Supposedly, as reported at mikemulhern.net, there will be 'mini-meetings' for each of the individual cup teams to sit down and talk how Cup racing can be made more compelling... and then it HIT ME!
Wasn't the COT, something that many say is a bore to watch 'race', supposedly designed with the input of all the teams too? And I thought... Uh-oh... Here they go again. Now don't get me wrong, I am NOT bashing NASCAR and recognize that there is a ton of great stuff that has happened in NASCAR as it has grown, but i started to think about MY history as a race fan and thought I'd share it because I have a feeling it may be similar to many of you...
I've been watching NASCAR since Bill Elliott drove the #9 Coors Melling Ford all over the place and I was his biggest fan (Really, I was... REALLY!!). Typically, whenever our family would gather for a birthday or anniversary, the TV would be on 1 of 2 things, a Red Sox game (we lived in South Eastern New England) or a NASCAR race.
I even spent time at Stafford Motor Speedway where my father worked the pit gates for a couple of years and watching those SK Modifieds was incredibly exciting, but I never forgot the indelible images of the #9 Coors Melling Ford zooming around the track... it was recognizable, it looked different than the other cars and I could 'see one' on the road too!
Wow, how times have changed... Little did I know that 25 years later I'd have worked in the world of NASCAR and ended up creating a website that was all about LOCAL racing... mostly because I could see a change happening, almost in slow motion... I felt like I wasn't watching racing anymore, I felt like at least half the time on those D-shaped tracks, I was watching parade laps where there would occasionally be a fight for a position, but seldom a real race for the lead that lasted more than a few laps at the most.
THEN, I went to Sycamore Speedway in Illinois and I got reacquainted with local racing... I brought my kids... they raced in the bubble gum race on the track... they looked at the cars lined up in the parking lot at the end of the night as we walked to the car... They were TRULY amazed and I felt like I was transported back to those I'd spent at Stafford Motor Speedway with my Dad... I realized I had gotten to a point where I wasn't enjoying the actual racing anymore, I was enjoying the 'Business of NASCAR' and getting sponsors involved far more than I was enjoying the actual competition of Racing... and I was glad to be back at a small local track.
Having been in the media, I can talk about why more commercials cause tune out. I can talk about WHY people tune-in and why they stay or leave. I can even talk about how ANYONE in the media should have seen the decreased ratings coming at least a year or two ago when that giant media contract was signed and the car was changed. But this column isn't about bashing NASCAR and telling them what they did wrong, it's about asking them to do something that many think they haven't done in a long time... Listen to the Fans... Solicit their opinions... AND PLEASE... DON'T MAKE ANY MORE CHANGES UNTIL YOU GET REAL FEEDBACK FROM THOSE YOU RELY ON FOR YOUR EXISTENCE
So, in the case they don't do that directly, let's use this forum as a way to give our feedback about the changes we think would help... Although I can't promise it'll make any impact or truly get considered, I promise I'll make sure they all get to the people I know that are higher up in the chain at NASCAR. And whatever response I get, I'll post that here too if/when I get it.
After all, whatever you feel about NASCAR today, it doesn't change how you've felt about it the rest of your life and the enjoyment that you've felt from it too... So, think for a second about what you would say if you were sitting across a table from NASCAR officials, hit the 'comment button' below and don't forget, feedback is always listened to more intently when it's conveyed in a respectful way without name-calling, anger and ridicule. CLICK HERE to read the comments so far or to leave your comments now!
Cheers folks and enjoy a great day of racing from all over the world!
Posts
Double File Restarts THROUGHOUT the field... At least there will be a few more laps of 'racing' among the leaders.
ReplyDeleteAUTOMATIC cautions when there is less than half the field on the lead lap... Give the mid-tier teams a chance to make a few more changes during the race to keep up with Hendricks, Gibbs, and Roush
Those are some starters... If I think of more, I'll come back...
Steve
start the race when you say the race coverage starts.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about it before reading this column, but maybe I'm just 'burned out' of NASCAR. I turn the races off or simply don't turn them off because they're so long that I actually feel like I'm missing out on other things... and I never felt that way.
ReplyDeleteBut, when I think about it, maybe the races aren't any 'longer' than they used to be, but maybe the amount of coverage is so 'big' that I almost feel overloaded. I know that with the growth of a sport comes more coverage, but sports like football and baseball all have local teams with local interests in cities all over the United States... NASCAR is different and once I get my Jr news, I don't need it from 15 other sources.... So, maybe I'm just more burned out than anything else.
