Help Me: What Can NASCAR Do To Attract More Minority Fans and Minority Racers?

We need to find a way to tell people that chasing a ball around is no more meaningful that racing in circles. Retorical question-how can people not see that.
 
Today's kids are no different than the last generation. We still like building things. We've just transferred that energy into computing and other gadgetry. NASCAR needs to emphasize its tech a bit more to hook today's kids.
 
I think if they brought back the NASCAR Racers cartoon that would help a lot.
 
I still can't help but think that NASCAR as an entity can't do much more to bring in the young demographic -- both in participants and
spectators.
Since it costs a lot of money even for the entry level, NASCAR would have to make funds available through grants to get the young
into carts. And maybe fund cart tracks and coaches. And keep on backing those who show promise as drivers.
It's much easier for kids to play balls sports because it's cheaper and easier to access ---

This will be a tough nut to crack.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I still can't help but think that NASCAR as an entity can't do much more to bring in the young demographic -- both in participants and
spectators.
Since it costs a lot of money even for the entry level, NASCAR would have to make funds available through grants to get the young
into carts. And maybe fund cart tracks and coaches. And keep on backing those who show promise as drivers.
It's much easier for kids to play balls sports because it's cheaper and easier to access ---

This will be a tough nut to crack.
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I know just the kid for them to back but he has blonde hair and blue eyes. Probably not gonna have a chance at an EO grant.
 
Rick said:
We need to find a way to tell people that chasing a ball around is no more meaningful that racing in circles. Retorical question-how can people not see that.
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I don't think downplaying other sports is the way to build up NASCAR. Few forms of entertainment are 'meaningful', but enjoying one doesn't keep you from enjoying others.
 
To Ladyspartan's point
I wish I knew. I have a biracial nephew who would watch races with me and loved to play with Hot Wheels.
He lives with his parents in a suburban area where he can walk to the park and play basketball and now thats all he wants to do. I've tried to get him to go to the races or watch on TV but he has no interest anymore.
I believe we have lost our car culture in this country. When there was a race car at nearly every filling station it would pique some interest. Now if you are into racing at all, chances are pretty good that you are a second or third generation fan.
New fans are very hard to come by in any shape or color!
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I still can't help but think that NASCAR as an entity can't do much more to bring in the young demographic -- both in participants and
spectators.
Since it costs a lot of money even for the entry level, NASCAR would have to make funds available through grants to get the young
into carts. And maybe fund cart tracks and coaches. And keep on backing those who show promise as drivers.
It's much easier for kids to play balls sports because it's cheaper and easier to access ---

This will be a tough nut to crack.
Click to expand...
There used to be go cart tracks in major tourist areas. A few of them even carried a NASCAR brand name. I don't know if there are any left in Myrtle Beach.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
There used to be go cart tracks in major tourist areas. A few of them even carried a NASCAR brand name. I don't know if there are any left in Myrtle Beach.
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The problem is that those are recreational in nature and not competitive. When I was a kid, I got in trouble for doing a bump and run at a local go-cart track.
 
The Nature Boy said:
The problem is that those are recreational in nature and not competitive. When I was a kid, I got in trouble for doing a bump and run at a local go-cart track.
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Nice. :cool:

I only did the go-kart thing maybe two or three times as a wee lad. One time, I had already done one run and was waiting to do a second one when my dad and I saw some kid go off into the grass. I had no idea how the kid managed it because those karts were slow enough that you barely even had to let off of the gas, if at all.

When I got ready to do my second run, the guy mistook me for the other kid and scolded me for going way too fast and going off the track. I told him that he must have mistaken me for the other kid, but of course he wasn't hearing it. :rolleyes:

I compiled and just putted around. It wasn't much fun. My dad was watching and noticed that I was going a lot slower on the second run. I explained why and he asked me if I wanted to go again, but I was just like "nope." :(

And that's the tragic story of how one misinformed track worker killed a future legend's racing career before it even began.
 
as far as other countries, they're accustomed to the type of racing they have and it not like Nascar going in circle for a whole race. during the boom years of Nascar, it was talked about in so many news feeds and sport shows, that i think it peaked a lot of interest, but with so many circle tracks and now all the gimmicks, and money cost for attending and even viewing on tv, driver's swag, has took its' toll. but why Nascar isn't taking advantage of our neighbor Canada and their loyal fans more, i don't understand.
 
