NASCAR, once a cultural icon, hits the skids (WSJ)

FLRacingFan said:
I found where I read that now. ESPN and TNT had an exclusive negotiating window and told NASCAR they were gonna pass. I guess NBC were still expecting them to throw in some sort of bid after the window expired?

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/07/29/Media/NASCAR-NBC.aspx
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Thanks for the link and it confirms what I thought I remembered that ESPN and TNT were not interested in carrying Nascar programming. What I don't understand is that NBC could clearly see that Nascar was in a long period of decline so IDK why they went in so heavy when the didn't need to. Surely they didn't think some different graphics and 3 different guys in the booth would change fortunes? I think it is fair to say that SN Countdown is not getting much of a lead in from Nascar.
 
Acs said:
Hot take incoming!

1. SALARY/EXPENSE CAP FOR TEAMS - Yes
2. CREATE A FRANCHISE MODEL - Don't we have this already?
3. HOLD MIDWEEK RACES - Yeah why not?
4. MAKE RACES SHORTER - NO
5. SCHEDULE ONE-DAY OR TWO-DAY RACE WEEKENDS RATHER THAN THREE DAYS - Yeah why not?
6. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF RACES - Yes
7. TWEAK THE EXCLUSIVITY MODEL OF THE SPORT - What does this mean?
8. MAKE THE CARS QUIETER - Meh. Give it a try for one race first.
9. INCORPORATE EMERGING AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES LIKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES - Sure, update the cars, but F*&k no to EVs!
10. CHANGE TRACK CONFIGURATIONS TO SLOW CARS DOWN - NO! just do #11
11. ADD MORE ROAD COURSES AND/OR SHORT TRACKS TO THE SCHEDULE - Hell yes!
12. ADD INTERNATIONAL RACES - Sure why not?
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#2 entails giving the team owners an equity stake in NASCAR after purchasing a franchise from NASCAR, and subsequently, more revenue sharing.
#7 entails making categories such as fuel (Sunoco) and tires (Goodyear) open so competing brands can enter the sport. Think of a few years back when Falken, Michelin, and Dunlop were all racing in GTE.
 
FLRacingFan said:
1. SALARY/EXPENSE CAP FOR TEAMS
2. CREATE A FRANCHISE MODEL
3. HOLD MIDWEEK RACES
4. MAKE RACES SHORTER
5. SCHEDULE ONE-DAY OR TWO-DAY RACE WEEKENDS RATHER THAN THREE DAYS
6. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF RACES
7. TWEAK THE EXCLUSIVITY MODEL OF THE SPORT
8. MAKE THE CARS QUIETER
9. INCORPORATE EMERGING AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES LIKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
10. CHANGE TRACK CONFIGURATIONS TO SLOW CARS DOWN
11. ADD MORE ROAD COURSES AND/OR SHORT TRACKS TO THE SCHEDULE
12. ADD INTERNATIONAL RACES


They go into some detail as to why each could/couldn't work but that's the gist of it.
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I do like 10 and 11 as the average Joe sitting in his recliner can't tell if a car is doing 155 or 195 and I would be in favor of more RC's and short tracks. Most of the list sounds like pie in the sky stuff you just throw out at the beginning of a discussion though.
 
Reck said:
And they better not.

I dont know if they know this yet but more people are cutting cable than getting it.
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I have researched to the best of my ability and have not found where FOX or NBC have been able to increase charges. If anything I believe that everyone has come to believe that ESPN is getting stupid money and it won't be repeated.
 
The sport flew high for a long time but the casual fans have left, many of the diehards have gotten old and millenials just don't care about it. The entire sport will continue to shrink, tracks will close and it will be back closer to where it began.

The only thing that can possibly delay NASCAR's march towards obscurity is a massive rivalry between 2 major organizations. HMS vs Gibbs, perhaps. It needs to become so heated that people will watch and attend out of fear of missing out. It has to be a sustained rivalry with even the owners and manufactueres weighing in to stir the pot. Unfortunately, that's very unlikely to happen.
 
Matthew2470 said:
The sport flew high for a long time but the casual fans have left, many of the diehards have gotten old and millenials just don't care about it. The entire sport will continue to shrink, tracks will close and it will be back closer to where it began.

