NASCAR Death Bed

Cool to see a 45K sellout, I remember attending in 2016 and it wasn't quite a sellout though probably close. Even if it's only 45,000.
 
There are 51 suites to add of that sold out figure. high buck seating. 19 of those have been added with the renovation. Oh the deathbedders are having to work hard today.:D
 
Towmater said:
Your post makes it appear that NASCAR is a niche sport and not a major sport. That confuses me. Is it a major sport or a niche sport?
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What an odd thing to say. Nascar is clearly a niche sport, as is every other form of motorsports. Always has been niche, and always will be. The only exception was a brief period of time when Nascar became a mainstream cultural fad, roughly mid 1990's through mid 2000's.

For a brief decade, Nascar was a white hot social scene... and then it wasn't. It was fueled primarily by a lifestyle fantasy. Like every cultural fad, the hoards arrived suddenly, with insatiable appetites, and then moved on to graze in another pasture. BOOM... BUST. The tennis craze. The country/western urban cowboy craze. The racquetball boom. The Harley-Davidson boom and chopper-style motorcycles generally.

Fans of racing are not uncomfortable in a niche situation. Fans of The Nascar Lifestyle tend to be uncomfortable, but fans of racing have always made their own path. Mainstream sports enjoy numerous important advantages. The largest one is taxpayer funded infrastructure and development system. Another biggie is "the home team" effect that fuels stick-and-ball sports. If that's what you need, allow me to direct you to the exit ramp.
 
Spotter22 said:
Really? Where did they sit because Phoenix hasnt removed that many seats. Must of had a boat load on the hill
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There used to be backstretch stands at Phoenix as well, but in 2004 they didn't have as many seats in old 1-2 as they do now. There must've been about 50k on rattlesnake hill
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Darn. I was certain that the absence of the optics of empty seats this week would be a breath of fresh air for everyone. Now the optical predicament is that Phoenix doesn't have as many seats to fill as a big college football game.
 
I wonder if they wear magnifying glasses? nah they don't even watch the race probably, just wait for a crowd shot. :D
 
LewTheShoe said:
What an odd thing to say. Nascar is clearly a niche sport, as is every other form of motorsports. Always has been niche, and always will be. The only exception was a brief period of time when Nascar became a mainstream cultural fad, roughly mid 1990's through mid 2000's.

For a brief decade, Nascar was a white hot social scene... and then it wasn't. It was fueled primarily by a lifestyle fantasy. Like every cultural fad, the hoards arrived suddenly, with insatiable appetites, and then moved on to graze in another pasture. BOOM... BUST. The tennis craze. The country/western urban cowboy craze. The racquetball boom. The Harley-Davidson boom and chopper-style motorcycles generally.

Fans of racing are not uncomfortable in a niche situation. Fans of The Nascar Lifestyle tend to be uncomfortable, but fans of racing have always made their own path. Mainstream sports enjoy numerous important advantages. The largest one is taxpayer funded infrastructure and development system. Another biggie is "the home team" effect that fuels stick-and-ball sports. If that's what you need, allow me to direct you to the exit ramp.
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Don’t forget that UFC craze as well.
 
Towmater said:
shhh, that upsets people to be confronted with numbers.
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Sorry as an aside....I clicked that link and I have to say Earnhardt Jr was so good in 04. Really wish he had been closer to that Championship
 
NASCAR is doing the right thing in reducing seating. Why lose money with a ton of unsold seats.

NASCAR will find its zone to regulate eventually, things like Fanatics leaving in the middle of the deal is not a good look. At least, it will still be on sale online. That's the hardest bit is that a LOT of merchandise sells out online for NASCAR. NASCAR is actually coming back to trending again with the racing jackets.

Once again, its not the end of the world. Didn't realize a corporation still worth over 500+ million dollars is in dying straights.
 
Larsonfan1995 said:
There used to be backstretch stands at Phoenix as well, but in 2004 they didn't have as many seats in old 1-2 as they do now. There must've been about 50k on rattlesnake hillView attachment 36803
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I went to one race sitting in those backstretch seats, I didn't enjoy the race that much being in that area or those seats.
 