Mr. Gregory said:
I compiled
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Yeah, or I complied. I'm still so mad over that deal that I can't even think straight, let alone spell. :mad:

TexasRaceLady said:
Why do some of you just HAVE to include sexual innuendo into almost ever thread?
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Hey, @Greg's comment was a beautiful, positive, racially inclusive statement. I wish more people were that open-minded. :D

On topic, NASCAR has gone through a significant amount of changes throughout the years. Some of those changes are simply unintended and perhaps unavoidable consequences of NASCAR's rise in popularity over time, and just time marching on in general - i.e. more money being pumped into the sport, older drivers retiring and new ones coming up, the rise of social media, etc. Some of the changes were intentionally made to try to bring in new/younger fans. I think the problem is that many of these changes that have taken place, whether intentional or unintentional, have only served to push away longtime fans like myself, and at the same time, they haven't yielded a significant enough amount of new fans to offset that loss.

If NASCAR can figure that problem out, the women/minorities part and everything else will fall into place.
 
aunty dive said:
Tough subject matter.

Something for item 4 ... maybe look at the geographical areas not currently served by the series. Are the demographics and socio/economic factors favorable?

I'm thinking of the NYC / New Jersey area and the Pacific Northwest where I live.
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NYC doesn't support Pocono (100 miles away) or Dover (170 miles away) and I doubt they would support a race 10 miles away. It is a moot point anyway as the schedule is full and there is zero appetite to build any new tracks.

If I knew how to attract any type of person to Nascar I wouldn't tell anyone here but I would use the info to leverage the departure of France and Helton and a boat load of others.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
NYC doesn't support Pocono (100 miles away) or Dover (170 miles away) and I doubt they would support a race 10 miles away. It is a moot point anyway as the schedule is full and there is zero appetite to build any new tracks.

If I knew how to attract any type of person to Nascar I wouldn't tell anyone here but I would use the info to leverage the departure of France and Helton and a boat load of others.
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I disagree

You can't call Pocono or Dover tracks for the New York market because of the (relative) uniqueness of the New York market. Many New Yorkers, especially young people, do not have cars and if they have cars, they're often garaged and a pain in the ass to actually use. If you want to get the New York market, you'd have to put it somewhere that New Yorkers can get to via public transit.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I disagree

You can't call Pocono or Dover tracks for the New York market because of the (relative) uniqueness of the New York market. Many New Yorkers, especially young people, do not have cars and if they have cars, they're often garaged and a pain in the ass to actually use. If you want to get the New York market, you'd have to put it somewhere that New Yorkers can get to via public transit.
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Excuse the ignorant question, but how far toward Dover or Pocono does the existing public transit go? I assume we're talking subway.

Maybe those tracks need to work with charter bus promoters.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Excuse the ignorant question, but how far toward Dover or Pocono does the existing public transit go? I assume we're talking subway.

Maybe those tracks need to work with charter bus promoters.
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Not remotely close. The New York Subway doesn't go outside of the NY City limits. New Jersey and Long Island are probably your best bet for a NYC race track. The New Jersey Transit is pretty extensive and leaves from NY Penn Station, ditto for the Long Island Railroad. A NASCAR track in the Meadowlands in New Jersey would have been perfect location wise. I also think that Staten Island (which has a surprisingly high amount of undeveloped land) would have worked.

As far as accessibility to New York, Pocono may as well be in Siberia. It's almost impossible for a person without a car to attend a race at Pocono. Dover is reasonably accessible, there is a Greyhound station there but I'm not sure how one gets from the Greyhound station to the racetrack though.
 
The Nature Boy said:
Not remotely close. The New York Subway doesn't go outside of the NY City limits. New Jersey and Long Island are probably your best bet for a NYC race track. The New Jersey Transit is pretty extensive and leaves from NY Penn Station, ditto for the Long Island Railroad. A NASCAR track in the Meadowlands in New Jersey would have been perfect location wise. I also think that Staten Island (which has a surprisingly high amount of undeveloped land) would have worked.

As far as accessibility to New York, Pocono may as well be in Siberia. It's almost impossible for a person without a car to attend a race at Pocono. Dover is reasonably accessible, there is a Greyhound station there but I'm not sure how one gets from the Greyhound station to the racetrack though.
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That's why I wondered about charter buses, and if the tracks are helping promote them locally.. There must be some running to those tracks from a major city like NYC; there are plenty of them running from smaller origin points to races much farther away.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
That's why I wondered about charter buses, and if the tracks are helping promote them locally.. There must be some running to those tracks from a major city like NYC; there are plenty of them running from smaller origin points to races much farther away.
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If they exist, they aren't widely advertised.
 
