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Published Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 9:02 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, July 21, 2010 | 9:04 a.m.
Despite NASCAR’s best efforts, attendance and TV ratings for Sprint Cup races remain in the doldrums. Is anyone surprised? I’m not.
This year has been the year of rule changes with the introduction of double-file restarts, multiple attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and the reimplementation of the rear spoiler. But none of these things have been able to overcome the economic restraints that contribute to fans’ reluctance to spend what discretionary income they may have on attending races.
It seems logical that people would turn to television for their racing fix if they can’t afford tickets to a race. But that isn’t happening, either.
Nate Ryan, who covers the sport for USA Today, wrote an article in today’s edition examining the disconnect between NASCAR’s changes and the sport’s attendance figures. Longtime racing promoter “Humpy” Wheeler told USA Today: “The gods in the NASCAR control booth made some great moves, and it seems to have produced much better racing, but it is bombing at the box office.”
But economics isn’t the only thing contributing to the attendance and ratings declines. Here’s the full story from USA Today.
More people are spending their money on the NHRA,at least they don't fix their races like Nascar...
Come on! Show me evidence that NASCAR fixes races!
Sure that's a e z one. In the wrangler jean nationwide race, Dale jr. was driving car #3, his dad's number. Watch the final restart of the race, and it looks like everybody but Jr. was in reverse. Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Ronnie Milsap could see that !!!
Really?! Jr. is the most popular driver in the sport and NASCAR would could fill the stands if he was winning races in the Sprint Cup. So why isn't NASCAR letting Jr. win races in Cup? If it wanted to fix races, Jr. would be winning more often.
All the drivers in the wrangler race agreed to hold back to let Jr. win. But in the senior Cup races, the car owners would never allow that to happen..
So why would the owners allow it in the Nationwide Series? They have to protect their sponsors' investments just like the owners in Cup do. I can't believe that owners in the Nationwide Series would condone a conspiracy to allow one driver to win and in the process hurt their sponsors' investments.
It's all about COT and SAP.
The Car of Tomorrow-43 identical cars except for the decal on the front bumper. Sure, it's Chevy, no wait a minute, it's a Ford? Rednecks hate Toyota, but hey, put a new sticker over Toyota, and it's a Chevy. Right?
Start and Park. To even have 43 starters, they pay hopeless losers a 1/4 million to start. A bunch of them. Ever hear of Max Papis? DNF every week, usually dead last, but hey, maybe he has an in-line V-6 in his car-but he started. Got the bucks.
It's not the economy with Nascar. It's a dying sport because of mismanagement by the France family. The USA article describes it perfectly. Identical cars, restrictor plates, a few owners with the best engines.
All you have to do is have a drawing before a race, and blindly choose who drives what car. The results would be amazing. Papis first? Waltrip second? Now that would be interesting.
But no way. A tradition based around Charlotte is going to end up in the southeast-where it belongs.
I tried and tried to get into NASCAR and found that the only thing its fans like to talk about are the grudge matches, the car crashes, the personality conflicts. It's like watching a WWE show.
Hardly any talk about the struggle of winning a race.
I think Mr. Smith should look into other motor sports to cover besides NASCAR. Three Americans are competing in the prestigious MotoGP race in Laguna Seca in Monterey this weekend. Why don't you cover them?
nascar=zzzzzzzzz's, best sleep i get all week