NASCAR considers limits to Cup drivers running minor league races

If they can't keep the viewing numbers and the attendance numbers up for a nationwide race then what is the value for a sponsor to invest their money into a nationwide team?
 
The Truck series usually has fewer Cup regulars than Nationwide, and the racing is typically better. Just my opinion.
It's better because it's trucks. The trucks are the most exciting races for me.
 
If they can't keep the viewing numbers and the attendance numbers up for a nationwide race then what is the value for a sponsor to invest their money into a nationwide team?

The attendance numbers couldn't get that much worse without the Cup guys. I think that over time, the Nationwide series would be far better off if the winner wasn't obvious(baring a disaster) before the green even waves. For those who don't think Cup guys are hurting Nationwide, let me ask you this. What happens down the road when there aren't any new Cup drivers coming up because the Cup guys have taken all the good seats in Nationwide?
 
The Truck series usually has fewer Cup regulars than Nationwide, and the racing is typically better. Just my opinion.
Your average fan isn't normally a pure fan of racing. The same could be said about local short track racing. The series is built on the big names everyone knows. This is why indy car has gotten to be a joke. No one in the series is american any more. Its driver identity that fans relate to. I think they need to figure out how to get more cup guys in the nationwide series that way kyle busch isn't winning everything. If the racing has always been better in the truck series why is it even less attended than the NW series. Less big names is your answer.
 
The attendance numbers couldn't get that much worse without the Cup guys. I think that over time, the Nationwide series would be far better off if the winner wasn't obvious(baring a disaster) before the green even waves. For those who don't think Cup guys are hurting Nationwide, let me ask you this. What happens down the road when there aren't any new Cup drivers coming up because the Cup guys have taken all the good seats in Nationwide?
We won't know until we try. I'm for whatever works best for the series. I see pros and cons on both sides, so i'm not sure what's best for the series.
 
I think it wouldn't be as bad if there was more of a variety of Cup drivers who would run in the lower-tier series every once in a while. It gets annoying watching Kyle Busch dominate every weekend.

No it doesnt :cool:
 
Has everyone forgotten the Iowa stand alone Nationwide race last year. It was one of the top five races of the year across all nascar series and it was without the Buschwhackers.
You just answered the question i was getting ready to ask. I couldn't remember if there was ever a nationwide race without any cup drivers.
 
you guys are crazy and aren't basing your ideas in wisdom and logic. fans don't come to see brian scott and eric mcclure battle it out in the NW series. what puts people in the stands is big name drivers. local short tracks sometimes even pay big name drivers to come and run at their tracks just to get people to come out and watch. The big names are what helps support the series. Think about this if you owned a race track for just a minute, I would rather have kyle busch in the race than no other big names at all.

That's not necessarily true. Lots of people when going to a Cup race will get there a day or so before the race and will attend the NW race because they are there anyway.

The number of Cup drivers in the NW race was never a factor for me when deciding to attend the NW race when I was in town for the Cup race. I would have attended if there were no Cup drivers in the NW race, because I was there.
 
There are and they are all better races just like the Trucks are better without the whackers.
I'll have to agree they are better, but how does Nascar ignore it from a money standpoint? Like some one else said Nascar has kind of dug themselves a hole by letting all the Cup guys bring in that sponsor money and hype.
 
I'll have to agree they are better, but how does Nascar ignore it from a money standpoint? Like some one else said Nascar has kind of dug themselves a hole by letting all the Cup guys bring in that sponsor money and hype.
As I said before limit the lower tier races to five a year across the board for all drivers, Cup to NNS or Trucks, NNS to Trucks but let'em race "up" the tiers all they want, and just let'em deal with it.
 
I'll have to agree they are better, but how does Nascar ignore it from a money standpoint? Like some one else said Nascar has kind of dug themselves a hole by letting all the Cup guys bring in that sponsor money and hype.

Sponsors want the big names too. Much cheaper to sponsor Kyle Busch in NNS then Cup. IDK what the solution would be but it's a problem cause the races have become predictable. JGR, Penske and RCR spend big bucks on NNS programs. Turner Scott is probably the best non Cup team, and they can't keep up with them.
 
you guys are crazy and aren't basing your ideas in wisdom and logic. fans don't come to see brian scott and eric mcclure battle it out in the NW series. what puts people in the stands is big name drivers. local short tracks sometimes even pay big name drivers to come and run at their tracks just to get people to come out and watch. The big names are what helps support the series. Think about this if you owned a race track for just a minute, I would rather have kyle busch in the race than no other big names at all.

the problem as I see it is, joe gibbs racing is tearing up the series. I am sure they are able to put together the most lucrative deals out there for sponsorship. this means they have more money to spend on cars. combine that with old guard teams like RCR and in particular Roush not having the big money they used to and its showing on the race track. I also think making the series championship not available to cup guys has hurt the series. You have driven guys like edwards, harvick, and keslowski further away from the series, and with that comes less sponsorship for the organization to be able to put OTHER competitive teams on the track to compete with the JGR cars. think about it, it was when they limited the championship legibility that JGR and kyle busch REALLY started stinking up the show. there is an effect to each change that is made often times its not a good effect, change it again and the side effects could be worse.

This. Again. Well said.
 
If NASCAR wants a minor league series, they need to bite the bullet and promote it as such. Then, you probably need to find a place to run the races. How many minor league teams do you see in major league stadiums? At that point, the series will die.

Fans are screwy. I don't watch a race just to see a good race. Hell, my local track can do that for me. I watch a race to see the biggest players in the sport wheel their machines. I will watch Kyle Busch run anything at anytime. Period.

