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As a much younger and in-developmemt racing enthusiast, I want to communicate with the veteran fans and ask what made racing the product unappealing that it is today for you guys
One of the things that bothers me to know is that the lack of manual transmissions is just as noticeable in racing as it is in the civilian world
The other thing that we could probably tackle and overcome is the homologations of today vs those of back then and also bring back in more automakers for more fierce competition
The other thing I can also probably see needing to make a come back in racing for the fans to take it seriously again, proper rivalries, especially in the prototypes and sports cars
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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I'd like to see F1 encourage innovation by dropping some of the rules like a mandated redline, number of cylinders, etc. and I'd also like to see the ERS eliminated. I've often thought it would be interesting to have some sort of displacement/weight formula that would allow light, small engine cars as well as heavier/larger engine cars.
I'd like to see F1 encourage innovation by dropping some of the rules like a mandated redline, number of cylinders, etc. and I'd also like to see the ERS eliminated. I've often thought it would be interesting to have some sort of displacement/weight formula that would allow light, small engine cars as well as heavier/larger engine cars.
I understand the next generation of race cars will feature two seats: one for the driver and one for a rather large dog....The dog will ride along to keep an eye on the driver to make sure he doesn't touch anything.
Cars are now designed by computers to be run by computers. The drivers merely steer, and soon that can easily be accomplished by the computers also. Racing drones. How exciting.
As a much younger and in-developmemt racing enthusiast, I want to communicate with the veteran fans and ask what made racing the product unappealing that it is today for you guys
One of the things that bothers me to know is that the lack of manual transmissions is just as noticeable in racing as it is in the civilian world
The other thing that we could probably tackle and overcome is the homologations of today vs those of back then and also bring back in more automakers for more fierce competition
The other thing I can also probably see needing to make a come back in racing for the fans to take it seriously again, proper rivalries, especially in the prototypes and sports cars
What about you guys?
You didn't clarify what type of racing.. NASCAR still uses manual transmissions. Regarding NASCAR, I believe it is a case of no longer " Dancing with the one that brung ya". They worked so hard at leaving their southern regional roots, their almost desperate attempt to diversify, bringing in Toyota, making the likes of Danica Patrick a superstar of NASCAR, without ever winning a race... long gone were the Pettys, Earnhardts, Sterling Marlins, Kenny Schraders replaced by a bunch of young baby face metro sexuals with the same haircut. In short their political correctness to appel to the masses. Now they race to half empty grandstands.
You didn't clarify what type of racing.. NASCAR still uses manual transmissions. Regarding NASCAR, I believe it is a case of no longer " Dancing with the one that brung ya". They worked so hard at leaving their southern regional roots, their almost desperate attempt to diversify, bringing in Toyota, making the likes of Danica Patrick a superstar of NASCAR, without ever winning a race... long gone were the Pettys, Earnhardts, Sterling Marlins, Kenny Schraders replaced by a bunch of young baby face metro sexuals with the same haircut. In short their political correctness to appel to the masses. Now they race to half empty grandstands.
No more empty grandstands with Iracing They look packed! All great points.
This generation of Baby Boomers (myself included) are fading into the sunset and with them a lot of trends are going with them. Harley Davidson much like NASCAR is trying to reinvent themselves to capture a younger market.
While not the greatest analogy, the Masons, Shriners and many other organizations are desperately trying to recruit a younger membership. As the Boomers fade so has their interests with not enough younger generations to follow behind.
We have discussed before, with all the data and technology at NASCARS disposal they should have anticipated the receding fan base unless the housing crash in 2008 took to big a chunk of fans out of the sport and they never came back. As I mentioned before, I work in the south at a large blue collar manufacturing type of environment and no one talks about NASCAR at work. Completely opposite of what it was like in the late nineties. Each year we hire a class of apprentices and it is all about college football and video games.
We can debate forever but the numbers of fans and sponsorship dollars continue to erode at an alarming pace.
No more empty grandstands with Iracing They look packed! All great points.
