somebody will be will be joining or any of that. But do I see more interest because there's more opportunity? Sure. We see that, and we're fielding the kinds of questions and evaluation that you would think under the circumstances."

EARNHARDT CONCEDES CHASE IS UNLIKELY

Even if Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his No. 88 team continue to improve their performances, Earnhardt concedes that qualifying of the Chase for the Sprint Cup will be a difficult proposition.

"We have quite a ways to go to be able make the Chase," said Earnhardt, currently 19th in the Cup standings, 285 points behind 12th-place Juan Pablo Montoya. "We're still mathematically in it, but we're not trying to catch just one guy we're 200-and-some points behind.

"We're trying to catch four or five guys, and it's unrealistic to expect all those guys to have enough trouble, and for us to top-10 'em to death ain't going to get it done. We've got to run better, and even though we have improved, it seems, we still need to get better. To be able to drive up into the top three last week (at New Hampshire) was a lot of fun, but we need to be able to stay there once we get there.

"Making the Chase is the goal, but at the end of the year, when you're done racing at Homestead, and you run the last lap and you get out of the car, what kind of feeling do you want to have? The one I want to have is that we fixed it, that we've got something that we can feel good about and work on and get all our stuff ready for next year."

CAN PETTY LAP THE FIELD?

Driving a replica of his 1984 No. 43 STP Pontiac, Richard Petty will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his 200th win by leading the field during pace laps for Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

Petty joked Friday that he might change the game plan from ceremonial to competitive.

"They're going to start me in front, and I haven't got a restrictor plate," Petty said. "So what I'm going to do is take the flag, and when I get ready to start lapping 'em, just come in and tell 'em something's the matter with the car -- (like) one of them start-and-park cars.

"But it's going to be a big deal for me. I don't know about anybody else, but just those memories coming back, and being able to be in front of a big crowd of people… it really brings back a bunch of good memories."