Changes to stages and bonus points in 2018?

NJJammer

NJJammer

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http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017/story/_/id/19509333/changes-stages-bonus-points-2018

In an effort to heighten drama, NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell said additional race segments could be added and changes to the points system could occur for the 2018 season.

One idea is to add bonus points for "major races" including the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. Another idea is to add an additional fourth or fifth stage to a race much like Coca-Cola 600, the only four-segment race to date...


I bet they do four stages for each race (maybe keep 3 for Sonoma and Watkins Glen) while going 5 for Daytona 500, Southern 500, Charlotte 600 and Indianapolis.

They keep chopping up the sport with constant changes to satisfy the TV execs and the fewer fans who bother to tune in. Can we keep some rules stable for a few seasons? Jeez.
 
Stage racing has been widely accepted by industry stakeholders
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LOL. When the stages format was announced, I posted about how everything NASCAR does is incremental. They will get y'all used to three stages and scheduled cautions first. Three segments isn't so bad, with the second half of the race relatively intact, we can live with that. It might even help the first half of the race. Then it expands from there. If three is 'working' so awesomely and drama is being heightened,why isn't four five even better? The only way to produce passable racing is to keep halting the race and lining them up again double-file. It seems that most everyone quickly accepts the new normal and reacts to whatever further bastardization is introduced as if it's just a little bit worse than how it is now and therefore no big deal.

By the way, Steve O'Donnell strikes me as a such a feckless rube that I think trust Brian France's integrity and racing acumen more.
 
Time for my silent, visual, occasional rant to Brian France and the network execs in charge:

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Let's hope for less stages than Cash photos in this post.
 
gnomesayin said:
LOL. When the stages format was announced, I posted about how everything NASCAR does is incremental. They will get y'all used to three stages and scheduled cautions first. Three segments isn't so bad, with the second half of the race relatively intact, we can live with that. It might even help the first half of the race. Then it expands from there. If three is 'working' so awesomely and drama is being heightened,why isn't four five even better? The only way to produce passable racing is to keep halting the race and lining them up again double-file. It seems that most everyone quickly accepts the new normal and reacts to whatever further bastardization is introduced as if it's just a little bit worse than how it is now and therefore no big deal.

By the way, Steve O'Donnell strikes me as a such a feckless rube that I think trust Brian France's integrity and racing acumen more.
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In the last off season Nascar leaked that timed races were going to be part of how the series operated so when stages were announced everyone said "well I guess I can live with that as it is better than timed events. I wasn't expecting additional stages to take place in the first half of the year but I figured as the bottom was dropping out through the summer they would implement more.

I suspect when it is all said and done most races will have 4 to 6 stages and they will also dick around with fuel cell size and either run really soft tires or put a low limit on what teams can use. After all the most important thing is trying to keep cars bunched together through bogus means in order to create bogus excitement and drama.
 
Ugh! I've said it before, but how are fans suppose to explain the rules to newcomers when they keep changing them? I still havent bothered to look into the new points system. I just figure if my driver wins a race, he's in the chase. All these bonus points have confused me, so more stages will confuse me even more.
 
NJJammer said:
Time for my silent, visual, occasional rant to Brian France and the network execs in charge:

8876.jpg
8876.jpg
8876.jpg
8876.jpg
8876.jpg
8876.jpg
8876.jpg
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Let's hope for less stages than Cash photos in this post.
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Lets hope the aholes making these decisions fall into a burning ring of fire.
 
Brentford said:
Ugh! I've said it before, but how are fans suppose to explain the rules to newcomers when they keep changing them? I still havent bothered to look into the new points system. I just figure if my driver wins a race, he's in the chase. All these bonus points have confused me, so more stages will confuse me even more.
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I have zero interest in how points are awarded or the bogus lottery championship so I look at each race as a stand alone event that culminates in nothing. I don't know any true sports fan that can abide by the shameless machinations of Nascar.
 
