An Article I wrote in on why I fel out of love with NASCAR

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jasn88cubs

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I had been an avid NASCAR fan my whole life but I ended up falling out of love

Here;s some reaosns why

1)The chase- How would you enjoy winning the first 35 races but finishing second at Homestead and losing the title?

2)The announcing. Fox talks to me like I'm stupid. NBC tries to act like every little thing is exciting. Oh how I long for Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Ken Squier andthe original ESPN crew

3)The lucky dog (Here let's reward you with a free lap), the commitment cone on pit lane, the restarts on green flags, the overtime rule

4)Sponsors that don't make sense. Where's Coors? Auto Zone? Pennzoil? Quicker State? Gm? Home Depot?
Instead we get Nature's Bakery, Pedigree, and other companies that don't relate to nascar at all

5)The drivers. Gone are the days of everyday men that I could relate to. Guys that worked on the farm, did carpentry, didn't dress fancy, didn't wear 200.00 sunglasses, didn't have instagram wives.

How can I relate to these young guys?

6)Technology-Gone are the days of sitting 3 hours for a race. Thank you DVR and Twitter

Maybe on day I'll fall back in love but for now I'll enjoy my life and casually check in
 
The sponsors thing is nuts. Used to be I could tell a race was on if I landed on the channel with Richard Petty selling Son of a Gun STP protectant. "Shoot the dash .... seats .... roof".

 
use to be you would find a driver and like the sponsor to. now you find a driver you like and gotta deal with 4 dfferent sponsors
 
I just sent this article to Sports Illustrated, they said they wanted to put this on the NASCAR section when they have it in 8 years.
 
I wish i would have included this in teh article (competition cautions)

seems like we have one every race now
 
Time marches on I guess. I mean, I hate the Chase as much as the next lifelong fan but it's what it is..... A playoff system. While you example of winning the first 26 race is completely unrealistic, your point is still made, yet in almost every sport we see some sort of elimination system that allows for a scenario like yours to play out. It's the new era of NASCAR. Not the system that I prefer but it's not changin'.

I don't understand the point about them Fox talking to you like you are stupid. While I'm not too excited about the broadcast crew, I'm sure their days are numbered and we'll see a changing of the guard sometime soon. Even the execs @ FOX gotta be getting Boggitied about sooner or later. Oh and Eli, he still does the radio broadcasts from time to time.

I don't have all that much of a problem understanding the reasoning behind those rules you mentioned so they don't bother me much.

Times change and so do sponsors. I'm just glad that there are sponsors stepping up to back these teams. A trend that I hope continues. While it sucks that they have to have multiple sponsors to make it through the season, they are there and that's a good thing.

Not being able to relate to the drivers. NASCAR's just one sport in a long list of sports that can be said about. Believe it or not, there was a time when that guy that played in the NFL or MLB was just a guy that grew up down the street and worked regular jobs in the off season. Those days are gone for most all sports. Nothing more than a sign of the sports popularity and financial backing.

The technology in the sport. I love it. I am more plugged into this sport than I ever have been. I've got access to everything that I could ask for.

For me, I love this sport as much as I ever have. There are things about it I don't like but that can be said about everything in life.
 
There are way too many different sponsors on each of the cars. It is confusing for people who I try to introduce to the sport. They complain that they have trouble identifying a driver they may be interested in because when they try to watch a race on TV, the driver of the car they are hoping to root for is in a different scheme/color/sponsor from race to race. Jimmie Johnson is the easy choice for some casual fans to select as their favorite driver not just for his past success and prowess but precisely because his car is fairly simple to identify due to consistent sponsorship (Lowe's) and schemes.

When I first started paying attention to NASCAR (about 10-11 years ago), I chose Tony Stewart as my favorite driver partially due to his sponsorship by Home Depot (my employer at the time) and his attitude, prowess and the ability to find that orange car on my TV. Having many different sponsors has also reduced the purchases of driver merchandise by fans (I believe) and product loyalty which leads to a downward spiral in both categories and eventually damages the value of the sponsorship itself. The NASCAR bubble has popped in those categories and as far as attendance is concerned, my friend receives tickets from his employer to the Dover races and he has trouble giving tickets away (although I happily accompany him to the races.)

