The NASCAR Fan Council, a group that NASCAR created in 2008 to better understand its fan base has won the sanctioning body two awards -- the Forrester Groundswell Award in Business-to-Consumer Listening and the Vision Critical 2009 Panel of the Year Award.

"The outside attention is flattering, but we're most happy about the inflow of smart and passionate input from a group of our most dedicated fans," NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said. "NASCAR fans are known to be vocal about the sport they love. They want to be heard, and we want to hear them."

In 2009, NASCAR consulted with the fan group, an online community of approximately 12,000 fans, and made at least two changes as a result of the council's input -- double-file restarts and earlier race start times for 2010.

"Online panels add social media and community engagement to research in a way that really provides a channel for consumers to voice their ideas and opinions," Vision Central Senior Vice President of Strategy Jennifer Reid said. "The NASCAR Fan Council empowers fans in a powerful way that gives them a true voice in the direction of the sport."

The NASCAR Fan Council is currently full, but requests by fans to join are continuously accepted and put on a waiting list. For more information, visit www.nascarfancouncil.com