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Has anyone else noticed the declining interest in NASCAR racing? I used to watch almost every race, stayed up on the leaderboard, went to two or three races on the east coast per year, had my favorite racers. Now, I don't really care, why? For me, NASCAR was a pretty rough and tumble sport, they drove for themselves, guys drove aggressively, cars got tweaked, people got angry, and everyone wanted a win. Now, the cars are all the same, if a driver says or does anything rude they get called to the principals office, they don't say much about one another, if they don't win then they were just a top 10, or top 5 car, ho hum. There's no soul in it, it feels like they really don't care if they get a win, they drive for the team, it's a race to the end of a long season not a win for every race, if they win it's a giant commercial. Sorry, I'll enjoy my local track and let the new kids see what they can do to make the big leagues more interesting.
You think it's different, but it's not.. It's just different players that you're not overly invested in.
Rusty bounced a water bottle off Earnhardt's nose.. They both got called to the hauler.. No penalties, but..
Michael Waltrip reached in and punched.. Was it Chad Little? Who was that? He got fined for that.
If it were 'your' guys driving now.. The ones that you either grew up with or were driving when you got hooked.. I don't think you'd feel the way you do.
I've noticed the same.. I got in around 94/95.. And there's not a single driver that I can think of from that season who is still a full time driver. The whole cast has changed. That's.. Time. Not that todays drivers are better/worse.. They're different. I went to every The Winston/All Star Race from 97 to 2006 or so. In the late 90's to early 2000's.. I went to alot of tracks.. Kansas, Bristol, Atlanta, Martinsville, others.. In the past 5 years..I've been to one.. Iowa, just because I wanted to see what it was about.. great truck race.. Like the track, but.. I have several drivers I like, but.. My guy is a part-timer now, so, I don't really have that one person i'm focused on.
I will say it's gotten too corporate. I miss some of the smaller sponsors that were around back in the day.
Another thing.. Used to be you saw guys 'paying their dues'.. Which made you respect them more. Now, you've got guys coming into top rides and winning off the bat.. I think that hurts the 'bond' that people develop with drivers. There's more movement as well.. You used to see the top guys stay mostly one place. Earnhardt, Martin, Wallace, etc.
You think it's different, but it's not.. It's just different players that you're not overly invested in.
Rusty bounced a water bottle off Earnhardt's nose.. They both got called to the hauler.. No penalties, but..
Michael Waltrip reached in and punched.. Was it Chad Little? Who was that? He got fined for that.
If it were 'your' guys driving now.. The ones that you either grew up with or were driving when you got hooked.. I don't think you'd feel the way you do.
I've noticed the same.. I got in around 94/95.. And there's not a single driver that I can think of from that season who is still a full time driver. The whole cast has changed. That's.. Time. Not that todays drivers are better/worse.. They're different. I went to every The Winston/All Star Race from 97 to 2006 or so. In the late 90's to early 2000's.. I went to alot of tracks.. Kansas, Bristol, Atlanta, Martinsville, others.. In the past 5 years..I've been to one.. Iowa, just because I wanted to see what it was about.. great truck race.. Like the track, but.. I have several drivers I like, but.. My guy is a part-timer now, so, I don't really have that one person i'm focused on.
I will say it's gotten too corporate. I miss some of the smaller sponsors that were around back in the day.
Another thing.. Used to be you saw guys 'paying their dues'.. Which made you respect them more. Now, you've got guys coming into top rides and winning off the bat.. I think that hurts the 'bond' that people develop with drivers. There's more movement as well.. You used to see the top guys stay mostly one place. Earnhardt, Martin, Wallace, etc.
It's differently the same.
Honestly, I hear what your're saying, the next generation of drivers are entering the sport and I don't have a problem with that. Keselowski, Hamlin, Logano have all shown passion and on occasion they've let that passion get the best of them and off to the trailer they have gone. I think the drivers in the past built their reputation on how they raced, now drivers are part of the marketing machine and that's part of the reason they are there. It seems the marketing scripts the sport and it's image, it may attract more big sponsors to the sport, but it just sucks some of the life out of it.
I think what's changed is the glorified distorted perception of the sport's "good ol days."
Case in point; the OP mentions drivers used to drive for themselves but, if you look back then, just as it is now many of the top drivers drove for somebody else.
Big money did alter the sport somewhat, but if it hadn't been for big corporate sponsor money NASCAR may not exist today.
The biggest change I've noted is reliability; the cars are too perfect. When I started following the sport back in the 90s mechanical and tire issues were a very heavy factor each week.
The biggest change I've noted is reliability; the cars are too perfect. When I started following the sport back in the 90s mechanical and tire issues were a very heavy factor each week.
Reliability and durability. Used to be, you touched the wall, that was it.. Your day was done. And often a caution was out. Well, except for Darlington, of course.
For me.. the "Good old days" was just the mid 90's.. I will say alot of my interest, even though I wasn't a fan, started to wane when Earnhardt died. The sport really did change then. I don't think it was his death specifically that did it, it just coincided with the changes. And led to many.
What drives me nuts is that half the people don't realize that Earnhardt, had he lived, would be well retired by now. Probably for about 10 years.