Rant over. :)
 
NJJammer said:
There are way too many different sponsors on each of the cars. It is confusing for people who I try to introduce to the sport. They complain that they have trouble identifying a driver they may be interested in because when they try to watch a race on TV, the driver of the car they are hoping to root for is in a different scheme/color/sponsor from race to race. Jimmie Johnson is the easy choice for some casual fans to select as their favorite driver not just for his past success and prowess but precisely because his car is fairly simple to identify due to consistent sponsorship (Lowe's) and schemes.

When I first started paying attention to NASCAR (about 10-11 years ago), I chose Tony Stewart as my favorite driver partially due to his sponsorship by Home Depot (my employer at the time) and his attitude, prowess and the ability to find that orange car on my TV. Having many different sponsors has also reduced the purchases of driver merchandise by fans (I believe) and product loyalty which leads to a downward spiral in both categories and eventually damages the value of the sponsorship itself. The NASCAR bubble has popped in those categories and as far as attendance is concerned, my friend receives tickets from his employer to the Dover races and he has trouble giving tickets away (although I happily accompany him to the races.)

Rant over. :)
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I wonder if this actually contributes to the decline of NASCAR over the past few years. I've heard many casual fans say they can't pick out the individual drivers on the track. Even I sometimes have trouble with drivers that aren't among my favorites. This is one thing that I don't think NASCAR can fix, however.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
When I have trouble, I just look at the car number. :D
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3D58925BE8D44DCDB42D4BF4DBA930AC.jpg


Now we can't even do that anymore! ;)
 
jasn88cubs said:
use to be you would find a driver and like the sponsor to. now you find a driver you like and gotta deal with 4 dfferent sponsors
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Why is it necessary to "deal" with a sponsor or sponsors?

Do you know what makes a good sponsor? Or 4 good sponsors? I don't think you do. I will try to help ... THEIR CHECKS CASH EVERY MONTH.

 
aunty dive said:
Why is it necessary to "deal" with a sponsor or sponsors?

Do you know what makes a good sponsor? Or 4 good sponsors? I don't think you do. I will try to help ... THEIR CHECKS CASH EVERY MONTH.
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What i meany by that was you associated the driver WITH the sponsor.

Earnhardt/GMC

Gordon/Dupont

Gant/Skoal

Martin/Valvoline

Wallace/Miller

Yes all those drivers had differet sponsors throughout the years but they were always constistent
 
jasn88cubs said:
What i meany by that was you associated the driver WITH the sponsor.

Earnhardt/GMC

Gordon/Dupont

Gant/Skoal

Martin/Valvoline

Wallace/Miller

Yes all those drivers had differet sponsors throughout the years but they were always constistent
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I don't understand what difference it makes.

Sponsors choose to leave the sport or to transfer their dollars to a different teams for a variety of business reasons that make sense to them. At any level of motorsport, finding enough money to field a competitive car or cars is a constant battle. Where the money comes from is not relevant to me, only that it does.

And ... racing is about people first, cars second and the competition. jmo, of course.
 
I like the Chase format but it could use so e work.

NBC is a fine telecast. CBS and TBS were actually pretty bad. And I never liked Buddy Baker in the booth - - he was very hard to hear/understand.

Dale Jr, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and even Chase Elliott are very relatable.
 
Michfan said:
Solid article. That was in Sporting News, right?
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I agree pretty much except for #3. The lucky dog isn't a problem with me. Remember that drivers were slowing down to let certain other cars get by, so having the lucky dog just made competition to be next on the lucky dog a part of the strategy. The announcers especially the Waltrips really get on my nerves. However part of the job is trying to build excitement no matter how minimal it is.
 
I'm going to send this "article" to Ryan McGee, the excellent ESPN writer who has covered racing and other sports for many decades, just so he can see he was wrong when he said Nascar fans are the most whiny, impossible-to-please of all sports fans.
 
