What Happened to NASCAR?

[Mike in Horseheads]

What happened to NASCAR? I look at these empty race tracks every week and low ratings and wonder how did they get here. I'll post some thoughts and invite yours.

...When the first NASCAR race came to Watkins Glen Intl, in the 80's the drivers and teams were all over the place promoting the race. That has dwindled to one event in Corning that they have to pay the teams for. They used to have volunteers from places like the Finger Lakes SPCA man the souvenir booths for part of the proceeds. Not anymore, they bought their own stuff in. Mind you I'm talking WGI which actually still packs them in (its a weekend party).

...On the national front they abandoned their roots in North Carolina like Rockingham and built these generic ovals all over the place in Texas, Illinois, Las Vegas and Kansas. Race times used to be a certain between 12-1, now these races start a different time every week. Of course that's if you know what network is carrying it.

...It seems they just lost their path and got greedy to me. Thoughts?

[RaoulDuke79]

They tried to cater to an audience other than the one that go the sport to where it is.....ive got some opinions on this subject, but im working on smoking some pork. Ill be back.

Edited July 23, 2017 by RaoulDuke79

[flaz]

They tried to cater to an audience other than the one that made the sport popular......ive got some opinions on this subject, but im working on smoking some pork. Ill be back.

This has been discussed for the last several years and is a valid point! The OP brought up the time and network could be a problem, and I agree! I'm an old fart so if a race starts past 7 edt I will likely not see the finish.

 

BTW. I have been to 8 races at the Glen, in the 70s before NASCAR arrived. Best place to watch a race and party your brains out!! Unless it rains torrents and you get stranded on the wrong side of the track. Then the Bozos you went with leave without you and steal the 280 bucks you had stashed in your sleeping bag! There were 3 cars and everyone thought I was in the other car, except for the bastard that took my money!!

 

Great questions by the OP

 

Is pork a code word

Edited July 23, 2017 by fl az fan

[Mike in Horseheads]

This has been discussed for the last several years and is a valid point! The OP brought up the time and network could be a problem, and I agree! I'm an old fart so if a race starts past 7 edt I will likely not see the finish.

 

Great questions by the OP

 

Is pork a code word

Pig

[ExiledInIllinois]

...but im working on smoking some pork. Ill be back.

Is that a euphemism! Sorry you walked into that door. ;-)

 

Sunday, It's 92 degrees out and I am filling in for a lock operator @ work 8-8. I am normally the shifthead. YES, your gubermint picked me to lead 10 years ago. Blame them. Those lock ops do d*ck as opposed to only doing half d*ck. It's busy with boaters and lock is going up and down every 20-30 minutes, minus a towboat with barges here and there. I am in an air conditioned building with a phone and charging cord. My world reach is endless!

 

:-)

 

... See /dev, who needs FreeCell when you have this place. :-)

Edited July 23, 2017 by ExiledInIllinois

[boyst]

restrictor plate racing

advertising all sorts of things - the gopher cam, sponsors with this

the cars are exactly alike, nothing different

Monster energy is as gay and lame as possible and only douchebags wear and tout their brand

no real racing and too many cautions

sissy drivers and foo foo light foots. i remember jeff gordon being the girl of the track and here before he retired he was considered a tough grizzly veteran.

similar to above, less rubbin and racing. no more real toughness to these drivers with cliche names.

 

i watched races quite often when it was winston cup. been to a few before that and one after

 

 

to me it all started when daryl waltrip started with his boogity boogity boogity.

[Kirby Jackson]

I know absolutely nothing about NASCAR. My NASCAR knowledge is similar to someone in the South's hockey knowledge. It's an important disclaimer because it may explain why. I don't find the people or sport interesting. There don't seem to be any personalities or rivalries. Sports are at their best when there are good guys and bad guys. Sports are good when there is controversy. This group seems to lack some of the star power of a decade ago.

 

I will probably never get into it but I would check in if it I had a reason. UFC wasn't my thing until about 5 years ago. Now, the stories, the competition and the people are interesting to me. I'd say that I'm at worst a casual fan at this point.

[ExiledInIllinois]

I know absolutely nothing about NASCAR. My NASCAR knowledge is similar to someone in the South's hockey knowledge. It's an important disclaimer because it may explain why. I don't find the people or sport interesting. There don't seem to be any personalities or rivalries. Sports are at their best when there are good guys and bad guys. Sports are good when there is controversy. This group seems to lack some of the star power of a decade ago.

 

I will probably never get into it but I would check in if it I had a reason. UFC wasn't my thing until about 5 years ago. Now, the stories, the competition and the people are interesting to me. I'd say that I'm at worst a casual fan at this point.

I like Tide. It gets my clothes cleaned after working all day. I like Home Depot too. Heck, I like orange cars!

[Kirby Jackson]

One more thing that dawned on me is that in the social media era the attention span is short. We react to change and big moments. It's a "did you see that" culture. There aren't enough ebbs and flows over the course of a race. Some wrecks but there aren't a lot of big moments. It's tough to keep the attention span for that long.