Now.. DEI would probably still exist.. Junior would probably still be driving for them. I DOUBT he would have gotten an 8th championship.
Of course, saying the 90's being the 'good old days'.. We also have to remember that a fair number of people were killed then. Moroso (Yeah, that certainly gets an asterix), McDuffie, Allison (Clifford and Davey), John Nemechek, Neil Bonnett, Rodney Orr.. So, it certainly wasn't all roses.
Since Earnhardt.. No deaths.. And just 1 serious injury that I can recall, that being Jerry Nadeau.
You'd have to be be blind not to notice it. Most of the decline is directly due to Bill France's domination of the sport. There's so many reasons for the decline, I don't even know where to begin. Obsolete technology that is purposely "dumbed down", cars that all look essentially the same and resemble nothing that ever drove on the roads, overlong races that sometimes go on for 4 to 6 hours!!!, the phony late yellow flags that are obviously designed to bunch up the field and give a fake close finish, all the fake patriotism consisting of military fly overs and cars that are actually sponsored by the military, stupid and dangerous restrictor late pretend racing, acting like it's such a family sport when in reality not many families in this country care a hoot for it one way or the other, the glorification of the redneck element which includes binge drinking and fights, sponsors that actually tell drivers what to say and what not to say (can you imagine them trying this w/ A.J.Foyt???)....look, there's only so much interest available for a WWLF version of auto racing. Cars that are mandated to be all the same horsepower and have the same specs have made it into a ridiculous spec series where individual excellence and original design are thrown out the window (and even penalized). That may be the biggest blunder.
You know, this rant could continue forever, and it's the truth, every bit of it. I spent four long years living in Daytona Beach before getting out to St Pete here, and saw firsthand how having one family become dictators to the sport has truly ruined things from top to bottom. Until the France family is forced out, things will continue to deteriorate. Of course, all the boosters will flame me, but they're part of the problem too. Look at F-1. All the standardization of the cars and the making of them into a "product" has them speaking out in droves. They're not happy, and many are just saying that they won't watch the farce anymore and have moved their interest, and money, over to other forms of auto racing.
The cars are too perfect and too the same. Fake yellows, fake make-up laps, fakes finishes all make the whole thing unwatchable. It all seems very contrived. The new drivers aren't helping much. Very cookie cutter and boring. The coverage is a mess. I haven't watch an entire race for years now and haven't watched any nB(lame)c races. The corporate push of the 90s both pumped up the sport and ultimately will kill it.
I think what's changed is the glorified distorted perception of the sport's "good ol days."
Case in point; the OP mentions drivers used to drive for themselves but, if you look back then, just as it is now many of the top drivers drove for somebody else.
Big money did alter the sport somewhat, but if it hadn't been for big corporate sponsor money NASCAR may not exist today.
The biggest change I've noted is reliability; the cars are too perfect. When I started following the sport back in the 90s mechanical and tire issues were a very heavy factor each week.
So, what I meant was, they weren't driving for team points, I'm pretty sure the likes of Cale Yarborough or Richard Petty would never "push"a "team mate" to the front. Even if the giant sponsors of today weren't there, NASCAR would certainly still be in existence, just look at all the local track racing. I think the corporate sponsors have tamed the sport, and increased the cost to both be a player and a spectator. As far as the reliability issue goes, that problem got resolved as the cars were less modified stock cars and more specialty built race machines. Does that make it better?
So, what I meant was, they weren't driving for team points, I'm pretty sure the likes of Cale Yarborough or Richard Petty would never "push"a "team mate" to the front. Even if the giant sponsors of today weren't there, NASCAR would certainly still be in existence, just look at all the local track racing. I think the corporate sponsors have tamed the sport, and increased the cost to both be a player and a spectator. As far as the reliability issue goes, that problem got resolved as the cars were less modified stock cars and more specialty built race machines. Does that make it better?
Okay, I see what you mean and you're probably right.
On the reliability topic I will disagree because even as they were purpose built mechanical failure was always looming. It looms today but, is actually much less probable.
Remember the axle failures on short tracks? Lessons learned and almost unheard of.
Blown engines are a rarity.
Transmission issues are almost unheard of.
I don't think NASCAR would exist today. Using your example of local racing, small tracks around the country are closing on a regular basis. Additionally if Bill France hadn't pumped up the sport I think another savvy individual would have stepped in and done the same.
So, what I meant was, they weren't driving for team points, I'm pretty sure the likes of Cale Yarborough or Richard Petty would never "push"a "team mate" to the front. Even if the giant sponsors of today weren't there, NASCAR would certainly still be in existence, just look at all the local track racing. I think the corporate sponsors have tamed the sport, and increased the cost to both be a player and a spectator. As far as the reliability issue goes, that problem got resolved as the cars were less modified stock cars and more specialty built race machines. Does that make it better?
Neither of them particularly had teammates. So, it's tough to say what they would or wouldn't have done. Yes, Petty had a team car here and there, but not all the time and I don't believe ever a team car running for the championship. So, in his case, the team car was there specifically to push HIM to the win.
Earnhardt wouldn't have pushed a teammate to the win or blocked for them.. Of course, what exactly was he doing on his last lap?
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