NASCAR exploring weeknight races

dpkimmel2001 said:
Then there are fans like myself that would make a weeks RV trip out of it. Just like I've done @ Eldora, multiple times.

I have very little interest on television other than sports so there's not a sitcom that could keep me from watching a race.
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I don't think there are enough people with RVs to make up for it.

P.S. I don't like sitcoms
 
Pat said:
I don't think there are enough people with RVs to make up for it.

P.S. I don't like sitcoms
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I'd 'replace 'enough people with RVs" with "enough people with mid-week leisure time". We've seen they won't hang around after a rain delay, even if the next day is a Sunday as happened at Bristol this summer.
 
LouieLouie said:
The NFL has many issues and I think the oversaturation thing is overblown. When the competition was good people couldn't get enough of it.
The competition is not very good right now, and I think part of it has to deal with the offensive lines can't protect the QB for more than 3.5 seconds basically. Playing QB has just become so difficult in this league that it is nearly impossible to throw the ball down field because it takes more than 3 seconds for the WRs to actually get down field.
Also, part of the problem, which NASCAR has a big issue with also, is too many damn commercials! On top of that there is a flag on every play, and even with instant replay the refs often get the call wrong. NASCAR also has too many flags thrown! Are we starting to see the similarities yet?
The NFL refs have too many rules to watch for and their job is nearly impossible and ultimately a game is won or lost on a single play.

The oversaturation part doesn't help but it isn't hurting the league as much as people think. The whole Kap thing compounded with not allowing players to honor the Dallas Police, really ticked people off too and a ton of fans are still protesting by not watching.
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You bring up some very interesting points concerning the NFL and Nascar. For the bulk of the year most Nascar races are held at a time when the weather outside is really nice and I could never forgive myself for sitting around inside on a beautiful day watching 4.5-6 hours of Nascar programming. With the DVR I don't have to as I can tune in later on in the day and skip all the commercials and non essential stuff and not feel bad about wasting a nice day. I know it is very important for some people to watch a sporting event as it unfolds but I don't mind waiting anywhere from a couple of hours to perhaps the next day if it is a night race and see the recorded version. It takes a lot less time and puts you in charge instead of the network.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'd 'replace 'enough people with RVs" with "enough people with mid-week leisure time". We've seen they won't hang around after a rain delay, even if the next day is a Sunday as happened at Bristol this summer.
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If a person is going to even do a little travel to see a midweek race it would likely involve cutting out of work early the day of the race and potentially taking the next day off work so it would be something to consider.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Yeah, teams would love paying expenses for an extra day of doing nothing.
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Maybe for some teams, but the races wouldn't be in the same series. Thursday night could be the truck series and saturday could be the xfinity, or xfinity on thursday and monster on saturday. Or throw make it an entire weekend without gaps, thursday trucks, friday xfinity, sat monster. I don't mind! :D
Either way aren't a lot of these guys on salary? Again, two weeks a year wouldn't break the bank either. I'm pretty sure they would be able to figure it out. Truck series already does most of their races on Friday nights anyway.
 
LouieLouie said:
Maybe for some teams, but the races wouldn't be in the same series. Thursday night could be the truck series and saturday could be the xfinity, or xfinity on thursday and monster on saturday. Or throw make it an entire weekend without gaps, thursday trucks, friday xfinity, sat monster. I don't mind! :D
Either way aren't a lot of these guys on salary? Again, two weeks a year wouldn't break the bank either. I'm pretty sure they would be able to figure it out. Truck series already does most of their races on Friday nights anyway.
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It's not just the paychecks, it's the lodging, food, rental cars, bail :D etc.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Don't underestimate us. ;) While we may not fill the place up, we'll have one helluva time trying.
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Camping in my motorhome as a fan at a race is the thing I miss the most since I have been a crewmember on a race team. Because I drive the hauler I usually arrive at the track anywhere from 2 to 7 days before the rest of the team arrives. That has allowed me the extra time to mingle with some of our fans in the camp grounds at a lot of the tracks. I have become friends with a lot of fans and have a cookout with them every year. Sometimes I just want to call in sick for the week and just stay there until after the race is over.:D
 