I don't get the sponsor complaints. Most guys still have a primary sponsor and an associate sponsor...that's the way it's always been. There's also still automotive/ beer sponsors
Logano-Penzoil
Chase-Napa Auto Parts
Kez-Miller Lite
Harvick-Busch

Bass pro sponsors like four different drivers, so there's still catering to the redneck crowd
 
jasn88cubs said:
the commitment cone on pit lane
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Really? Whatchoo got against the commitment cone, homie? :confused:

jasn88cubs said:
5)The drivers. Gone are the days of everyday men that I could relate to. Guys that worked on the farm, did carpentry, didn't dress fancy, didn't wear 200.00 sunglasses, didn't have instagram wives.

How can I relate to these young guys?
Click to expand...
I see most, if not all of the drivers as everyday guys (and gals) that just happen to have a really awesome job that pays a significant amount of money. I don't look at them any differently because they can afford to wear $200 sunglasses and dress "fancy" when they have to.

Instagram wives? I would venture to guess that most married men probably have those by now, considering that everyone in the free world except for me uses Instagram or some other form of social media these days.
 
jasn88cubs said:
I had been an avid NASCAR fan my whole life but I ended up falling out of love

Here;s some reaosns why

1)The chase- How would you enjoy winning the first 35 races but finishing second at Homestead and losing the title?

2)The announcing. Fox talks to me like I'm stupid. NBC tries to act like every little thing is exciting. Oh how I long for Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Ken Squier andthe original ESPN crew

3)The lucky dog (Here let's reward you with a free lap), the commitment cone on pit lane, the restarts on green flags, the overtime rule

4)Sponsors that don't make sense. Where's Coors? Auto Zone? Pennzoil? Quicker State? Gm? Home Depot?
Instead we get Nature's Bakery, Pedigree, and other companies that don't relate to nascar at all

5)The drivers. Gone are the days of everyday men that I could relate to. Guys that worked on the farm, did carpentry, didn't dress fancy, didn't wear 200.00 sunglasses, didn't have instagram wives.

How can I relate to these young guys?



6)Technology-Gone are the days of sitting 3 hours for a race. Thank you DVR and Twitter

Maybe on day I'll fall back in love but for now I'll enjoy my life and casually check in
Click to expand...

Well________________Bye.jpg
 
jasn88cubs said:
I had been an avid NASCAR fan my whole life but I ended up falling out of love

Here;s some reaosns why

1)The chase- How would you enjoy winning the first 35 races but finishing second at Homestead and losing the title?

2)The announcing. Fox talks to me like I'm stupid. NBC tries to act like every little thing is exciting. Oh how I long for Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Ken Squier andthe original ESPN crew

3)The lucky dog (Here let's reward you with a free lap), the commitment cone on pit lane, the restarts on green flags, the overtime rule

4)Sponsors that don't make sense. Where's Coors? Auto Zone? Pennzoil? Quicker State? Gm? Home Depot?
Instead we get Nature's Bakery, Pedigree, and other companies that don't relate to nascar at all

5)The drivers. Gone are the days of everyday men that I could relate to. Guys that worked on the farm, did carpentry, didn't dress fancy, didn't wear 200.00 sunglasses, didn't have instagram wives.

How can I relate to these young guys?

6)Technology-Gone are the days of sitting 3 hours for a race. Thank you DVR and Twitter

Maybe on day I'll fall back in love but for now I'll enjoy my life and casually check in
Click to expand...

Like a lot of other folks I don't care for the chase but the way I fixed that is to not acknowledge that Nascar has a champion.

I use the mute button a lot during the broadcasts but take downers when NBC takes over as those guys are tweaking.

Free pass sucks, commitment cones are stupid, restarts are a cluster....... and overtime is too.

IDK who sponsors most of the cars cuz it seems like most of them have about 5 a piece.

Most of the older guys had more toughness and character in their fingernail clippings then most of the newer guys but that holds true in most instances.
 
While I wont go as far to say I started to fall out of love for NASCAR, the excitement I had starting to fad, but this year with the better racing, its come back, overall, I am still just as excited for NASCAR like I was pre Chase.
 
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