Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's not just the economy because TV ratings wouldn't be declining in addition to attendance.
I honestly think NASCAR is the only major sporting organization that's using the economy as an excuse to explain low attendance. The economy sure as hell hasn't hurt the attendance at NBA, MLB, or NFL games.
I would agree. NASCAR has been in slow decline for several years now. I remember back in the early 2000s people were talking about it becoming the most popular sport in the US.
The economy as an excuse fell out of validity back in the end of 2010. The NFL is chugging right along with most teams selling out all of their home games.
Where and when. My husband has stopped watching and his relative works on a team in NASCAR. I won't say which one because they might think he had something to do with what I am saying. I have not spoken to him in ages so these are my opinions only. We don't talk racing at family gatherings. I like to watch the races sometimes just to see if his team wins but have no interest in it for any other reason.
We began to lose interest in NASCAR when they stopped the short tracks. It just was not the same anymore. They became too interested in making loads of money and less interested in having a race more people could afford. I felt they would regret it but was hoping I was wrong.
And anymore you almost have to have a rule book in front of you to know who is winning. Used to drivers would be two or three laps down and have to really race to get back to the winning lap. I really don't like a free pass. It's racing, dummy! Now they have what looks to me like fake caution flags and don't have some caution flags when you think they should. And what is wrong with finishing the race under caution if that is how the chips fall. They should state a certain number of laps and stick to it no matter how many cautions happen. That is what made the race exciting. If they want the fans back, they need to make the racing like it was when the fans came. There are just too many rules and regulations now and it can almost looked rigged by too much official intervention. It is like watching a basketball game when the referees are too involved and won't let them play ball.
And maybe they need to give free speech back to the people who work in the industry. I was shocked and disappointed to hear on the news about people being fined for just giving their opinions. And saying that I want to once again say that I have never discussed racing with the relative beyond congratulating him on the win and maybe saying that I had seen him on TV. Isn't it sad I feel it necessary to say that.
That is what I saw happening, but it may just be the economy.
So you stopped watching around 1972? That's when Bill France lopped a bunch of short tracks off the schedule to shorten the season and begin the modern era of NASCAR.
Though I agree with you that races should end when they are supposed to, it was the whiny fan base complaining about races finishing under caution, not NASCAR.
Drivers being fined for giving their opinion is the direct result of corporate dictating people's lives. When sponsors are shelling out millions per year the last thing they want is the driver reflecting a bad image on the brand. It's the same as you going on FB and bashing your employer; not going to sit too well with them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mco65
I saw the empty seats yesterday on TV but was not in SHOCK. It's freaking DOVER, DE... not too many hardcore NASCAR fans are going to trek up there for a race when they can see one closer within a few weeks. NASCAR is not doing anything right or wrong at this juncture, folks are just spending watching their money during the recession. I suspect each pro sports organization is facing the same challenges.
I've been to Dover, its a high banked Rockingham; a long, boring race. That's why Rockingham was dropped from the schedule. BTW how many of you have been to the races at Rockingham lately?
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73
It's not just the economy because TV ratings wouldn't be declining in addition to attendance.
I honestly think NASCAR is the only major sporting organization that's using the economy as an excuse to explain low attendance. The economy sure as hell hasn't hurt the attendance at NBA, MLB, or NFL games.
Not entirely true, on the occasion I stop long enough to watch baseball I notice a lot of empty seats. Even on a bad days NASCAR tracks seat more people than sitck & ball sports. In some cities if the track sells out the city literally doubles in population for that weekend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TAM88
I would agree. NASCAR has been in slow decline for several years now. I remember back in the early 2000s people were talking about it becoming the most popular sport in the US.
The economy as an excuse fell out of validity back in the end of 2010. The NFL is chugging right along with most teams selling out all of their home games.
Given the rip-off of entertainment value of a football game NASCAR would do well to follow the concept; drivers would race for a few laps, park for several minutes, sit around and shoot the breeze, take off running back to their cars, race for several more laps, repeat until the race is finished.
WFW&P, I haven't totally stopped watching and they could get me back if they would turn loudmouth off and get someone impartial on the tube and change the rules back to normal racing. When I do watch sometimes the announcer gets so obnoxious that I turn the sound off and just watch. I do this on basketball games too. I usually know more what is going on than the announcer. If I have a question about what is happening in racing, I have an expert to ask. I really don't know what turned this expert husband of mine off. Just one day when I mentioned the race was on he told me he no longer had any interest in racing. Guess they are not doing it right anymore. He is a very fair-minded person.
I mostly watch racing and most of my friends do too, but my brothers would go to North Wilkesboro. I guess after a person has not been to a race for years the interest goes. As I said, I think closing down the two North Wilkesboro races in order to get more money from larger tracks was a BIG mistake. It is not a good thing to get too big to remember your roots. I considered North Wilkesboro to be one historic track. It really made me sad to see that happen.