It seems the more they change things and try to make things "better" to try and attract people to the chase, the playoffs (whatever name they keep coming up with it), the amount of people watching continues to drop. They had way more viewers when they let the races and the season play themselves out more naturally.
 
nickmiles said:
by 2025 every race will just have 10 lap segments
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Where does it stop? I was against segment racing but it's grown on me. Three segments were interesting but four, five or more is just a false way of throwing more "timed" caution yellows for TV commercials and to bunch up the field to create "moments." It's as artificial as a theme park ride at Disney or Universal and the "sport" is starting to turn into something else resembling WWE or other "staged" entertainment.
 
All these segments and debris cautions are symptoms of a bad car platform that desperately needs a revamp.

IMO

p.s. - Goodyear and NASCAR need to come up with a better tire. Beads melting and tires blowing after 30 laps at every fast track is garbage.

imo
 
I'd be ok with 4 segments, or even 3, but make the segments equal. The way it's set up now, the 1st quarter of a race is important, the 2nd quarter of a race is important, and the final quarter of a race is important, but the 3rd quarter of a race isn't? Also, awarding points for segments is fine, but with today's technology, there's no reason to slow a race down at the end of each one. If racing for those 10 points is increasing the excitement of the racing, why would you want to kill that excitement by throwing a caution flag?
 
I feel like the trend NASCAR has started, is a really dangerous one. Now they feel the need to make changes every single season in hopes of keeping viewers. It's just at a point where they can't really backtrack now. I don't feel like one single decision is going to just completely kill NASCAR or anything...but I do not feel like any of these changes are going to bring back the lost viewers.
 
JohnHill said:
I feel like the trend NASCAR has started, is a really dangerous one. Now they feel the need to make changes every single season in hopes of keeping viewers. It's just at a point where they can't really backtrack now. I don't feel like one single decision is going to just completely kill NASCAR or anything...but I do not feel like any of these changes are going to bring back the lost viewers.
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They have NO IDEA what they're doing. They're are making changes on the fly now mid-season to stop this ratings and attendance collapse. I'm curious how many actually show up at Dover on Sunday but it's a safe bet the TV ratings will be lower even if it's an entertaining race. NASCAR is a rudderless ship being blown towards the reef. The mutiny is taking place and those idiots in Daytona don't even realize it's happening.
 
JohnHill said:
I feel like the trend NASCAR has started, is a really dangerous one. Now they feel the need to make changes every single season in hopes of keeping viewers. It's just at a point where they can't really backtrack now. I don't feel like one single decision is going to just completely kill NASCAR or anything...but I do not feel like any of these changes are going to bring back the lost viewers.
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Agreed. The changes are driving many viewers away. More changes won't bring them back, nor will the new changes attract new fans. "Oh they race in stages now? How exciting, I hated nascar before, but now I'll love it!" :rolleyes:

One of my buddies is a casual fan. Has been for years. He says every time he watches a race it seems like there's more changes. All of which are "stupid" in his words, and have caused him to lose interest. I'm fairly certain he's not alone.

They need to quit screwing around with everything all the damn time.
 
2 Sweet said:
Agreed. The changes are driving many viewers away. More changes won't bring them back, nor will the new changes attract new fans. "Oh they race in stages now? How exciting, I hated nascar before, but now I'll love it!" :rolleyes:

One of my buddies is a casual fan. Has been for years. He says every time he watches a race it seems like there's more changes. All of which are "stupid" in his words, and have caused him to lose interest. I'm fairly certain he's not alone.

They need to quit screwing around with everything all the damn time.
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I wish I could like this 100 times...
 
I just don't understand why they feel the need to keep changing the rules CONSTANTLY. Why do they even think these ideas are any good? Which fans are asking for these things? What mythical demographic are they chasing? What new fans are they attracting with all these new rules and format changes? I don't mind the stages too much, and the racing this year has been solid, but like everyone else I'm sick of the constant changes year after year. I stick around because I'm a lifelong, hardcore fan. What about everyone else?

