Those who've been paying attention to the NASCAR threads in F-Chat for the past 15 or so years now may directly trace their self-inflicted fall from the top of the American sports world to what was being discussed openly in here way back then. Not content to stick with the formula that made NASCAR a great unique American sport, they were seduced by the huge TV dollars flowing in and the calls from uneducated "fans" to spice things up with ridiculous ever changing rules, "The Chase", the "COT", segmented races, phantom yellows, et.al. They basically told their fan base that made NASCAR that they don't count any more. They wanted "new" fans because the ones that got them there weren't good enough. So, they adopted arcane rules that are hybrids taken from the NFL and professional wrestling and tried to apply them to racing all while making the pronouncements that they want to control a virtual monopoly over all of racing. The result? Races which used to be packed to the rafters with spectators now mostly empty and TV ratings declining at an incredible rate. Back 10-15 years ago, NASCAR had staunch defenders in the F-Chat racing forums. Those whom told us that they knew what was really going on behind the scenes but wouldn't impart that knowledge to us down in the courtyard. They tried to tell us that NASCAR cars are every bit as relevant and technically advanced as any open wheel or sports car, all this. But, where are those voices now? Seems to me we haven't heard from them for a least two and a half years now. BHW
45 cars going 500+/- miles per race vs. 20 cars going 180 miles per race. I'm not mathematician but, uh, what was my point? BHW
Here is the thing that really bugs me about NASCAR. I have gone to the races out here as long as I have lived out here with the exception of the last 2 years (8 of 10). The cost has become crazy. That and then I see the race on TV and there are very few bodies in the seats? What's wrong with this picture that they don't understand? They had to dump gravel all over the "cheap" seats out here so it didn't look so empty, then put banners all over it. Why not lower the price of your stupid tickets and get people back in the seats. NASCAR caters to a lower income group of people yet prices them out of seeing the races, yea that's smart................I am not rich, I do live comfortable but I won't pay stupid prices for ANY events NASCAR included.
F1 is doing the same thing. Pricing themselves out of their core audience. Common answer to empty stands across all sports is the remove a large number of the stands.
Do they really pour gravel on the seats to make them look occupied? That's a new one, hadn't heard before. Really strange but believable seeing has how at Daytonner, they painted the seats all different colors to make it look like people are sitting in them, particularly effective for the 24 Hours. Even going back to the 80's, IMSA was keenly aware of the empty grandstand seats at Daytona for their blue ribband event. I met with then Communications Director Lynn Myfelt when IMSA had their offices in Tampa to show her some of my photo work and her commenting on some of the Daytona images was, "Tsk, all those empty seats" as if there was any getting around it. My comeback, being a bit of a snarky smart ass at the time, was "Well, I'd be happy to draw in some people but that costs extra!". BHW
I think he's referring to removing grandstands, putting down gravel to "landscape" it, and/or covering them up with billboard-sized sponsor banners.
Watkins Glen....these road course races were a lot more fun when there were wild cards like JV, Boris Said and Marcus Ambrose.
This, this exactly! U2 in Nashville at the arena where sound is terrible. They wanted $450 for the seats that I normally sit in. Massive fan, but after looking at set lists I easily passed. Same venue, same seats and we’re seeing Panic at the Disco for $75 each. More than happy to pay that number. Iffy on Elton John at U2 concerts, but the only time I saw him was at COTA. Ticket prices in general are out of this world. I use to see the Predators play for $20-$50 now it’s twice that. I’d rather watch at home, save the money for a long vacation.
Yeah, and every time one of those road course "ringer" drivers found himself in the lead of any of those races, NASCAR found a way to be sure that he wasn't the winner. I point to Ron Fellows who had the Watkins Glen round covered before NASCAR started with their "phantom yellow" nonsense so one of their good ol' boy drivers, think it was Mark Martin in this case, got into the lead and won the race. The NASCAR nonsense is never more on display than it is on the road courses. A complete waste of time to watch. BHW
I would usually watch the Daytona 500 as it was the unofficial opener to the racing season's new year. But, when Danica Patrick magically snagged pole on her first attempt, I could no longer stomach the Nascar phony baloney. But at least some you have attended the races. I say good for you. They never appealed to me so much to drive to a distant track and buy the ticket. On the other side of the coin, I had no problem driving to Watkins Glen in the '70's and Detroit in the 80's and Indianapolis in the '00's for F1. And, those Indy F1 tix were not cheap.
While not having kept up with ticket prices for NASCAR events, if they've risen that dramatically over the years, little wonder fans are staying away. It wasn't that long ago, you could go do the Daytonner 500 for $25.00, have a seat in the grandstand and walk around the paddock. Evidently those days are over. When I was in college there 1987-89, a friend's girlfriend ended up with tickets to the 500, evidently given to her. She knew I liked racing so she offered them to me for $500/ea. The response was "Thanks but no thanks" even though I lived within walking distance to DIS. When Speedweeks was happening, the whole town got turned upside down. Traffic was impossible and my route to college was cut off effectively making what was a five minute drive a forty five minute ordeal, so I evacuated during 500 weekend. The one Daytonner 500 and lone NASCAR race I ever attend was when I was a kid back in 1976 with my sister and brother in law. Can't remember how that all came about but my brother in law seemed to be able to get tickets to just about anything. So, we were there for the famous Richard Petty/David Pearson last lap, last corner tangle. BHW
Anyway, congrats to Chase Elliott for finally winning a Cup race. Ironic that he does it on a road course.
I watched some of practice on Saturday but apparently shopping at Wal-Mart yesterday was more important than the race for me.
Brian France arrested for DUI and possession of controlled substance in the Hamptons. We may want to revert back to the "What the Hell is Wrong With Brian France Thread" from late last year. https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/nascar-ceo-brian-france-arrested-for-dui-and-oxycodone/3154991/ BHW
https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/monster-energy-series-news/45482-sag-harbor-village-police-incident-release
NASCAR statement on the arrest of CEO Brian France: “We are aware of an incident that occurred last night and are in the process of gathering information. We take this as a serious matter and will issue a statement after we have all of the facts.”
should have used a designated driver. what's JC up to these days? btw, this is better than Christmas for you, isn't it Barton?
JC is the designated driver! Well, it certainly explains some things. Notably, why he was acting so strangely towards Earnhardt, Jr. Jr. Jr. and Truex at the NASCAR awards last year. He acted as though it was the last place in the world he wanted to be and blew by them as if they weren't there. I don't wish ill on anyone really. BHW
Brian France in trouble! Anybody want to buy a racing series, cheap?? https://racer.com/2018/08/06/brian-france-to-take-indefinite-leave-from-nascar-role/
There's still plenty of money in the bank there, staff shouldn't be too worried about that. The fake wood paneled walled offices in Daytonner are loaded to the rafters with Frances. They're still in control of the situation and when one moves out of the spotlight, there are likely a dozen more to step in and take over. Of course, as they learned in Indianapolis, all this nepotism sometimes isn't a good thing but for the France family, they still very much want to control a monopoly over all of racing and will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. Brian's issues are a bump in the road really. They'll keep right on spoiling the very business that their grandfather built and making a joke of what once was a unique American sport. BHW