The Direction of Nascar

[Alexamateo]

Muggle, I hope you don't mind, but I pulled this out of the "OW to Nascar thread" It's scope is so much broader than that.


Alexamateo, I am not putting all the blame on the influx of O.W. drivers. It is the direction that Brian is taking Nascar that is causing the big decline in fans, and not only any fans, but the important group of grass root fans. I live in Greensboro where they have one of the largest groups of the grass roots fans and listening to them talk it is obvious that they are unhappy with things recently. Many of them are saying the hell with Nascar and are becoming more involved with the other sports in the State. Nascar simply cannot lose this base of fans. I talked with some carpenters that were doing work on my house a while ago and asked them if they thought that Nascar would take a date away from Martinsville and they responded that if that happened it would be the end of watching nascar for them.

Along the same line the ratings were down at Texas:

Texas overnight TV ratings down from 2006: ABC's broadcast of Sunday's Dickies 500 Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway earned a 3.6 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating, Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Daily reports. The figure is 10% lower than the 4.0 NBC earned overnight for the race in 2006.(SceneDaily)


I am not surprised the ratings were lower, look at the competition. You had an NFL game of two unbeatens with at least 3 of the game's most recognizable all stars (P. Manning, Brady, Moss) It was a hyped game that lived up to it's hype. It's a shame too, because Jimmie Johnson had a career highlight duel with Matt Kenseth.

That said, it is true ratings have dropped. Now, the question is, why? Is it because it's grass roots fans are unhappy with the direction it's going and not watching? Is it the new fans who came in after the wave of mainstream attention following Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death who are tiring of this fad and looking for the next new thing? Or is it simply a function of our increasingly fractured television audience?

I think there are probably elements of all three scenarios, but it's mostly the latter. Overall ratings for everything are dropping, even the NFL, a certain Colts-Pats game not withstanding.

All things considered though, even dropping, it is so much more popular and so much bigger than it used to be. The only time I was ever "in" racing in my life was back in college. I worked as an unpaid public relations intern for Charlotte (now Lowe's) Motor Speedway(Fall 1991). (Under Eddie Gossage and Susan Russo no less ;) ) Things were at a pretty spectacular level then, and they would have probably killed for half of what we have now.

I am running out of time to post all my thoughts here, but for now I do think things have plateaued in Nascar, but I hardly think it's the death knell, nor do I think Nascar is heading in the wrong direction. (Not to say I agree with every decision made of course)

What does everyone else think, and where should Nascar go?

Final observation: I first started following Nascar intensely in 1982, I know that's the year, because in the age before the internet, I cut out every article out of our local paper on racing and put them in a notebook. Back then, people were saying "It's not like it used to be, it's so corporate", and pining for the 60's and 70's. Yesterday at Trackforum, somebody posted a youtube about Tim Richmond being interviewed after his wreck with Dale Earnhardt at Pocono in 1982. Someone else commented how Nascar's not like it used to be, and was longing for the early 80's. :p :

[muggle not]

I don't mind at all. I think it is an area of discussion that could be interesting.

Nascar today is much bigger than it was 10 or 15 years ago. My point though is that it has been in a decline since Brian took over and changed it's face drastically. It is hard to dispute the decline in the number of fans leaving what was once a growing sport. The TV ratings have declined over 20% in the last 2 years, those numbers represent a huge exodus of fans and cannot simply be ignored.

Our local newspaper in the heart of Nascar country is doing a study as to why Nascar is in a state of decline and I will post some of their findings when the study is complete.

[Sparky1329]

There's definitely a decline in fan participation in both the TV ratings and attendance. I suspect the economy has a lot to do with the decline in attendance. Ticket prices combined with gas prices and overall increases in all associated costs, lodging and meals in particular, have certainly had a negative impact.

Brian France's implementation of the idiotic "Chase" was probably a factor in fan displeasure since it was unnecessary and has done nothing to improve the quality of the racing. Racing doesn't need gimmicks. The TV booth announcers and their attempts to create excitement where there is none aren't fooling anybody. The racing fans who I know don't appreciate NASCAR's attempts to snooker us.

The COT is probably a safer car, or at least that's what we've been told, but the drivers who are being honest don't like it one bit. It seems to take a licking better than the old car but it hasn't improved the racing in my point of view. As little as the old cars looked like cars you can buy at a dealership the COT looks even less so. The template rules are so exacting it's like IROC on steroids.

I believe the death of Dale Earnhardt brought a sizable number of new fans into a sport they hadn't noticed prior to Feb. 2001. For a while NASCAR was the trendy thing to do. Like most trends the glitter has faded and the trendsetters have moved on to the next "hot" thing to do.

It's been a long time since I've parked in front of the TV to watch a complete Cup race. The late starts cut into other activities so I record the races and fast-forward through the mind-numbing incessant commercials that dominate the broadcasts. If I could figure out how to cut out Rusty Wallace fracturing the English language I'd be thrilled.

[muggle not]

This will give you an idea of how grass roots Nascar is in this part of the Country. The headlines in today's newspaper was about the Petty's pulling their shop out of Level Cross and moving to Mooresville. Not the headline of the Sport page, mind you, but the headline on the Front Page of the newspaper.

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071108/NRSTAFF/71107033

I always thought the direction of Nascar was anti-clockwise.

PS - That's just a light-hearted joke. For me, a European with F1-focus, it appears that Nascar is getting more and more coverage in the European motorsport press. I've even been known to watch the highlights of the Nextel Cup races, which is a level of coverage unheard a decade ago.

And, no, I don't think that Nascar is just a redneck sport with no technology. The image that Nascar gives out is crtainly not that.

[Alexamateo]

Thanks Tamburello for your perspective, and I am sure with Franchitti and Villenueve running next year, coverage will increase even more.

Muggle, I know what you mean about Petty moving their shops. I know from my brief time in NC, that that news is huge, and just another small indicator of the cultural shift.

Sparky, I agree with you on the late starts, I think the decision was made to try to bring in more West Coast viewers, but it's funny that it also coincides with the declining ratings. Speaking of that, does anyone know the breakdown by region? A ratings drop in LA maybe indicates the fad was passing, but a drop in NC could indicate problems with the diehards.

I know Brian France has taken a lot of heat, but a lot of folks in the 70's didn't think Bill Jr was up to the task either. But it is a third generation family business, and you know what they say, "The first generation builds it, the second grows it, the third destroys it." :p : That's a stereotype, but there are elements of truth in it. First generation is poor and starts from nothing, so you know they appreciate it, the second generation was poor when they were kids and remember their parents putting in the long hours to make a go of it, so they work very hard to maintain that legacy, but the third was born rich and unless they are truly taught the value and how hard it was to achieve, it's just another plaything to cast aside when they tire of it.

I do respect them for one thing though, they are not trying to remain static. I do remember one statement attributed to Bill Sr, and it's that "nothing ever remains the same in the world, things get better or worse, bigger or smaller."

Say what you will about Brian France, he is not trying to maintain status quo. Is that a mistake? I don't think so. If you don't ever try anything new, you'll never grow the sport. Now though, those things must be examined, and tweaked or changed if we find out that something is a mistake or built upon if the decision was a good one.