LouieLouie said:
The NFL has many issues and I think the oversaturation thing is overblown. When the competition was good people couldn't get enough of it.
The competition is not very good right now, and I think part of it has to deal with the offensive lines can't protect the QB for more than 3.5 seconds basically. Playing QB has just become so difficult in this league that it is nearly impossible to throw the ball down field because it takes more than 3 seconds for the WRs to actually get down field.
Also, part of the problem, which NASCAR has a big issue with also, is too many damn commercials! On top of that there is a flag on every play, and even with instant replay the refs often get the call wrong. NASCAR also has too many flags thrown! Are we starting to see the similarities yet?
The NFL refs have too many rules to watch for and their job is nearly impossible and ultimately a game is won or lost on a single play.

The oversaturation part doesn't help but it isn't hurting the league as much as people think. The whole Kap thing compounded with not allowing players to honor the Dallas Police, really ticked people off too and a ton of fans are still protesting by not watching.
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Agreed.

I must be the only football fan that couldn't care less about "oversaturation." The more games on TV, the better. I never liked how most of the games are played Sunday afternoon, yet only three of them are televised.

The problem with football nowadays is the officiating. Too many penalties, too many reviews. If you hit somebody too hard or lay a finger on the QB or receiver, they throw a flag. They don't trust the officials' eyes, so they constantly depend on instant replay. Let them play football without all the constant delays and interruptions.

Thursday night games would be fine if they gave every team an additional bye week, and made it so every Thursday night game was between teams coming off a bye.
 
As far as Nascar is concerned, I think a few weekday races during the season would be fine, depending on the venues. Attendance may suffer a little, but I don't think the TV ratings would take a hit as long as they were smart about it.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Ah, you guys are probably right. It probably makes more sense to continue on the current path rather than try something new.
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How about we try something old? Get rid of the stupid playoff format that has caused ratings to plummet.

Personally, I boycotted three playoff races this year, including the finale. I'm still disgusted by our playoff format.
 
One of the tracks they supposedly want to do this at is Martinsville. I'm fairly confident those fans would show up for a weeknight race.

The Martinsville light project is what prompted the rumors back in October.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
One of the tracks they supposedly want to do this at is Martinsville. I'm fairly confident those fans would show up for a weeknight race.

The Martinsville light project is what prompted the rumors back in October.
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I doubt this will happen, but they should give Martinsville a third date. Make it a Thursday night race over the summer and keep the spring and fall races on Sunday afternoons.
 
PeopleAreStrange said:
How about we try something old? Get rid of the stupid playoff format that has caused ratings to plummet.

Personally, I boycotted three playoff races this year, including the finale. I'm still disgusted by our playoff format.
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I'd like to see them get rid of the Chase as much as the next disgruntled race fan but it ain't gonna happen.

As far as boycotting races..... I'm guessing unless you're carrying a sign stating your protest in front of the main gate, they won't miss you. Otherwise it'll be hard to tell the difference between you and all the other fans that no longer tune in.
 
2 Sweet said:
I doubt this will happen, but they should give Martinsville a third date. Make it a Thursday night race over the summer and keep the spring and fall races on Sunday afternoons.
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One of these days they will 'wise up' and hold the All Star race @ Martinsville. That's the only way they'll ever get a third date.

No need to bring up that it's not a SMI track. I already know that. I still think it's gonna happen.
 
dave corthell said:
I understand your point about the TV money, but if it is not helping the local economy, then the track will lose the local support to some extent. In my opinion you can't just simply look at what brings in the biggest buck this year to the track, but what is best for the long haul.
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I couldn't agree more but imo BF is a quarterly profit bean counter type, with the typical shortsighted flaws.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
One of the tracks they supposedly want to do this at is Martinsville. I'm fairly confident those fans would show up for a weeknight race.

