What's wrong with NASCAR? That question seems to be the common thread in chat forums here in SPEED TV, NASCAR.Com and ESPN. Well, there are quite a few problems with NASCAR. It used to showcase the best racing in America; but, like many other major sports, management's focus on becoming "bigger and better" has begun to cause much more harm than good.
When you take races away from venues that have history and have helped to build your sport (such as Rockingham) you weaken your fan base. When you build tracks that are as generic as vanilla ice cream at Walmart (such as Fontana) you weaken your sport.
When you try to "manufacture" excitement by creating a "play-off" system that is more in-line with other major sports, you weaken your sport. When you throw yellow flags for questionable debris to tighten up the field, you weaken your sport. When you fail to be consistent with penalties and leave even a suspicion of favoring one driver or team over another, you weaken your sport.
When you build up a race and call it your "Super Bowl", count down the days until that race on your official website, commit 40-plus hours of television broadcasting to that event and then treat it as if it is any other race and not allow it to be completed in its entirety...yes, you weaken your sport.
NASCAR, in my humble opinion, lost sight of who made their sport appealing to advertisers, sponsors and that golden umbrella known as National Television. They lost sight of the fans. Yes, us, the fans. We are, for the most part, blue-collared workers who work long hours and are the heart and soul of NASCAR's fan base. We are the ones who look forward to that one or two races a year that we can save our money to attend. We are willing to travel hundreds of miles to attend a race and, when we do, we spend hundreds of dollars on merchandise that supports our sport. We aren't like MLB fans who have three or four stadiums or hundreds of games we can choose from. We aren't like NFL fans who can buy our favorite team's t-shirts or hats in any department store. We are race fans. Yes we are ridiculed for following a sport where "they only drive in circles". You mention the Atlanta Falcons to anyone on the street and they will know who you are talking about. Try mentioning JGR and see if you get the familiar nod or just a look of complete confusion.
My point is, we---the fans---, made NASCAR appealing to the sponsors. NASCAR got greedy and forgot who goes to their races. They created this polished image, which appeals to some (sponsors). It wants controversy to stimulate ratings but punishes certain drivers and teams if they do controversial things. They have put "personalities" in the broadcast booths and have added cut-away cars to teach us the intricacies of NASCAR racing. I don't know about you but I can read...if I have a question about roof flaps or spring rubbers then I will go to the library.
NASCAR keeps making changes that do nothing more than weaken its fan base.

If they insist on making changes, then I would offer the following suggestions:
1. Make the Daytona 500 the most important event of the season. It tends to rain in Florida (even us rednecks have figured that out), so allocate for the rain. If the race needs to be run on two consecutive days to run all 500 miles, then do so. Start the race earlier. I already turn the TV on at 8:00 to watch that blowhard Spencer.
2. Get rid of the Chase. Sorry, it just isn't all that exciting nor is it popular with your fan base. It is great for Jimmy Johnson but kind of screw other drivers who have a good first 26 races. A driver can win ten races in the "regular season" and have two DNF's in the Chase and lose a championship. It is a dumb format.
3. Bring back Rockingham, take a race from California. If you must have two races in Fontana then fix the track. Put some variable banking in the place that promotes better racing. Heck, I worked as a draftsman for that track, loved the idea of bringing NASCAR back to SoCal but I hate the races there.
4. Get rid of the superficial non-sense that is scattered through the race broadcasts. No more digger, no more race updates by broadcasting hacks like Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and that know-nothing Krista Voda. Dale and Rusty were great drivers but suck as broadcasters.
5. Let drivers drive and let them speak their mind without backlash from Mike Helton. If they wreck someone or get caught cheating...park them. Simple as that. If they find themselves sitting in the stands or their motorcoach during a race maybe they will think before they do something stupid. Suspending the crew chief doesn't really seem to work.


These are my suggestions. True, I am just a fan. I haven't driven a car at 200 mph into a banked turn. But, I am not a sellout to corporate America, either. If NASCAR would read this and acknowledge that they have failed the fans in just one of these areas...that would be the beginning of improvement in a sport that is rapidly losing fans.
NASCAR...your's is a unique sport. Don't try to be like MLB, the NFL or any other sport. Return to the NASCAR that made you great. Fans will come back.

Why do you want to bring back Rockingham? The track didn't even sell out on it's last race. Why not Kentucky or St. Louis? Someplace new that has good attendance for non-NASCAR events.

Chase is a good idea. 300 point leads because of bad luck is hard to overcome. I think all bonus points needs to be the same, Set at 0.

California needs to lose its September race, Las Vegas needs to remain at one race, need to add 2 short tracks in the NW and Mid West. (Iowa and Washington).
Need to take away 1 race from Loudon and add a Canada race (Roadcourse).
Add a 3rd Superspeedway to the Schedule and drop 1 Pocono race.

