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GURSS: Faster. Louder. Generation YouTube.
Rookie
Total Posts: 37
Joined
In a YouTube world, the young demographic grew up in front of a video game console or computer screen more than a television set...
Rookie
Total Posts: 1
Joined 08/12/2008
Good point. Nielsen ratings take into account what channel a participant is watching; not whether or not he/she is awake. Therefore advertisers must know that they are getting less exposure per Nielsen household for Nascar than other sports.
Speed Freak
Total Posts: 514
Joined 03/10/2008
Why should kids w/short attention spans affect MY viewing? Let them play w/their ipod/wii! As for exposure, we know what was being watched when they went to sleep! Leave the races alone!
Speed Freak
Total Posts: 387
Joined 05/12/2008
NASCAR really does need to think about making some of the races shorter...either that or quit being stuck in the past and let the cars get faster. Hey, I like long races. I usually whine that open wheel races are too short. I stay glued to Sebring, Le Mans, even the Daytona 24. The longer the race, the bigger the chess match in the strategy department.
But when it comes to NASCAR, there are too many long races, which dilutes the excitement. It's totally meaningless. I just made a quick count and came up with 13 500-milers, plus the Charlotte 600 (and no, I didn't get tricked by any "500" (lap) or "500" (km) races, but I did count the "Aaron's 499" at Talladega) on this year's Cup schedule, which is insanity, especially when some of them (cough, cough, Pocono...twice!) are on some pretty slow tracks. 500 miles at Pocono used to get tedious with the Indy cars, which even 20 years ago got around that place 40 mph quicker than the Cup guys today.
I'll watch just about anything race around any track, at any speed, any time, anywhere, but when it gets around lap 75 of a Pocono torture session, that's when I start to lose interest. Cutting some of those 13 races to 400 miles (does anyone else remember the punishment known as 500 milers at Dover? The fact we're spared those last hundred miles today shows that there was still some semblance of sanity in NASCARland in the 90s) would (a) make them more exciting and, more importantly, (b) make it MEAN something when you win one of the long races.
Right now, more than a third of the schedule is long races, so it's kinda hard to buy into the idea that there's anything special about those events. Say "the 500" to an open wheel fan and they know you mean Indy. Say "the 500" to a NASCAR fan and they know you probably mean Daytona, but then again you could mean Pocono, Darlington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas, Fontana, or Talladega...most of them twice.
But when it comes to NASCAR, there are too many long races, which dilutes the excitement. It's totally meaningless. I just made a quick count and came up with 13 500-milers, plus the Charlotte 600 (and no, I didn't get tricked by any "500" (lap) or "500" (km) races, but I did count the "Aaron's 499" at Talladega) on this year's Cup schedule, which is insanity, especially when some of them (cough, cough, Pocono...twice!) are on some pretty slow tracks. 500 miles at Pocono used to get tedious with the Indy cars, which even 20 years ago got around that place 40 mph quicker than the Cup guys today.
I'll watch just about anything race around any track, at any speed, any time, anywhere, but when it gets around lap 75 of a Pocono torture session, that's when I start to lose interest. Cutting some of those 13 races to 400 miles (does anyone else remember the punishment known as 500 milers at Dover? The fact we're spared those last hundred miles today shows that there was still some semblance of sanity in NASCARland in the 90s) would (a) make them more exciting and, more importantly, (b) make it MEAN something when you win one of the long races.
Right now, more than a third of the schedule is long races, so it's kinda hard to buy into the idea that there's anything special about those events. Say "the 500" to an open wheel fan and they know you mean Indy. Say "the 500" to a NASCAR fan and they know you probably mean Daytona, but then again you could mean Pocono, Darlington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Texas, Fontana, or Talladega...most of them twice.
Rookie
Total Posts: 3
Joined 08/14/2008
hey jade. i was at pocono a few weeks back and, even being there, that race was simply too long. there were too many laps with too little racing and it became an excuse for some folks to drink more and become stupidier as the race went on (altho' that happens at every track!) i agree that 500 mile races should be the exception and should be reserved for "legacy tracks." ( of course, another major component of the boredom surrounding races is the serious lack of anything resembling racing b/c of the cot fiasco.
'nuff said?)
as for the 18-24 year old demographic and racing: i'm not at all certain it's solely the "immediate gratification" moment at all that you mention. maybe the extreme sports do well in that age group b/c many of the competitors are that age or are perceived to still be that age? and maybe it's also because one doesn't need a car (or two) and team to participate in the sport at an amateur level? racing is a VERY expensive proposition; buying a skateboard or bike -- no matter how expensive -- and all the necessary equipment pales in comparison. in addition, right across the street from me, 3 young lads work daily to try and build a "ramp" that they can jump w/their boards. that immediacy of access into the sport isn't there for racing.
seems to me that for many fans of various sports, some of the commitment to the sport comes because the fan played the sport at some time. racing, on the other hand, is about the fantasy that we, too, could do that!
nice column: good food for thought! thanks.
'nuff said?)
as for the 18-24 year old demographic and racing: i'm not at all certain it's solely the "immediate gratification" moment at all that you mention. maybe the extreme sports do well in that age group b/c many of the competitors are that age or are perceived to still be that age? and maybe it's also because one doesn't need a car (or two) and team to participate in the sport at an amateur level? racing is a VERY expensive proposition; buying a skateboard or bike -- no matter how expensive -- and all the necessary equipment pales in comparison. in addition, right across the street from me, 3 young lads work daily to try and build a "ramp" that they can jump w/their boards. that immediacy of access into the sport isn't there for racing.
seems to me that for many fans of various sports, some of the commitment to the sport comes because the fan played the sport at some time. racing, on the other hand, is about the fantasy that we, too, could do that!
nice column: good food for thought! thanks.
Rookie
Total Posts: 1
Joined 08/22/2008
Okay, I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that dozes off during some of the races -- I never make it completely through a California race or Pocono without falling asleep at least once.