This generation of Baby Boomers (myself included) are fading into the sunset and with them a lot of trends are going with them. Harley Davidson much like NASCAR is trying to reinvent themselves to capture a younger market.
While not the greatest analogy, the Masons, Shriners and many other organizations are desperately trying to recruit a younger membership. As the Boomers fade so has their interests with not enough younger generations to follow behind.
We have discussed before, with all the data and technology at NASCARS disposal they should have anticipated the receding fan base unless the housing crash in 2008 took to big a chunk of fans out of the sport and they never came back. As I mentioned before, I work in the south at a large blue collar manufacturing type of environment and no one talks about NASCAR at work. Completely opposite of what it was like in the late nineties. Each year we hire a class of apprentices and it is all about college football and video games.
We can debate forever but the numbers of fans and sponsorship dollars continue to erode at an alarming pace.
No more empty grandstands with Iracing They look packed! All great points.
This generation of Baby Boomers (myself included) are fading into the sunset and with them a lot of trends are going with them. Harley Davidson much like NASCAR is trying to reinvent themselves to capture a younger market.
While not the greatest analogy, the Masons, Shriners and many other organizations are desperately trying to recruit a younger membership. As the Boomers fade so has their interests with not enough younger generations to follow behind.
We have discussed before, with all the data and technology at NASCARS disposal they should have anticipated the receding fan base unless the housing crash in 2008 took to big a chunk of fans out of the sport and they never came back. As I mentioned before, I work in the south at a large blue collar manufacturing type of environment and no one talks about NASCAR at work. Completely opposite of what it was like in the late nineties. Each year we hire a class of apprentices and it is all about college football and video games.
We can debate forever but the numbers of fans and sponsorship dollars continue to erode at an alarming pace.
Just my three cents!
I agree, well said. However I'll toss in one other thing that I find critical. We "boomers" were able to see drivers work their way up through the ranks, starting on the local "bullrings', and eventually up to the NASCAR Cup series. You don't see that today, for a number of reasons.
First of all, many of the tracks that were the "training grounds" for the drivers we grew up knowing, have been shut down, due to intense pressure from home owners who, ironically moved within earshot of a track that had been in operation for DECADES. Suddenly, they find the race track an issue!!
In my case, on a weekly basis, I could see future NASCAR stars Geoff Bodine and Jimmy Spencer, race at my local track, every Friday night. And along with them, I could also see regional superstars Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Jerry Cook and future NASCAR Cup crew chief Doug Hewitt, giving Bodine and Spencer a run for their money. We looked forward to turning on the TV, on Sunday afternoon, and see drivers competing, that we actually knew.
Secondly, the cost of racing has gotten "stupid costly". I remember back in the late 60s-early 70s, when Richard Petty was criticized for being the Chrysler "big bucks, factory guy". When Petty hit the road, he had a cube van and a trailer. The trailer held the car, and the cube van had a spare engine, as well as other spare stuff, and a complete selection of tools. As we all know, today, most teams show up with 2 complete cars, spare engines, and a small army of crewmen.
With the increased cost, it drew in a number of "rich kids" who bought their way into the driver's seats. That's fine, sort of, but from a spectator's standpoint, who knows who these kids are? As I said from the outset, part of the attraction of the racing was going out to cheer for the "local guys". The younger drivers didn't establish that following, so the crowds suffer.
And of course, the REAL race fans know that the cars are all alike, which killed the "brand association" factor.
I've done ridealongs in 2 seaters, IndyCar and NASCAR
The IncyCar was at a track full of fans (MidOhio) and several empty NASCAR tracks.
When I rode at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the driver warned me that the strange patterns in seats could be disorientating (they weren't)
After the ride I asked him why the seats were patterned that way. His answer was that with the cost of race tickets going up and younger fans disappearing, they came up with the design that created an optical illusion when TV cameras panned over empty seats and sections. It gave the viewer the impression that the grandstands were full.
So, what do I want. More fans for all series
I want better racing with less control by electronics and more control by the racer
Most important, I want a unified safety policy across all series.
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They look packed! All great points.