Need to police the engines better. Right now the Toyota's makes alot more HP then the other 3. Loosen up the shock and gear restrictions and let crew cheifs be crew cheifs.

They are a corporation. Their sole purpose is to make money. To do that you control all aspects of the product. This is business 101. There is no reason to consider any fan input. They will do what is good for them period. I race at a NASCAR sanction track. The only connection with them is the mandated $100 license fee we pay. The good news is I miss most of the races on Saturday nites, but the racing is just as good if not better than tv. NASCAR touts their local track program but then schedules many races on Sat nites. That kills attendance. But again they do what is good for them and pretend otherwise.

What's wrong with Nascar?

It's the marketing dorks.

In my Opinion there are 2 Races that should run the Entire Race.... 1~ DAYTONA 500 and 2~ HOMESTEAD... My Reason for believing this is this...
#1 Race
The Daytona 500 is not just a 1 week deal... it is a 2 week ordeal.. Even longer than that if you think about the teams working all winter preparing for this one race as unlike the rest of the season...As far as anyone knows there could have been another wreck and took out more cars or even blown motors that would have taken others out and Changed the Entire Perspective of the Finishing Order.. Whos too say that on the last lap that (Terry Labonte) or Even (Robby Gordon) could have made the winning pass too win the Daytona 500....But now No-one will ever know how it could have turned out... So yes i think Nascar made the WRONG Choice of Ending the Race Early...
#2 Race
The Final Race of the Season at Homestead should Also be ran to the Entire Length as it should be... Due too the Fact that there are teams fighting too stay in the top 35 and could be determined on the last lap on who's in the top 35 and whos not.... Same goes for the top Drivers .... In this Day and Age it Seems like every dollar counts... And its a really tough World out there for the Drivers,Teams, and the Owners, 1 Position in the Field Could make or break on keeping or losing a valuable Sponsor for the team....
Racing is sticky on what to do... I look at it this way... Racing need Fans.... Fans Need Racing.... Who needs who more should be the Question... And the Answer to that is.... Racing needs Fans.... without the fans there would be no racing....
As i said Above that is just my opinion... like it or not...

Terp_Fan - 17 February 2009 12:34 PM

California needs to lose its September race,

It already has. That race will be in October this year. Atlanta now has the Labor Day race.

Nascars integrity has sunk to an alltime low. Not penilizing little E for his totally asinine move at Daytona is just more than I can stand. His name sells tickets not his driving, check his stats he would have a hard time getting a job driving a cab if he was not an Earnhart!

NASCAR continues to try and "fix" things that are not broke. The chase just defeats everything that race teams have worked for all year. It basically eliminates 31 teams from a race. In other sports when you have a playoff those other teams are not around. I believe the chase is without doubt the most detrimental change they have made. All the teams 13th on back their season is basically over.

Green/white/checker... teams fuel their cars to make it too the end and are then forced to run several more laps. Accidents happen more towards the end of the race and if you survive that you must survive another one (usually).

Too much music/fireworks/etc.etc. Show all that to the fans earlier. When I sit down to watch a race, that's what I want to see. Don't tell me the race is on at 2PM when it actually starts at 3PM. Driver introductions every week riding in the back of trucks. I know who they all are, I know what car they drive, who their sponsor is etc.

Competition cautions... what a joke, tell the drivers "look the track is green, we don't know how your car is going to react on these tires".

Goodyear... do I really have to say anything.

Give me my money back on the Brickyard 400. You got a billion dollar TV contract, you put on the worst race in American history. At least give everyone presenting a ticket stub a free complimentary oil change at their local Goodyear.

Don't allow drivers on the track to talk to each other. That is not racing. There is a big advantage to the multi-car teams talking to each other over the single car teams. What a joke!

NASCAR has many more problems but maybe when they read this they will understand why I watch about half the races I did in the past. A former dedicated fan!

whats wrong with nascar? everything. scrap the whole thing. have the circle track drivers go back to racing dirt tracks and have the open wheel guys go back to open wheel racing. too much politics. Grand Am, ALMS, and the Koni series are becoming the best real racing in America now. sorry nascar. u had ur time to shine. and well ya you blew it

Too many things to list but here are some things that need to change:

1. Top 35 rule. Get rid of it, the fastest make the race , the rest go home. No other racing system has this, and there are sponsors in all of them. The rule stinks.

2. Competetion and "phantom" debris cautions need to end. Artifically bunching the field is just that, it does not make the racing better, it leads to wrecks, and guys losing the win they may have earned.

3. The Chase. Stupid format for a championship. I would limit the number of "Playoff" races to 5, and everyone competes. Points reset to zero, with starting positions and pit stalls determined by the finishes of the regular season. Have a Short track, 1 mile track, 2.5 mile track, one cookie cutter, and one road course. Tops in points after those 5 win it all.