Back when the stands were full we only had small tv's at home. Now with home theaters one can truly enjoy a race at home (I'll leave the announcers out at this point) Secondly years back more tracks let you bring in beverages and food, look at those prices posted earlier for this weekend. Its hard to cough up that kind of dough for some. The last few races we looked at going to would cost us so much that we just stay home and enjoy
 
I quit going because the last time I went it cost me $500.00 for just me to go to the races and stay one night in a motel.
 
Snappy D said:
Don’t forget that UFC craze as well.
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Funny you should mention them. I keep thinking about an interview in Playboy that I stumbled across in 2008 (I had to look that up) with Dana White in which he predicted that in five year the UFC would be bigger than the NFL and the World Cup. I also think about a time when on a given weeknight you could surf across the cable TV channels and find as many as four different wrestling shows on. Today, I can't even remember the last time I surfed across a wrestling show. (I don't watch wrestling, mma or boxing, as I find them all barbaric and stupid). It's funny how things come and go. It saddens me that it has to a certain extent happened to NASCAR, but I guess we should have known it was going to happen. If you took away gambling and fantasy, I wonder how how much the NFL would shrink too.
 
Mike Crayne said:
I quit going because the last time I went it cost me $500.00 for just me to go to the races and stay one night in a motel.
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Yeah tickets could still be 10-20% cheaper for these most if not all of these races and the stands might get a little bit more full.
 
With the exception of select races I think attendance between 25-35,000 will be seen as normal. There are still plenty of current fans that would really like to go to the track but can't for a number of reasons. Being on a fixed income and health issues like arthritis, heart and vascular issues plus just getting older don't make it easy for a lot of today's NASCAR fans.
 
Mike Crayne said:
I quit going because the last time I went it cost me $500.00 for just me to go to the races and stay one night in a motel.
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So go and watch the race from tightwad hill. It's a good place to watch from, and you don't have to pay the high prices at the concession stand. If you have reclining bucket seats you can sleep in the car. I'm only 57 years old, so I can still do the car thing if I have to. Then again I am usually by myself when I do that.
 
Negative trolling online is bad for the quality of discussion. However, as it relates to local tracks, they don't close or struggle financially because people are mean about them on social media. They close when not enough people attend or pay attention at all, Same for NASCAR and all other less popular racing series. The problem isn't critical interest. The problem is lack of interest. NASCAR racing is more than good enough to withstand criticism and opinions from those who like it but want to see it be the best it can be.
 
IanMcVittie said:
With the exception of select races I think attendance between 25-35,000 will be seen as normal. There are still plenty of current fans that would really like to go to the track but can't for a number of reasons. Being on a fixed income and health issues like arthritis, heart and vascular issues plus just getting older don't make it easy for a lot of today's NASCAR fans.
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That's the thing.fans are older, dying off and not enough new fans are being recruited.
 
StandOnIt said:
I wonder if the fans that pass away care anymore? You are so right, thanks for agreeing with me.
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Just an obvious observation, I think a lot of fans care, but for the ones that care, there are just as many who are disgusted and turning to other things to occupy their free time.
 
Mopardh9 said:
Just an obvious observation, I think a lot of fans care, but for the ones that care, there are just as many who are disgusted and turning to other things to occupy their free time.
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I hope that is just your opinion because of your own dislikes. I am another old timer
(75) and like many people my age I don't like to many changes. ( my memory can't keep track)
however I approach each year of racing with the anticipation of seeing what teams can adapt to the new rules for this year. On top of that, some drivers want their same car and so they mentally can not adapt to the current season system. I think this is what happened to JJ the last couple years. Next season he could be the winning driver with a different car.
 
Team Penske said:
I hope that is just your opinion because of your own dislikes. I am another old timer
(75) and like many people my age I don't like to many changes. ( my memory can't keep track)
however I approach each year of racing with the anticipation of seeing what teams can adapt to the new rules for this year. On top of that, some drivers want their same car and so they mentally can not adapt to the current season system. I think this is what happened to JJ the last couple years. Next season he could be the winning driver with a different car.
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I said this before, I'll give it 5 races, if it isn't good, I won't be watching too many after that. I for one thought this season had lots of good racing, so I couldn't understand why NASCAR wanted to change it.
 
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