The Martinsville light project is what prompted the rumors back in October.
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If they are going to do a night race there, one of those two races will have to me moved to warmer times. Late March, early April are not the time to be holding a night race in Martinsville. Likewise for late October, early November. If they could somehow push the spring race later into the season, it would work. I'd hate to see them move the fall race.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I rarely watch MNF any longer due to the watered down match ups and I also really miss Mike Tirico as I think he is by far and away the best play by play man today. MNF used to be a rip roaring event with Dandy, Howard and Frank as Dandy Don was half in the bag in the bag by the third quarter and Howard was like an original troll who existed only to annoy people. Howard never bothered me as I loved his way with words and his unintentional comical insights. I would like to see MNF restored to its former glory or cancelled and Thursday night games become a thing of the past.

I think midweek races would be OK but Nascar should fix the races it presently runs first before doing anything else. While Nascar gets killed by football there is nothing to say that it would not get killed by popular dramas and comedies either during the week either.
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I miss Howard Cassell and Dandy Don too.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
If they are going to do a night race there, one of those two races will have to me moved to warmer times. Late March, early April are not the time to be holding a night race in Martinsville. Likewise for late October, early November. If they could somehow push the spring race later into the season, it would work. I'd hate to see them move the fall race.
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An October Sunday at Martinsville is a tradition that should always be, perfect setting and most righteous time of the year, imo.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
One of these days they will 'wise up' and hold the All Star race @ Martinsville. That's the only way they'll ever get a third date.

No need to bring up that it's not a SMI track. I already know that. I still think it's gonna happen.
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Think that all you want, but please don't hold your breath while waiting. :rolleyes:
 
Can anyone explain the appeal that Martinsville has on you all because as I've said I think the track sucks. Slow speeds and only one good line that leads to boring racing. A lot of you seem to like it though which I find different as Martinsville is always a dreaded race around here.
 
Simple Fan said:
Can anyone explain the appeal that Martinsville has on you all because as I've said I think the track sucks.
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:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

What is this blasphemy?

I just got up and read a post saying Martinsville sucks. I must have mis-read that, not having my morning can of Monster Energy yet.

Simple Fan said:
Can anyone explain the appeal that Martinsville has on you all because as I've said I think the track sucks.
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:eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2::eek2:

Simple Fan said:
Slow speeds and only one good line that leads to boring racing.
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:bsflag::eviltongu:eviltongu:eviltongu:eviltongu:eviltongu

Simple Fan said:
A lot of you seem to like it though which I find different as Martinsville is always a dreaded race around here.
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:captive::captive::captive::captive::owquitit::owquitit::dual9mm::bazooka::bigfight::micro::youliketh:youliketh:youliketh:tomato:
 
Simple Fan said:
Can anyone explain the appeal that Martinsville has on you all because as I've said I think the track sucks. Slow speeds and only one good line that leads to boring racing. A lot of you seem to like it though which I find different as Martinsville is always a dreaded race around here.
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Without addressing M'ville specifically, I'd like to address one of your points. Fast speeds don't automatically equal good racing, and slow speeds don't mean bad racing.

Now as to Martinsville: what appeals to me about M'ville is that it offers COMPETITIVE racing. The small size makes it impossible to a driver to get away from traffic. He's always having to plan ahead regarding the best place to get around slower cars without giving up anything to the cars behind him. The traffic also makes it difficult for a driver to get away from those cars behind him; the traffic does a good job of keeping the field bunched up without using artificial tools like shot clocks or cautions that may appear questionable; there's no driving around logging laps liek there is at some of the larger tracks. The narrow track makes it more difficult to make passes than at a wider track like Michigan; drivers have to work to get by someone. I enjoy watching someone have to work for several laps to set up a pass. Crew chiefs are challenged by pit stop schedules, since pitting under green is guaranteed to cost you at least two laps. Even that's fun; I like watching a car on new tires slice through the field even if he is a couple of laps down. The lower speeds allow cars to be competitive that may not have the speed to keep up at a faster track. That gives a chance for good drivers in inferior cars a chance to show their talent. And I'll admit that the single line means more 'bump and run' action and even wrecks, at speeds that are highly unlikely to result in serious injury. Plus, that grandfather clock trophy is way cool.

In short, M'ville is one of those tracks that places more emphasis on the driver's skills and less on the car.