So, I guess to sum it up, when I turn a race on at the time the TV Guide says it's on, I want to see racing... is that too much to ask?
Give Digger his own timeslot OUTSIDE of actual race coverage... when I tune in, I want RACING coverage, not some furry guy telling me to order 'Digger Stuff'...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I remember when you used to see nothing but SPONSOR t-shirts on fans in the stands, but now, it's all about the driver and their number... I feel bad for the sponsors because I love Denny Hamlin because he's cute, but I could care less about FedEx because they're more expensive than the post office... Go #11!
Only green flag pitstops and red flag rain delays to eliminate luck and to reward the skill of both the drivers and the pit crews.
ReplyDeleteGo back to the old days. Give the fans what they really want. Since the COT came about NASCAR has went the same way. Downhill!!!!!!! Race cars that you can purchase at the lot. Go back to the original fan base. All those old tracks that have been shut down for the new glorious tracks, well that is where the real fan base was IN THE SOUTH!!! You grew from those tracks and then they weren't good enough of big enough. Yeah right. Most of this group haven't even raced at these tracks. Then slap us in the face and take the Labor Day race from Darlington. Yeah real cool. Mother's Day will never be Labor Day.
ReplyDeleteEver since they set up that new TV contract, the TV stations obviously need to make money... with declining ratings, they obviously have to run MORE commercials to make the same money and recoup their licensing fee. NASCAR should swallow it's 'profit pride' and renegotiate the TV Contract to give some of the fees back to the networks so they don't need to run as many commercials.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, yes the networks took risk, but the COT has led to a fan perception of less competitive racing... less excitement/competitive racing means people watch less and the ratings go down even more... Maybe that would help... who knows... but thanks for posting this forum.
It's all about demographics, my friends. This sport's "oxygen" is money from advertisers; the sponsors who power the cars and the media coverage. Even the money manufacturers contribute to teams largely comes from their marketing budgets. In order to "grow" NASCAR, the France family must grow the "prime demographic". And if you're not in an affluent income bracket, possess a college education and under the age of 30 YOU AINT IT. (You can argue you're 50 and have a pile of money to spend but I'm telling you that Madison Avenue doesn't give a rat's patooty about you.) All you gotta do is look at the rock bands and celebrities who are trotted out at the races as if to say "look how cool young and hip we is". They could get a country act to headline every single week, but they won't because that's not the image they want to portray. But if it's a band that 24 year old white boy listen to NASCAR will wet themselves over the idea their fans might tune in. The reason they want families to attend isn't because they have some altruistic need to be family friendly; they want little kids in attendance to see the advertisers messages. Every company in America knows you got to hook kids early to build brand loyalty. It's why Radio Disney has been able to be so wildly successful despite broadcasting primarily on crappy AM signals for so long: advertisers fell all over themselves to board that ship because of the access to the children. Look how the sport ran the old timers out of Cup the last few years: Mark Martin is the only one left because occasionally the young demographic will glom onto an oldster because he's suddenly become hip. (i.e: Johnny Cash with Rik Rubin or Loretta Lynn with Jack White.) Overall sponsors want young drivers their "target demographic" can relate to. Advertisers were originally attracted to NASCAR because of the fierce loyalty of the fan base, but the problem is there simply wasn't enough of them. Especially not in the "prime demographic" cells. Once upon a time NASCAR started having their annual banquet in NYC just so they could be closer to the ad agencies. Now they're moving to Las Vegas because it's hipper and younger (among other reasons.) The real problem for NASCAR doesn't lie so much in the racing action as it does in their business model. Remember, whenever faced with a dilemna ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY. Surely, if the racing was wild and wooly and crazy and as compelling as an accident on the freeway every week you would see people tuning in in droves...but the problem will always be the demographic make up of the audience as long as the sport relies so heavily on sponsorship dollars.
ReplyDelete1) Get rid of the "non" playoff system. As we learned in 2008 winning the most races before the chase starts doesn't secure you a championship and Jimmie Johnson showed us that you don't need to win the most races to win the big prize.
ReplyDelete2) Get rid of the "Lucky Dog"... you want your lap back do it the old fasion way ... earn it!
3) The COT is not fan friendly - We watched the stands empty as the COT car played follow the leader, no bumping, no grinding, no trading paint, no donuts at Thunder Valley!! (Bristol Night Race 2007) Are they trying for a caution free Saturday night shoot out?
4) Be loyal to the fans that built you, not the fly by night fans that are in it this year and never seen again.