I just don't understand. Everything cannot be free. What is with this mentality? Nature Boy, I love you, and agree with you often but I keep coming to this board seeing people in your age bracket, complain that everything isn't free. The other day, I saw ChexOrWrex reply to somebody's post about having to have a subscription to a magazine to view some content, with a vomiting emoticon.
And the constant complaining about paying to use the Internet or watch TV or, god forbid, buy a train ticket.

I know the economy sucks. There aren't jobs etc and I'm definitely not saying that some things aren't ridiculously overpriced and should be balked at but damn.
Should magazine subscriptions be free? Should content creators not be paid for their work?

I understand being in a financial state where 65 dollars is a deterrent but.... things have to cost something, right? Maybe the train ticket isn't the best example and maybe it is a little pricey but, there are costs to make things go.
 
blanston said:
I just don't understand. Everything cannot be free. What is with this mentality? Nature Boy, I love you, and agree with you often but I keep coming to this board seeing people in your age bracket, complain that everything isn't free. The other day, I saw ChexOrWrex reply to somebody's post about having to have a subscription to a magazine to view some content, with a vomiting emoticon.
And the constant complaining about paying to use the Internet or watch TV or, god forbid, buy a train ticket.

I know the economy sucks. There aren't jobs etc and I'm definitely not saying that some things aren't ridiculously overpriced and should be balked at but damn.
Should magazine subscriptions be free? Should content creators not be paid for their work?

I understand being in a financial state where 65 dollars is a deterrent but.... things have to cost something, right? Maybe the train ticket isn't the best example and maybe it is a little pricey but, there are costs to make things go.
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It's not the "free" argument, it's that NASCAR is competing with other entertainment options that are much easier to get to.

If I'm a sports fan in New York, I can attend a game at Yankee Stadium, CitiField, MetLife Stadium, or Madison Square Garden (and a few other venues) relatively cheaply. At most, you incur a subway fee or a New Jersey Transit ticket to cross into New Jersey to head to MetLife. If you're NASCAR and you want these people to become fans, you have to figure out how to get them to get on a bus to go to the middle of nowhere, PA.

In other cities, sporting venues are increasingly being built in downtown areas. NASCAR race tracks by design can't really do that. IndyCar might make a dent in this market with temporary street courses though.
 
The Nature Boy said:
It's not the "free" argument, it's that NASCAR is competing with other entertainment options that are much easier to get to.

If I'm a sports fan in New York, I can attend a game at Yankee Stadium, CitiField, MetLife Stadium, or Madison Square Garden (and a few other venues) relatively cheaply. At most, you incur a subway fee or a New Jersey Transit ticket to cross into New Jersey to head to MetLife. If you're NASCAR and you want these people to become fans, you have to figure out how to get them to get on a bus to go to the middle of nowhere, PA.

In other cities, sporting venues are increasingly being built in downtown areas. NASCAR race tracks by design can't really do that. IndyCar might make a dent in this market with temporary street courses though.
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I understand what you say. I just see the "oh, there's a price? Screw that!"..."argument" on here a lot.
 
Didn't Bruton smith make an offer to extent the CATS light rail out to Charlotte motor speedway? And isn't Fontana connected to the commuter rail system of LA? If you're gonna place races near major metro areas over rural towns then running some sort of public transit makes sense. Of course, this is pretty much the antithesis of car culture but that's what NASCAR is up against with this generation.
 
The Nature Boy said:
Which is why NASCAR will struggle to get urban millennials.
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If that's the case, I suspect NASCAR won't be the only thing to struggle. National and state parks; South by Southwest, Burning Man, and similar festivals; theme parks and other tourist destinations.

I understand you're not saying the world ends at the last transit station for millennials (or are you?). Still, I feel sorry for anyone who can't get away from town a couple of times a year, regardless of the town or where 'away' might be. I wouldn't die if I never got to the beach, mountains, desert, swamp, or race track again, but I'd be painfully aware of what I was missing.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
If that's the case, I suspect NASCAR won't be the only thing to struggle. National and state parks; South by Southwest, Burning Man, and similar festivals; theme parks and other tourist destinations.

I understand you're not saying the world ends at the last transit station for millennials (or are you?). Still, I feel sorry for anyone who can't get away from town a couple of times a year, regardless of the town or where 'away' might be. I wouldn't die if I never got to the beach, mountains, desert, swamp, or race track again, but I'd be painfully aware of what I was missing.
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I grew up in a rural area and live in a suburban area with abysmal transit so I can't relate to the mindset. Millennials do travel but we are a generation where fewer have driver's licenses and more lack the means to be very mobile. We are also an increasingly urban generation.
 
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