Is NASCAR Dying?

[BHJ]

Nascar went "politically correct."

The exact opposite of the counterculture that started it off as a sport and the fans that made it what it was.

If you dont "Dance with the one that brung ya" then don't be surprised when you're walking home alone.

 

[sparked1]

Are we talking about Nascar or the current state of America? I can't really tell anymore. What we need is someone to restore Nascar to its former redneck glory. Someone that will make Nascar great again. If only......

 

[offbeat404]

 

[Spikey]

It died when they started bending over for the money. Now it's all about money and political correctness

 

[Junior_357]

I've never been a fan of NASCAR. I love racing, almost all forms of it. But never really got into stock cars all that much. Even if I had been a fan, the entrance of Toyota completely killed the series for me. NASCAR was the last truly American motorsport...and now that is gone. But Toyota does have some deep pockets...

And the whole 'chase' is a joke. Pretty much makes the season really have very little meaning...kinda like college basketball. You only have to be good enough to make the chase during the regular season...then turn it on to win it all (JJ-style).

Bah...I don't care. Used to be a huge F1 fan...now I could care less about that as well. Those cars are still the pinnacle of automotive engineering, but with the latest rule changes they are just slow.

 

[kuzcokelly]

They "fixed" so much they fd'ed it up.. the stupid chase thing. All the rules.. they strangled the life out of it...

 

[NWSharpshooter]

I lost most of my interest when they slowed down Bill Elliott. It is nowhere near the same sport it once was. I would much rather go to a dirt track and watch those guys.

Amen. This is racing.

***Full disclosure*** I've never been a fan of NASCAR.

 

[sublimebeer]

A good friend of mines dad races. Been to Daytona a few times with the pit. He has one of the best crashes in YouTube. Happened when we were in 5th grade. Never been a nut, but when someone offers to fly you to a race and chill with the pit teams you say yes. It's fun.

 

[jcountry]

That flap about the confederate flag sure isn't helping.

There was not reason to "ban" that. None at all. Just a total slap in the face to those who made the sport popular.

I think it is in huge trouble. Ten years ago, I remember going to sold out races in Atl and Daytona. Heck-the backstretch stands would sell out too. Those were fun times. Attendance has absolutely fallen off a cliff everywhere-as far as I can tell.

 

[boxer90]

That flap about the confederate flag sure isn't helping.

There was not reason to "ban" that. None at all. Just a total slap in the face to those who made the sport popular.

I think it is in huge trouble. Ten years ago, I remember going to sold out races in Atl and Daytona. Heck-the backstretch stands would sell out too. Those were fun times. Attendance has absolutely fallen off a cliff everywhere-as far as I can tell.

I can remember being a kid in the 1990's and knowing about the waiting lists for certain events. I think Bristol was one that had a huge wait. Nowadays it appears you could walk in halfway through the race and get a front-row seat.

They've had several problems.

1. Expanding too quickly outside of their base. Removing popular tracks, reducing certain events from two to one (ex: Darlington), having new events in boring cookie cutter 1.5 mile courses in areas without a NASCAR following. NASCAR expected to keep their existing group and add to it, but they've done neither.

2. It's too expensive to get involved, even in the lower series. Even before the atrocious charter system, the number of cup entries per year have been on a decline. When you reduce the field to 40 and still can't get a full field for a race, well, that's a problem. I know some will argue that Sprint Cup should be the "best of the best", but if you want that then you should bring back IROC.

3. Also too expensive for the fans. And this seems to be a NASCAR thing. Obtaining pit tickets for the IndyCar race in Alabama is very inexpensive for a top-tier racing series. Probably can't get a crappy NASCAR ticket nowadays for the $75-125 or whatever it was when I looked it up.

Bunch of other smaller issues too, but for me I just find it boring, and this is coming from someone that can enjoy an F1 race where there is little competition due to how the series is constructed. But to the guy who complained about road course; I love those. Think we should have a few more, but I'd pick southern locations like the track in Alabama. No reason to go to California or Canada to race a race.

Oh, and what they did to the truck series was just stupid to a degree that doesn't need to be discussed.