CONCORD, N.C. -- Call it a gimmick, a promotion or just following through on an ideal, but NASCAR wants to reconnect with fans who feel jilted by the sport's recent changes.

A new car, new points system and several new rules in the last few years reshaped the sport and how its champion is determined.

NASCAR chairman Brian France said Monday that series officials will "minimize change'' and embrace the sport's past this season.

His comments came two months after he admitted that NASCAR "may not be focused'' on its core fans enough after a second consecutive season of declining TV ratings and sagging attendance at some tracks. USA Today reported late last year that NASCAR's big losses in TV ratings came from fans 55 and older.

By limiting change, France appears to be reaching out to that crowd and others whose interest in the sport has waned.

"Change is good to a certain point and we've got all the change that the sport can stand and needs,'' France said Monday.

Jim Bleam, a 46-year-old fan from Virginia Beach, Va., applauds France's declaration. Bleam questioned the sport's direction last fall, saying: "We're just ... hoping something is going to make us interested and happy."

Bleam said Monday that France's comments are a good first step.

"That gives us hope, gives us promise," Bleam said, but he remained critical of the series. "We don't see anything more than they can change right now."

Bleam is encouraged enough that he'll attend his first Daytona 500 next month.

Eddie Wilkes of Graham is less enthusiastic.

"What they've got on their hands if they change it [is] they're admitting they've made a mistake and they're not going to do that," said Wilkes, 71.

France resisted making changes to the Chase. He faced many questions last year because the sport's form of a playoff hadn't produced a close finish since Kurt Busch's dramatic title in 2004.

While France isn't making big changes, it doesn't mean the sport is at a standstill. The sport's top two series each has a new name this season. The Car of Tomorrow, which was used in about half the races last season, will run in every race this season. Several new drivers, many from open-wheel racing, will be rookies in Cup this season.

NASCAR announced only minor changes Monday. Cup teams will get 200 tires (50 sets) for testing at non-NASCAR sanctioned tracks. Teams not guaranteed a starting spot will qualify together at the end of a session. Fines levied by NASCAR will now go toward charity instead of going back to the teams in the season-ending point fund. Teams can't roll tires back to the pit wall during a pit stop. Crews can't push a car on pit road more than three pit stalls.

More changes will be coming. NASCAR president Mike Helton said officials are looking at having more races start at about the same time. That's likely to be early afternoon in the East, meaning a majority of Cup races could start before noon Pacific Time. NASCAR had pushed starting times later in the day so fewer races started before noon in the West. Series officials continue to debate raising the minimum age for Sprint Cup (formerly Nextel Cup) drivers from 18 to 21.

Of course, there's no guarantee what NASCAR will do next even as it hopes to slow down.

"We'd like, for the foreseeable future, next two years or three years, to have minimal changes and that would include the schedule, but we'll have to see,'' France said.