Openwheel drivers to NASCAR

Also, just a side comment on open-wheel. I really believe the dynamic difference here is front-engine/ rear-engine. Obviously, sprints have open wheels, but have proven to be a great predictor of success in Nascar, because having a front engine, some of the handling characteristics are the same. It might even be a better training ground because you have to learn some finesse and cannot just beat and bang fenders.

So really this thread is about the rear-engine formula car drivers coming to Nascar, because the up and coming sprint car guys like Kevin Swindell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr are only pointing towards Nascar these days.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

Mario's record will not be broken. Even in NASCAR the "Oldest" drivers are getting younger and younger as the series gets more competitive.

---

Didn't Dick Trickle won a Busch race in his late fifties?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Erki

Didn't Dick Trickle won a Busch race in his late fifties?

---

Yes. But the oldest to ever win a Cup race was Harry Gant at 52 . . . a year younger than Mario when he won his last CART race.

Quote:

---

Yes. But the oldest to ever win a Cup race was Harry Gant at 52 . . . a year younger than Mario when he won his last CART race.

---

Jack Brabham was a F1 championion in 1966 when he was 40. The problem is F1, like NASCAR, ALMS, Grand Am you name it, has dramatically become a lot more competitive and "old gagey gents"do not cut it anymore.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alexamateo

Come on Stan, Who are they going to hype, Bobby East? I mean I know who Bobby East is because I follow sprints and his dad's a well-known car builder, but it's not really news. If Dario comes in and he attracts attention to the series, then the series is better off for it.

Face it, it's news, and it attracts new fans when a driver from a foreign country, who is married to a famous movie actress, who has won the Indy 500 and an IRL championship, and lost a CART Championship on a tie-breaker to Juan Pablo Montoya comes and races in your series.

This is going to vault Nascar to worldwide popularity much like Mansell did when he came to CART in 1993. (Just tell Bruton not to get any ideas about taking his tracks and splitting the series up :p : )


What it all means is that Nascar is #1, because they are attracting the best drivers from all over the world.

---

Joey Logano, a 17 year old who will be 18 in June next year will be the best of all the newcomers in the Busch Series, including the O.W. drivers with tons of O.W. experience.

The fan base in Nascar has actually been dropping since the O.W. drivers have tried to enter the series.. The TV ratings were down 13.2% in 2006 and are down 8.6% in 2007 to date. That is a bunch of people that Nascar is losing as fans.......and, look at the stands and you will see empty seats almost everywhere.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by muggle not

Joey Logano, a 17 year old who will be 18 in June next year will be the best of all the newcomers in the Busch Series, including the O.W. drivers with tons of O.W. experience.

The fan base in Nascar has actually been dropping since the O.W. drivers have tried to enter the series.. The TV ratings were down 13.2% in 2006 and are down 8.6% in 2007 to date. That is a bunch of people that Nascar is losing as fans.......and, look at the stands and you will see empty seats almost everywhere.

---

I gotta agree with you on Joey Logano, he's gonna be a good one.

Ratings may be down in Nascar, but I don't necessarily think it's cause and effect because of the new drivers. What I do think is that Nascar has plateaued here in the US. I predict ratings will stabilize next year and then they'll rise a year or two and then fall a year or to. That is actually all the more reason to bring in International drivers (although by no means to the level CART used to have, that's too many, you need the connect to American grass-roots level.) That is where growth can come from, international fans following their heroes. That could eventually lead to International Nascar series. Then you could use the chase to really mean something by bringing over their Champions (one or two, not ten of course) and have them compete for the Championship with the 10 or so from here that are qualified for the championship. Don't know if it's workable or not, It's just an idea, and you've got to start somewhere.

Also, commenting on attendance, and seeing empty seats. Tracks have probably overbuilt. That coupled with increased fuel costs cutting into disposable income leads to lower attendance. Personal example, Last year I went to both the Memphis truck race in June, and the Busch race in fall along with Bristol night race. This year I only went to the Fall Busch race. I am not any less of a fan, but a second child and added expenses kept me from going to all the races I wanted to.

Remember 5 years ago any given track was sold out and 80,000, they built more and sold out 110,000 2 years ago. A non sell out 95,000 is still greater than it was, but now you see empty seats.

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)

Villeneuve to attempt Phoenix: Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to make his second career Nextel Cup Series start behind the wheel of the #27 Toyota at Phoenix International Raceway. Richard "Slugger" Labbe will once again serve as crew chief.(BDR PR)

Also read that Franchitti will run both the remaining Busch series races.

It's official! Hornish will drive in Cup for Penske in 2008 alongside Ryan and Kurt.

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/head...ske/index.html

Quote:

---

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.

---

Muggle Not, Brian France has committed the most basic administration sin"If it is not broken, do not fix it". He has undertaken too many changes for a basically fairly conservative fan base. "The Overseas races and foreign drivers" are going to be a bit much for those carpenters working on that house. Throw in bizarre rules changes ;COT and you have a recipe for a lack of interest in NASCAR.