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There is no single reason for the decline in interest in Sprint Cup racing. A few of the issues pushing a segment of fans away from the sport include the new car, changes to the racing schedule, the Chase, a general feeling that the sport is more concerned with profit than the fans, and Kyle Busch.
The race at Bristol had an 18 percent decline in viewership. Sunday’s race at Martinsville had an 11 percent decrease in viewership. And the race at Atlanta had a 14 percent decline. This is a trend I find interesting when you consider that fans who can’t afford race tickets in these recessionary times should be turning to television as the alternative. But the underlying frustration that fans feel toward the sport is causing many of them to abandon their racing habit, or at the very least it’s making them only tune in for the last 20 laps of each race. I wonder if the television ratings go up the closer a race gets to its conclusion.
All of this seems to point in one direction. We could see even fewer people watching the sport in 2010. I think this will certainly be true in the grandstands. The recession that started midway through 2008 has affected the ticket sales for this season. Now that the recession is at full steam, people will find it harder to renew their seats for 2010 when it is expected that these tough times will last through 2009.
Some of the tracks have done a great job filling as many seats as they can, but it is the declining TV viewership that may be harder to reverse. I suspect those numbers aren’t as much a result of fans’ economic considerations as they are an indication of fans’ changing attitude toward the sport.
There are a lot of fans out there who could benefit from the services of Tony Stewart’s former anger management team. And I share some of the frustrations that many fans feel. But nothing will stop me from watching Sprint Cup racing. The drivers could be racing around Talladega on lawn tractors and I would still watch.
…
Rick Wagoner, former CEO of General Motors, left the company with a generous pension and a benefits package worth $23 million. Wow! Maybe he should take those funds and start his own car company.
…
The Charlotte Observer is reporting that SMI Chairman Bruton Smith’s chain of auto dealerships could be headed for bankruptcy.
Purchase your copy of "Nuts for Racing"
COT = Boring
1. If a driver takes the lead then it has a very big areo advantage. Boring........
2. Drivers can make more mistakes and get away with it because the car are tanks. Boring.....
3. The cars drive like tanks and it makes passing harder than in the past. Boring.....
I understand that COT is for the safety of the driver.
Not sure how they can fix it.
It could be just me.
But it seems like the racing since COT has gone on the boring side.
Last week race was kinda interesting but not really.
Why did they drop Bristol from the racing schedule? They should add Bristol back.
I am trying to pick a driver to root for other than Jr. I like some drivers but they are not championship drivers.
There are only like 3 drivers to pick from that are truly championship level....Bucsh, Stewart and Johnson. Then you have the second tier wanna-be's that might get lucky...Jr, Hamlin, Edwards, Hamlin, Kenseth, Gordon and Bowyer.
That is it. None of them really floats my boat except Jr and I am getting tired of his team's excuses of not reaching the next level.
If your driver is consistent and in the top 10 ....it means zip, nada, zero, nothing.
To win a championship, you must have the ability to bag wins.
We definitely need some new blood. That is not happening anytime soon.
Can they improve Busch's PR ability? He looks and talks like a weasel. I think that will be best for NASCAR and that is to improve Busch's looks and personality.
Hey Mike,
I spun the dial and the only go fast entertainment I could find was still Na$car and NHRA...and I still enjoy it, especially at the track.
I agree that some of the respondents to your column often present themselves as angry trolls who add little or nothing to the discussion. What is needed is new blood to these blogs...
It's just a guess but; how many times can you see a left hand turn? Boring!
rocket_car....You should not be so hard on yourself.
It is Ok to be an angry troll.
Your comment is a clear example of one.
Angry...Yes.
Add little or nothing to discussion...Yes
Yep...You are an angry troll.
yes I agree rocket car ... this needs more new blood and less of your mind-numbing posts -- which now total 169!!! and here's a tip: you don't have to comment on EVERY SINGLE story.
as a fan i'd like to see nascar do away with lapped cars on inside after cautions. put the lapped cars after cars on lead lap,single file. we would have better chance of someone making up ground on lead lap. also would making racing for lucky dog more interesting. would also like to see 1 race done where you can only stop in pits on green flag.
jf is on the mark, COT's are boring.
Actually, I wasn't trying to suggest that readers of this blog are all an angry lot. My comment was directed at NASCAR fans in general. Hopefully changes in the future will reverse some of the animosity fans feel. But I'm not holding my breath.
That is good idea formervegas76.
In the last race from about the 4th-5th car and back had no chance to get up to the front 3 because of the lapped traffic issue.
Since they have the lucky dog award then they should move the cars back.
Perhaps a compromise........the lapped cars line up next to the 11th place cars.
I have to agree with the others, the COT was the worst idea ever. It used to be you could see immediately if a driver was in a Dodge, Ford or Chevy, but not now. How can you have a good discussion (and I use the term loosely) about car brands when the cars being raced are all the same?
I don't think I'm an angry Nascar fan, bored is a more appropriate adjective for the way I've been feeling the past couple of years. We do turn on all the races, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series. Of late, I've found the truck races the most exciting.
I remember when I would never miss a minute of a Nascar race. Now, I'm usually listening to an audio book with one eye on the TV and put my book on pause if there is something I want to see. I do miss the excitement of years gone by.
One thing I would like to see, though, is a road race in "the chase." I do enjoy watching when Nascar races at Infineon and Watkins Glen. I like to see who steps up to the plate with some additional skills.