[billsherd]

I know nothing about it, but I heard it's great place to party. Not sure how true this is if any of you can confirm.

[PromoTheRobot]

People sobered up?

[Yo no se]

I used to watch it every week maybe 10 years ago. I haven't watched a single race in maybe 4-5 years now.

 

Jimmie Johnson winning so many years in a row, with zero personality was a big turn off for me. That was the beginning of then end.

 

Restrictor plate races are boring. Zero variation between the cars is boring. The fact that nascar refuses to test and use rain tires, postponing several races a year annoys me. The fact that races are at different times, and on different channels makes it harder to follow.

 

And now Kyle Busch seems to be one of the better drivers going. And I can't stand that smarmy little twat. So even when I do tune in, I get to listen to the announcers talk about how great he is for most of the race. No thanks.

[Best Player Available]

What happened to NASCAR? I look at these empty race tracks every week and low ratings and wonder how did they get here. I'll post some thoughts and invite yours.

...When the first NASCAR race came to Watkins Glen Intl, in the 80's the drivers and teams were all over the place promoting the race. That has dwindled to one event in Corning that they have to pay the teams for. They used to have volunteers from places like the Finger Lakes SPCA man the souvenir booths for part of the proceeds. Not anymore, they bought their own stuff in. Mind you I'm talking WGI which actually still packs them in (its a weekend party).

...On the national front they abandoned their roots in North Carolina like Rockingham and built these generic ovals all over the place in Texas, Illinois, Las Vegas and Kansas. Race times used to be a certain between 12-1, now these races start a different time every week. Of course that's if you know what network is carrying it.

...It seems they just lost their path and got greedy to me. Thoughts?

 

i pay minimal attention to Nascar. Driving in circles for some fans is boring. However, regarding some of your points on start times they are now all over the place because the F1 ( too a lesser extent F2) are now direct competition to Nascar and Indy racing. Along with IMSA. Some weekends all 4 are on. Depending what country/time zone the F1 circuit is racing will directly affect Nascar. depending on what timezone the Indy car ciruit is running will affect start times.

According too some the F1 circuit is the most watched race car circuit in the world. For good reason. They push the limits. In the USA they for several years have been trying to get a larger audience. Every race is broadcast in the US. They run only a single race in the US at Austins F1 track. In terms of popularity Nascar in the US still has them beat. In terms of exciting multi million dollar prototypes racing in F1, the teams, and drivers blow Nascar away IMO.

 

Nascar and IMSA "merged"'several years ago. Nascar immediately f****d up Imsa. In particular the US Le Man circuit. Last year was the first since the takeover that IMSA got to go back to playing by thier rules. In particular caution, red,flags well everything. Since in a 12/24 hour endurance race Nascar would yellow flag anything. (just like Nascar races) To the point that at least one high profile race team quit coming over from Europe for IMSA's US flagship race Sebring. Fans that went to the US Leman races were pissed. Most F1 F2 and Le Man racers consider Nascar similar too their go cart days as kids. No love there.

 

Nascar has got greedy and boring. Their attempt by purchasing IMSA was most likely made to broaden their worldwide appeal. and possibly expansion. It backfired. In particular in Europe where for the most part Nascar is a joke. Nascar has become greedy and should have stayed where they were. With the exception of only 2 restrictor plate races where in Alabama and Daytona the stock cars will rarely use brakes. It's balls out from the start. It's a pretty boring circuit past that. Too many commercials, and lack of bona fide drivers. and teams. The same names every week.

 

F1 runs protypes. IMSA runs several classes including prototypes. Protoypes being the Le Mans circuit #1 class. These races make watching the Nascar Toyota Camry's and Ford Fusions a boring experience IMO. Plus they run on road courses. Not ovals. Nascar is losing audiences for sure. The few remaining dirt ovals in the US,still are fun though. Local racers on tight budgets are more interesting than most Nascar races.

[Mike in Horseheads]

i pay minimal attention to Nascar. Driving in circles for some fans is boring. However, regarding some of your points on start times they are now all over the place because the F1 ( too a lesser extent F2) are now direct competition to Nascar and Indy racing. Along with IMSA. Some weekends all 4 are on. Depending what country/time zone the F1 circuit is racing will directly affect Nascar. depending on what timezone the Indy car ciruit is running will affect start times.

According too some the F1 circuit is the most watched race car circuit in the world. For good reason. They push the limits. In the USA they for several years have been trying to get a larger audience. Every race is broadcast in the US. They run only a single race in the US at Austins F1 track. In terms of popularity Nascar in the US still has them beat. In terms of exciting multi million dollar prototypes racing in F1, the teams, and drivers blow Nascar away IMO.