One of my best friends of over 20 years, who is a huge fan of all sports, never liked nascar. "Boring hillbilly sport where they drive in circles" he always said. Never really bothered to even watch a race. Well in 2013 he moved down to North Carolina and got free tickets to one of the Charlotte Cup races. After seeing it in person, he was instantly hooked. He started watching all the races on TV, even went out and bought some Logano gear. "I can't believe I didn't give nascar a chance sooner" he said. But this year, he has barely even watched. He said he didn't realize that nascar constantly makes yearly changes to the formats, points, etc. He said the changes are pointless and it's really turned him off.

My dad and brother used to be huge nascar fans too, for decades. My dad still watches from time to time with mild interest, but my brother doesn't watch any races anymore, other than his yearly trip to the Daytona 500. What has caused them to lose interest? First it was the playoffs, now it's all the other gimmicks. They say the constant unnecessary changes are annoying and don't actually improve anything.

At some point there will be a straw that breaks the camel's back and they will stop watching permanently.
 
You can group me with your dad 2 sweet...... I started following it in 1964........ used to plan my weekends around it...... now..... the wife and I have a lot more free time to do other stuff....... I watch or listen to MRN or PRN when it's handy...... If we are doing something else.... I check the highlights later....... I don't even bother to record it and watch later....... I still follow it.... but....... It doesn't engulf my weekends anymore.......
 
NJJammer said:
They have NO IDEA what they're doing. They're are making changes on the fly now mid-season to stop this ratings and attendance collapse. I'm curious how many actually show up at Dover on Sunday but it's a safe bet the TV ratings will be lower even if it's an entertaining race. NASCAR is a rudderless ship being blown towards the reef. The mutiny is taking place and those idiots in Daytona don't even realize it's happening.
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Who is heading the mutiny? This is the first I've heard about it. This is what I've wanted my whole adult life. Lol
 
The camel's back is already broken. Only the die-hards like us care. Have you ever met a Monster-guzzling Millennial with excess income that enjoys the show NASCAR is currently putting on? I haven't. Most Millennials I know don't even care about automobiles except as basic transportation. They'd rather Uber or Lyft than drive.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out this mythical demographic NASCAR is chasing. It's like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. Does it even exist? My friend has a couple of extra tickets to nearly every NASCAR race at Dover and cannot GIVE them away even with offering a free ride and parking to the track from NJ.
 
DUN24 said:
Who is heading the mutiny? This is the first I've heard about it. This is what I've wanted my whole adult life. Lol
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That's because the crew (us) are still whispering and plotting. It's time to brandish the daggers and swords! :D
 
NJJammer said:
Where does it stop? I was against segment racing but it's grown on me. Three segments were interesting but four, five or more is just a false way of throwing more "timed" caution yellows for TV commercials and to bunch up the field to create "moments." It's as artificial as a theme park ride at Disney or Universal and the "sport" is starting to turn into something else resembling WWE or other "staged" entertainment.
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It is as artificial as Pam Anderson's boobs but not as much fun.
 
kymartin6 said:
You can group me with your dad 2 sweet...... I started following it in 1964........ used to plan my weekends around it...... now..... the wife and I have a lot more free time to do other stuff....... I watch or listen to MRN or PRN when it's handy...... If we are doing something else.... I check the highlights later....... I don't even bother to record it and watch later....... I still follow it.... but....... It doesn't engulf my weekends anymore.......
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For the first time in many years, we no longer get together to watch Nascar races ............ I watch alone now or not at all. The stage deal was the end.
I still watch many forms of racing ........... they start the race, they race until the race is over and the first guy across the line wins. They couldn't even manage to leave the 600 alone
 
If they'd simply get rid of the playoffs, chase (again, whatever they call it), but incorporated the points for segments like they're doing now with a season-long points race it would go a long way to bringing people back. But NASCAR is so dug into making it a success and refuse to admit they never should have come up with it in the first place, that they're going to continue throwing versions up against the wall and hoping one of them will stick with the fans. For instance, the Talladega race had 6.3 million viewers in the first year of the chase in 2004 and has been on a steady decline ever since to 3.5 this year (a loss of nearly 3 million viewers). It's across the board from race to race like that. Can't NASCAR see that?
 
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