Johnson has surgery on tendon, nerve

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Three-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson underwent surgery to repair a tendon and nerve after cutting his left middle finger with a kitchen knife Sunday while preparing to compete in the final segment of the Rolex 24 sports car race.

A statement released by Johnson on Monday said the injury occurred above the knuckle and happened while the Hendrick Motorsports driver was attempting to cut a small hole in his firesuit in order to feed a tube from a cooling shirt through a pocket.

Johnson, whose GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley finished seventh in the race, flew to Charlotte, N.C., for further evaluation and outpatient treatment with a hand specialist at Carolinas Medical Center.

"That certainly wasn't the way I wanted to end the Rolex race," Johnson said. "I really appreciate all the hard work by the guys this weekend. I'm just sorry I wasn't there at the end with them. The doctors did a great job in Daytona and Charlotte and I can't thank them enough. Everything feels good and I'll be ready to roll for Daytona."

The injury will not keep Johnson from driving in the season's first NASCAR Sprint Cup event, the Budweiser Shootout, Feb. 7 at Daytona International Speedway.

Johnson said he would also appear as scheduled on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" Monday night and will still co-host his Super Skins charity golf tournament and party with Nick Lachey this weekend in Tampa, Fla.

France: Earlier remarks 'misunderstood'

CONCORD, N.C. -- NASCAR chairman Brian France doesn't plan to leave the sport, which has been run by a member of his family since it began in 1949, anytime soon.

France's intentions came under question after he said last month at a motorsports marketing forum in New York that he would not be in the sport for 30 years like his father, Bill France Jr.

That, along with speculation from a few years ago that the 46-year-old France might relocate an existing NFL franchise to Los Angeles had some questioning his dedication and effectiveness.

But France insisted on Thursday during the final stop of the NASCAR media tour that he plans to be around the sport founded by his grandfather, Bill France Sr., for a long time.

"This gets misunderstood whenever I say something like that," France said. "It simply means that my father [spent] 32 years as CEO and president of NASCAR. All I said was that's not in the cards for me, I don't think it's a smart thing for the sport.

"It doesn't mean I won't have a long run. I hope I do. I hope I'm doing what I'm doing. I really like what I'm doing and like working in the industry."

But France didn't rule out the possibility that the sport could one day be run without a France in charge.

"Being a France is great from a heritage standpoint," he said. "But you still have to have the ability and ambition to do that. If there's a time when there's not a France willing to do that then there will be a time when somebody else will lead it."

NASCAR president Mike Helton defended France and his boss' effectiveness as a leader.

"I can tell you the passion that his grandfather had and his grandfather had, Brian has as well."

In some ways, Helton said, Brian France might be more effective as a leader.

"Today's business is different," he said. "Bill and Jim France recognized that several years ago when they started creating and allowing us to build a different NASCAR from a management level."

France said he and Helton have become one of the best tandems in all of sports. They implemented the new playoff system known as the Chase for the Championship, orchestrated the new television deal and helped take the sport to markets beyond its Southern roots.

Over the past year alone the two have helped put in cost-saving measures during tough economic times and are working toward making the sport more energy-efficient and environmentally sound.

France talked in great detail about a meeting last year with former Vice President Al Gore on environmental issues impacting the sport.

When France says "fun," he doesn't mean he'll bail after tough seasons such as 2008.

"The high fuel prices really put our fans in a difficult spot," he said. "Then the manufacturers had their issues in the fall when the credit crisis and all the repercussion of the high-energy costs occurred. So it was a very difficult year to get through.

"We will get through it. This is a fixture in American culture, this sport. We have seen tough times before. We're actually optimistic about '09 for a lot of reasons."