 

Nascar and IMSA "merged"'several years ago. Nascar immediately f****d up Imsa. In particular the US Le Man circuit. Last year was the first since the takeover that IMSA got to go back to playing by thier rules. In particular caution, red,flags well everything. Since in a 12/24 hour endurance race Nascar would yellow flag anything. (just like Nascar races) To the point that at least one high profile race team quit coming over from Europe for IMSA's US flagship race Sebring. Fans that went to the US Leman races were pissed. Most F1 F2 and Le Man racers consider Nascar similar too their go cart days as kids. No love there.

 

Nascar has got greedy and boring. Their attempt by purchasing IMSA was most likely made to broaden their worldwide appeal. and possibly expansion. It backfired. In particular in Europe where for the most part Nascar is a joke. Nascar has become greedy and should have stayed where they were. With the exception of only 2 restrictor plate races where in Alabama and Daytona the stock cars will rarely use brakes. It's balls out from the start. It's a pretty boring circuit past that. Too many commercials, and lack of bona fide drivers. and teams. The same names every week.

 

F1 runs protypes. IMSA runs several classes including prototypes. Protoypes being the Le Mans circuit #1 class. These races make watching the Nascar Toyota Camry's and Ford Fusions a boring experience IMO. Plus they run on road courses. Not ovals. Nascar is losing audiences for sure. The few remaining dirt ovals in the US,still are fun though. Local racers on tight budgets are more interesting than most Nascar races.

Only thing I would disagree on is that they sure are using them at Watkins Glen or they'd be in a heap of trouble. A lot of cars end up out of the race because of break issues or crashs due to break failure. Of course that was a F1 course.

[Figster]

What happened to NASCAR? I look at these empty race tracks every week and low ratings and wonder how did they get here. I'll post some thoughts and invite yours.

...When the first NASCAR race came to Watkins Glen Intl, in the 80's the drivers and teams were all over the place promoting the race. That has dwindled to one event in Corning that they have to pay the teams for. They used to have volunteers from places like the Finger Lakes SPCA man the souvenir booths for part of the proceeds. Not anymore, they bought their own stuff in. Mind you I'm talking WGI which actually still packs them in (its a weekend party).

...On the national front they abandoned their roots in North Carolina like Rockingham and built these generic ovals all over the place in Texas, Illinois, Las Vegas and Kansas. Race times used to be a certain between 12-1, now these races start a different time every week. Of course that's if you know what network is carrying it.

...It seems they just lost their path and got greedy to me. Thoughts?

Dale Jr's struggle to stay competitive over the last few years and now his announced retirement has dealt a major blow to the Nascar fan base IMO.

 

My uncle stopped watching because local channels stopped showing all the races.

 

Myself personally, watcing Jimmy Johnson take a blown motor 3 wide going 200 mph into a corner yesterday on the final laps of the Brickyard knowing its probably not going to end well is about as exciting as it gets in my humble opinion.

 

I like the 3 stages and playoff format...

[Seasons1992]

restrictor plate racing

advertising all sorts of things - the gopher cam, sponsors with this

the cars are exactly alike, nothing different

Monster energy is as gay and lame as possible and only douchebags wear and tout their brand

no real racing and too many cautions

sissy drivers and foo foo light foots. i remember jeff gordon being the girl of the track and here before he retired he was considered a tough grizzly veteran.

similar to above, less rubbin and racing. no more real toughness to these drivers with cliche names.

 

i watched races quite often when it was winston cup. been to a few before that and one after

 

 

to me it all started when daryl waltrip started with his boogity boogity boogity.

 

 

I'll take this for $500, Alex.

 

 

I've been watching NASCAR since it's tape-delayed days on ESPN in the 80's. Now it's all about money vs. regional fan bases and "events" at those tracks once a year.

 

Yesterday was pathetic at Indy. Checked in for 3 laps and quickly checked out.

[Chandler#81]

People sobered up?

 

Nah, that ain't it..

[Fan in San Diego]

Nascar isn't even a sport. Bunch of red necks driving in circles. Who cares! Now if only we can get rid of baseball for good as well.

[Marv's Neighbor]

I was the Airport Operations Supervisor at Richmond 2004-2016. We got 2 races a season, and it was very noticeable over the years that the number of airplanes, charters etc. that came in for the race, were on a gradual decline. I always thought it was the economy, and maybe that was true? We still get all the racing teams, mostly have their own plane(s) but the charters by groups of fans have all but disappeared.

[RaoulDuke79]

1. Not enough parity. You have maybe a half dozen drivers that are favorites to win every week.

 

2. Most of the time the best car doesn't win. It has turned into fuel mileage and strategy instead of good racing. More often not the race is affected by a late caution.

 

3. They keep changing the format every year and it's impossible to keep track of what the hell is going on.

 

4. Trying to force it into markets where it's not popular or even wanted.

 

5. Restrictor plate races are garbage. If I were and owner of refuse to put cars in. If you have a 4 car team, 3 of them will be on a wrecker by the end of the race.

 

6. Quit being so damn PC and let the drivers have personalities.