Once upon a time there was a sport that had ravenous fans. Back in those days, drivers had personalities and the stands were packed. But that was then…..this is now.
About 10 years ago, Nascar decided that it wanted to be like other sports and institute a ‘play-off’ system. This created a change in their points system and a created the ‘chase’ out of the last 10 races of the season.
Now, Nascar claims that this change in points would not change who won the championship….and while that may be true, there are many things that this did affect within the points system. One being that usually drivers who finish in the top 10 positions would have better sponsorship opportunities. With this ‘new’ system whoever finished in the top 12 positions would be ‘locked in’ and couldnt finish worse than 12th in points, no matter how they ran in those last 10 races. Prior to this change, anyone could have finished in the top 10 and have additional opportunities.
Another change that is affected by the chase playoff, is the fact that a driver who is first in the points by the time the chase is on (for lack of a better way to put it) can be thrusted out of that spot because another driver has more wins. (i.e. Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson a few years back)
Now, cut to the present…..
Nascar has claimed this ‘have at it boys’ attitude and well, that sounds good on the surface, but apparently they are all talk and no action.
Lets be honest….in Nascar drivers arent allowed to have personality. Drivers have no say. A driver isnt even allowed to be honest after being asked to do so.
When Nascar brought out the ‘car of tomorrow’ they asked the drivers their opinions. One of them gave his opinion and was fined according to all the blogs Ive read today. I dont even like the driver that this involved, but come on!!!! Dont ask a question you dont want answered Nascar.
And not that anyone affiliated with Nascar will ever read this blog post, but to keep the drivers who you fined a secret? How lame is that? Are you afraid that the fans will turn on you more because of your stupidity?
Now, Ive been a race fan for a very long time, but when you change the sport in the way that you have, you lose the fans who grew the sport….Whats more important Nascar? Bringing in new people who dont know the history or keeping the fans who have attempted to keep watching despite your idiocy? Some people may disagree with me, but I know at least 50 people who wont even watch a Nascar race any longer…..including myself.
You wanna know why your seats are empty? Call it the economy….and there isnt much worth $100 admission, let alone a sport thats so hands off for the fans….How about talking about more than 5 drivers for once? You cant bring a cooler of food and drinks in with you….and food and drinks at the track are expensive. Nascar wants a cut of everything, including drivers merchandise – which leads me to another point…
Im a dirt track kinda gal and I know alot of sprint car drivers, and those drivers and their families design their own merchandise. Alot of those drivers use the money raised from tshirt sales to pay for their health insurance. Now thats something I can and will continue to support….I wont be spending my hard earned money on a sport that could care less about the fans.
July 27, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I couldn’t have said it better. The Chase format is just unfair and even Denny said on tv that they need to change those 10 Chase races so they’re not all Jimmie’s favorites. Make it an even playing field. I’m not a fan of the special treatment Nascar give to certain drivers. Bending or ignoring rules, catching their tire on pit road so they don’t get penalized etc. We all know who that driver is. I go to races now and a third of the grandstands are empty. What sort of shape is Nascar going to be in next season?
August 15, 2010 at 5:57 am
Amen! I hail from the days pre-HANS, pre-“Car of Tomorrow”, pre-whining…. back when the sport had some guts.
I also remember (barely) when it was actually a requirement that the car raced be essentially the same body you could purchase at a dealership, and my dad remembers when you bought a car off the showroom floor, put a roll cage in it, tuned the engine, and went racing.
Does anyone think a stock Fusion, Impala, Intrepid or Camry would truthfully make it more than about 20 laps with only a rollcage and tuning?
I understand that certain rule changes were necessary for driver safety (RIP DE!) but this stuff has gotten extremely ridiculous as of late. NASCAR needs to return to its roots. I’d bet money that 90% of today’s drivers couldn’t handle the cars raced in the 60s and 70s.
And Sheila, you are right. NASCAR couldn’t care less about its fans. That much is evident when they start taking the competition out of the sport by making the cars all the same. It’s NASCAR, not IROC.