5) No more impound races.
6) Brian, stop taking advice from Vince McMahon. Yes, he's a savvy business man and has built his empire on sports entertainment, but racing is supposed to be a sport. Come on Rick Flair at the All-Star race!!!! The "WOO" in racing belongs with the World of Outlaws not some retired wrestler. What's next, scripts for all the drivers, crews, owners, commentators. They already can't show raw emotion. The fans want emotion displayed by guys like Donnie Allison and Cale Yarbourgh, Ricky Rudd and crew, Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and we'll never forget Earnhardt's "you're number one".
7) Why is it that a driver can be fined and have points taken away for swearing over his own in-car radio to his own crew, just because at that moment somebody in the trailor decided they needed to listen in?
8) Why did you break something that didn't need fixing?
9) Finally, maybe you ought to ask yourself what would Earnhardt do?
I honestly can't afford to go to the 2 or 3 races I used to travel to every year, which leads me to an interesting observation/change...
ReplyDeleteHow about requiring that SMI and ISC become PRIVATELY held companies to remain in the sport? The fact that both are publicly held companies mean that they're more beholden to shareholders than to the sport that they're showcasing.
As long as the companies that host the tracks are more pressured to increase profits, then the cost of the fan experience will continue to rise and that's no good for future ticket sales.
Think about it... Bruton and Humpy probably have billions in their personal bank accounts... I would guess that so does the France Family... it may 'cost' them upfront to take the companies private and buy the shares back, but maybe that's in the long term best interest of the sport?
Well its situation that will resolve itself. as Brian France has deciced we need to be classy and upscale like Indy cars we find the viewers and fans attending becoming the same. Eventually NASCAR will be on VS Tv and an average attendance of 35000 will be attained. Congrats on saving me money. I attended Daytona fo 24 years this year , not. Went to renew tickets I had had for 20 years and was told I had to by a package, not. Continue to move dates from successful tracks to tracks that will never sell out, theres a great idea. Don't know the answers but I know they didn't have any of those long time ticket holders who sat in the rain for 3 days at Charlotte in that meeting tuesday. Don't ask the people making the money whats wrong, ask the people paying.
ReplyDeleteHey Bruton, if you want to get Alanta and Bristol fans back put Atlanta back to an oval and Bristol turns back to what it was before you widened them and i f the drivers don't like gettin bumped to get passed there, well then they really weren't stock car drivers after all.
Double file restarts whole race. no compition cautions at all. only count green flag laps. DO NOT COUNT CAUTION LAPS. and get rid of the stupid play off The Chase is junk
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the Chase for the Cup. It's not nearly as exciting as people make it sound like. Also, it has the very real capability of producing a false winner at the end of the year. That's crap - what the hell do the first 26 races MEAN anymore?
ReplyDeleteCompetition is NOT better than it was a few years ago. I don't care who you are, you cannot draw a line from Kyle Busch's 50 NASCAR wins in the past 2 years to a sense of better competition. Jimmie Johnson has won the Championship the last three years. Come on, how is this competitive?
Quit letting Sprint Cup regulars race in the Nationwide races. You're ruining the fun of seeing the young guns duke it out between themselves for the Championship. Kyle Busch's win in the Camping World East/West Series was uncalled for on so many levels. The true fans will watch the races even if Dale Junior or Kyle Busch isn't in the race. We love racing, not our driver in particular.
Dictate what your broadcast contains. You cannot tell me that you honestly think "Digger" is a good marketing idea for new fans. You're making NASCAR look like a complete JOKE. Eliminate long prerace shows and get the real show on the ROAD. You completely let down about 200,000 fans who paid their good money to travel and pay for tickets to the Daytona 500 this year. The rain would have been avoided had the race started sooner, and you called it way too early. That sprinkle stopped 30 minutes after it started - I know, I was in line for the bus to Lot 7.
I think the double-file restarts are a good idea. It will be tough for the lapped cars, but it'll give more motivation to stay on the lead lap in the first place - increasing competition and racing.
The Car of Tomorrow was a great idea. There I said it. After seeing Michael McDowell walk away from the Texas wreck I was totally behind it. The catch is that you need to listen to the crews and their opinion on how to make it RACE better. They're your source for better competition, racing, and ratings - take advantage of it.
Hey, what was that person said a few posts ago about NASCAR going after kids?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nascar.com/2009/news/opinion/05/29/splash.go.rswan.nascar.kids/index.html
Well there ya go...