The rest of y'all: quit gaping and answer his question.

EDITED: but the famous hot dogs are grossly overrated; emphasis on 'gross'. :p
 
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So, last year, @ladyspartan16 started a thread that said, "I hate short tracks" ... something that was, by God's amazing grace, lost in the great server outage of 2016.

And today, @Simple Fan says Martinsville sucks.

What's going on with the world? Next thing you know, the Cubs will win the World Series, Donald Trump will be elected President and the Rams will return to Los Angeles and fire Jeff Fisher.
 
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Charlie Spencer said:
The rest of y'all: quit gaping and answer his question.

EDITED: but the famous hot dogs are grossly overrated; emphasis on 'gross'. :p
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Answering that question is a waste of words. @Simple Fan simply doesn't like slower short track racing.

The hot dogs though..... That's a different story. I've never had a bad Martinsville Hot Dog.
 
I would like to add to this that NASCAR was made famous by the contact between two cars in addition to the personalities of the drivers in the cars. The bump and run or just side by side contact is what made NASCAR amazing to watch.

Today's NASCAR closely resembles indycar racing. Any contact in NASCAR today causes major issues with the cars so drivers are very protective of their cars. In indycar, contact is basically a penalty because the cars are built to fall apart on impact to reduce forces going through the driver. Today, both NASCAR and indycar are highly dependent on aerodynamics.

If it is speed you enjoy watching, I highly suggest the indycar series. They have some great fast racing and plenty of personalty.
For me, I enjoy the contact and close racing in NASCAR and hope that it can get back there one day soon. They are taking steps in the right direction by lowering the downforce but there is a long way to go.
 
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LouieLouie said:
... Any contact in NASCAR today causes major issues with the cars so drivers are very protective of their cars.. ..
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I disagree. I think what you're seeing is NASCAR itself being overly protective by tossing out cautions too quickly for minor wall-brushes, or not allowing cars at the rear of the field time to recover or get out of the way.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
NASCAR resembles INDYCAR in no way. INDYCAR races are way more competitive than NASCAR races, especially on ovals.
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fair enough. My point was that contact between cars in either series is highly detrimental to their chances of winning or finishing a race. Opposed to the not so long ago NASCAR where contact might have helped you win a race.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Without addressing M'ville specifically, I'd like to address one of your points. Fast speeds don't automatically equal good racing, and slow speeds don't mean bad racing.

Now as to Martinsville: what appeals to me about M'ville is that it offers COMPETITIVE racing. The small size makes it impossible to a driver to get away from traffic. He's always having to plan ahead regarding the best place to get around slower cars without giving up anything to the cars behind him. The traffic also makes it difficult for a driver to get away from those cars behind him; the traffic does a good job of keeping the field bunched up without using artificial tools like shot clocks or cautions that may appear questionable; there's no driving around logging laps liek there is at some of the larger tracks. The narrow track makes it more difficult to make passes than at a wider track like Michigan; drivers have to work to get by someone. I enjoy watching someone have to work for several laps to set up a pass. Crew chiefs are challenged by pit stop schedules, since pitting under green is guaranteed to cost you at least two laps. Even that's fun; I like watching a car on new tires slice through the field even if he is a couple of laps down. The lower speeds allow cars to be competitive that may not have the speed to keep up at a faster track. That gives a chance for good drivers in inferior cars a chance to show their talent. And I'll admit that the single line means more 'bump and run' action and even wrecks, at speeds that are highly unlikely to result in serious injury. Plus, that grandfather clock trophy is way cool.

In short, M'ville is one of those tracks that places more emphasis on the driver's skills and less on the car.

The rest of y'all: quit gaping and answer his question.

EDITED: but the famous hot dogs are grossly overrated; emphasis on 'gross'. :p
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Thanks. Not trying to troll anyone with my views on Martinsville at all. It's just that I've never liked it for the narrowness and flatness of the track which I feel produced boring racing and a lot of people I watch NASCAR with are the same and everyone one on here acts like it the holy grail of race tracks. Was just trying to see what made it so great to you guys.
 
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