I think the racing museum would have had more traffic in North Wilkesboro too. It is just too complicated to get to it in Charlotte. I would like to see it but the hassle to get to it in Charlotte turns me off. I also think they would do more business at the museum if they lowered the price or maybe just asked for donations. What purpose does it serve to have all that information setting there and nobody is seeing it?
Another thing I think is bad is the rule about how much testing can be done. Car racing is one sport that had contributed to many improvements in engineering. When the testing stops, the engineering is cut short too.
I don't follow the sport like I used to; I decided life was too short to be cooped up inside on a nice Sunday afternoon. This applies to any sport.
As for NW that was a crappy deal, but as a result of viewership dropping off the good news is no more cookie cutter tracks will be built.
Testing was curbed to decrease the costs as the well funded multi-car teams were able to mulitply their test results. The down side is now the well funded teams are probably spending the same amount on R&D as they were testing.
I think NASCAR could come up with a testing format that could be fair to all involved.
Horses only run 1 lap, auto racing is a dangerous enough concept on its own, one doesn't need to interject stupid, preventable variables to increase that danger.
"I've been to Dover, its a high banked Rockingham; a long, boring race. That's why Rockingham was dropped from the schedule. BTW how many of you have been to the races at Rockingham lately?"
Not entirely true, The Rockingham Cup race was held the week after Daytona in Feb. and it was the cold weather that kept fans away.
"I've been to Dover, its a high banked Rockingham; a long, boring race. That's why Rockingham was dropped from the schedule. BTW how many of you have been to the races at Rockingham lately?"
Not entirely true, The Rockingham Cup race was held the week after Daytona in Feb. and it was the cold weather that kept fans away.
I went to a few races at Rockingham; spring (if you can call it that) and the fall race, while the weather could be gloomy, 400 miles on a one mile track is a long, long race.
The things that used to happen throughout a race that add interest are gone. Mechanical failues are rare. Cars that lose a lap now get them back with waive arounds, lucky dogs, etc. There is little strategy, as everyone generally pits at the same time, and even if they happen to get off sequence, they get back on over the course of a yellow or two with those waive arounds and lucky dogs.
Sure, for the die hard fan of a particular driver, it helps to keep the top drivers in contention to the last lap. However, that makes for a long race, boring race to watch just to build up to the last lap.
As was said earlier, most major sports are far detached from depending on ticket revenue. The TV, radio and merchandising deals are so lucrative, that events can practically play to no audiences in the stands, and still be profitable.
Just look at MLB. Only a few teams consistantly pack the house, and some teams routinely play to only a couple thousand, however, in 2010, only 2 teams actually lost money, and neither were low attendence teams, they simply just spend way too much on payroll.
Not entirely true, on the occasion I stop long enough to watch baseball I notice a lot of empty seats. Even on a bad days NASCAR tracks seat more people than sitck & ball sports. In some cities if the track sells out the city literally doubles in population for that weekend.
I just can't use that rationale with a straight face. Most of the tracks were built up to meet the demand at the time. Back in the mid 00's Bruton Smith could've easily filled another 50,000 seats at Bristol and still had a waiting list for tickets.
People didn't suddenly lose interest in NASCAR because the tickets are too expensive, they lost interest because the schedule is too damn long, the COT platform produces bad races, and the point system combined with the "Race to the Chase" causes drivers to pussyfoot around each other because nobody wants to be known as "the driver who knocked so-and-so out of the Chase."
Sure, there are more people in the stands than your typical MLB game, but the sport is hemorrhaging fans. All those empty seats translate into not only lost gate but a much smaller TV contract, and that's where the real money lies.
As was said earlier, most major sports are far detached from depending on ticket revenue. The TV, radio and merchandising deals are so lucrative, that events can practically play to no audiences in the stands, and still be profitable.
Just look at MLB. Only a few teams consistantly pack the house, and some teams routinely play to only a couple thousand, however, in 2010, only 2 teams actually lost money, and neither were low attendence teams, they simply just spend way too much on payroll.
The TV, radio and those merchandising deals are not going to hang around if there isn't anything in it for them--right? It's about advertising--no one there to see their million dollar advertising--well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this is just another trickle down effect. But again there are lots of die hard fans that will stick this tuff time out more then likely...hopefully! Maybe a little adjusting on the payroll and the cost of attending these events will helpt to turn this around.
I'd be willing to bet interest would rise if the cost of a decent seat at a Cup race was around $40-70. We gave up our Atlanta tickets at $115 per seat a few years back.
Our M'ville tickets are still only $70 and that's not too bad. At least the race isn't a bore!
I had a buddy of mine that wanted to go to the Nationwide race at Charlotte last week with his family. He said the tickets were ridiculous. I convinced him to show up on race day and scalp. He did that and got in for a small portion of what the face value was.
Give the fans a reasonably priced race ticket and you'll see: a) more people may spend money to get to the track and stay in local lodging, and b) an increase in the number of seats being filled (more beer and food money being spent at the track too).
Yeah. In trying economic times the willingness of people to spend a hundy on limited view seating to watch cars drive around in a circle will probably be minimal.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