Seriously, what will happen to the stands if the big boys go away? Don't get me wrong. I would be there regardless to watch Bubba, Drew Herring, etc.; but would Monster, Tax Slayer, etc.? Probably not. Dead series. Kyle can't run in that either. Would that make everybody happy? Wake up. This is not hard to understand really.
 
The Truck series usually has fewer Cup regulars than Nationwide, and the racing is typically better. Just my opinion.


Admittedly, in the past, I've somewhat neglected the Truck Series, but, Friday night's race was terrific. I'm warming back up to this series pretty fast. These guys are the up and comers, and they're all out to win. If Rowdy wants to run in all three events, let him. Like he said, either change the rules, or quit crying and beat me. Sums it up nicely, IMO.
 
I still think the lack of diversity of cup drivers in the Nationwide series is what annoys people the most.
 
no limit on # races cup guys can run in lower series.
just make all cup guys start at rear of field each race ! ??
 
no limit on # races cup guys can run in lower series.
just make all cup guys start at rear of field each race ! ??
And they get zero points of any kind, might work.
 
It's really a no win situation...fans complain about Cup drivers dominating the lower series......but without them the stands would be more empty than they are now and TV rating would tank even more
 
NASCAR needs to find a better way to market some of the rookies and other people of interest in the Nationwide and Truck series. To me, it's boring to watch a race with nobody to root for...if you have no idea who's running in Nationwide apart from the likes of Brad and Kyle, you're generally not gonna watch if you aren't a Brad or Kyle fan, especially if you aren't a big racing fan to begin with.
 
NASCAR needs to find a better way to market some of the rookies and other people of interest in the Nationwide and Truck series. To me, it's boring to watch a race with nobody to root for...if you have no idea who's running in Nationwide apart from the likes of Brad and Kyle, you're generally not gonna watch if you aren't a Brad or Kyle fan, especially if you aren't a big racing fan to begin with.
I can find a competitor to root for in a turtle race so the Trucks and NNS is a snap.
 
Hey Penske is putting Blaney in the car for 15 races this year so they're not so bad. Kyle's running 29 I think.
I'm not sure what the exact split is yet but Blaney is supposed to be in the #12 for a good portion of those.

But yeah, Kyle is running 26 - far more than anyone else. Kenseth is getting in on it too - he's running at least 17 races in the #20.
 
I can find a competitor to root for in a turtle race so the Trucks and NNS is a snap.
I always pick the turtle with the smallest head...it has less wind resistance so it cuts through the air better.:)
 
I still think the lack of diversity of cup drivers in the Nationwide series is what annoys people the most.
This is a fairly centrist stance on this subject and is pretty much how I look at it.

I understand the sentiment of those who want to see the Cuppers stop racing in the lower series races, and I for one would totally follow a stand-alone Nationwide or Truck Series without any Cuppers. It'd be fun and would be a true proving ground, like the 250 class in Supercross. I have no problem finding favorites in that series, so I'd be all about it.

Ultimately, though, I just want to see some diversity as far as winners in the lower series, regardless of who those winners are and what series they normally race in. Seeing the same dude just dominating every single race and winning over and over again gets old unless you're a rabid fan of said dude.
 
I'd rather see the cup guys stay in their own series. If I remember the stand alone Iowa race last year was very well attended.

Plus this "I'm a nobody." ad campaign for NNS is stupid. "Hey, ya'll tune in to watch all these nobodies."?
 
big new long term tv pact w/ fox / nbc ......virtually assures tv appeal will outweigh "butts in seats" past strategy in nns /truck series. ........but also makes stand alone race still possible......vs dual event. ie---nns early...then cup race. ...same day.
nascar / tracks / cities / hotels / etc ....may have ta develop packages....ta get butts in seats for lower series . ???
 
big new long term tv pact w/ fox / nbc ......virtually assures tv appeal will outweigh "butts in seats" past strategy in nns /truck series. ........but also makes stand alone race still possible......vs dual event. ie---nns early...then cup race. ...same day.
nascar / tracks / cities / hotels / etc ....may have ta develop packages....ta get butts in seats for lower series . ???


Cup drivers ???
 
.....
It's pretty obvious the cup team money and resources makes for an unfair advantage.

I don't believe that Cup teams sink money into Nationwide teams..Why would they do that ? If the team can't be funded with sponsor's dollars it's pretty much done IMO. Maybe they can avail themselves of some tools and equipment but in most cases the help comes from manufacturers, teammates , and other competitors. Nascar tries very hard to keep a level playing field with engine change rules ,tire rules , etc... If they kick Kyle Busch out of the series ,that's fine with me , but it won't be as good.
 
Cup drivers ???

who knows ? maybe a jocko flocko in each car ! ha!

point is.....tv don't like empty stands for live events.
plenty more tv $$ in '15 ........so stand alone events survive.....cause tv needs more live content.
but need full stands.......as do track / etc. etc.
new biz model comin .
tarp empty seats ....sell ad space maybe ??? lotsa new stuff comin tho.....too much $$ at stake.
 
As I've said for years, it is about the money, and NASCAR knows it. Let Cup drivers run all they want but, if they're a full-time Cup driver, they get no winnings for wins in Nationwide or Trucks. The problem would fix itself then.

If they were racing minor leagues because they loved to race and wanted to help other drivers learn, as Kyle likes to claim, they'd be running ARCA races as well. They're not. Because ARCA doesn't pay ****.
 
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