The only thing that can possibly delay NASCAR's march towards obscurity is a massive rivalry between 2 major organizations. HMS vs Gibbs, perhaps. It needs to become so heated that people will watch and attend out of fear of missing out. It has to be a sustained rivalry with even the owners and manufactueres weighing in to stir the pot. Unfortunately, that's very unlikely to happen.
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isn't that the WWE?
 
aunty dive said:
I know Dave.

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See avatar.

As I'm sure you know, Pay 'n Pak assets became part of Lowe's.
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Those are some pretty hip trousers
 
FLRacingFan said:
1. SALARY/EXPENSE CAP FOR TEAMS
2. CREATE A FRANCHISE MODEL
3. HOLD MIDWEEK RACES
4. MAKE RACES SHORTER
5. SCHEDULE ONE-DAY OR TWO-DAY RACE WEEKENDS RATHER THAN THREE DAYS
6. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF RACES
7. TWEAK THE EXCLUSIVITY MODEL OF THE SPORT
8. MAKE THE CARS QUIETER
9. INCORPORATE EMERGING AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGIES LIKE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
10. CHANGE TRACK CONFIGURATIONS TO SLOW CARS DOWN
11. ADD MORE ROAD COURSES AND/OR SHORT TRACKS TO THE SCHEDULE
12. ADD INTERNATIONAL RACES


They go into some detail as to why each could/couldn't work but that's the gist of it.
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I like #1, and think it might help some lower funded teams get better drivers. They have already started #2 and I think the charter system is pretty good and simple. Wouldn't mind #3 during football season. Don't like #4 as I like racing. I could live with 2day race weekends but I think what they have now is perfect. Don't like #6 either as I like racing. #7 makes sense and opens the sport up to more companies. Don't want to hear anything about quieter cars so #8 is a NO! Also #9 is stupid and needs not be thought about again. #10 sucks as well, this is racing the goal is to go fast not slower. Could live with a few more short tracks/road course although they are my least favorite tracks but I'd like to see new tracks as opposed to giving Martinsville or Bristol another date. Don't care about international races either but wouldn't be opposed to them, more than likely be a road course.

Just please don't do anything to the sound or power of the cars. That's the death blow right there.
 
Simple Fan said:
I like #1, and think it might help some lower funded teams get better drivers. They have already started #2 and I think the charter system is pretty good and simple. Wouldn't mind #3 during football season. Don't like #4 as I like racing. I could live with 2day race weekends but I think what they have now is perfect. Don't like #6 either as I like racing. #7 makes sense and opens the sport up to more companies. Don't want to hear anything about quieter cars so #8 is a NO! Also #9 is stupid and needs not be thought about again. #10 sucks as well, this is racing the goal is to go fast not slower. Could live with a few more short tracks/road course although they are my least favorite tracks but I'd like to see new tracks as opposed to giving Martinsville or Bristol another date. Don't care about international races either but wouldn't be opposed to them, more than likely be a road course.

Just please don't do anything to the sound or power of the cars. That's the death blow right there.
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to feel that in your body when they fire engines at the track is a experience all race fans should enjoy.
 
Reck said:
And they better not.

I dont know if they know this yet but more people are cutting cable than getting it.
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The cable networks have priced cable outside what the average young person can afford or is willing to pay. Most of my friends around my age are switching to Sling and Vue.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Tracks make all their money from TV. That's why NBC's eventually gonna get their week night races. They're paying the bills now.
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what time are these night races going to start? I get up at 3:30 am, not going to watch any week night races that go past 8:00 pm.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Thanks for the link and it confirms what I thought I remembered that ESPN and TNT were not interested in carrying Nascar programming. What I don't understand is that NBC could clearly see that Nascar was in a long period of decline so IDK why they went in so heavy when the didn't need to. Surely they didn't think some different graphics and 3 different guys in the booth would change fortunes? I think it is fair to say that SN Countdown is not getting much of a lead in from Nascar.
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NBC thought they could reverse that trend. And, to be fair, every other sport that moved to NBC/SN has seen ratings increases. Premier League, F1 and NHL are thriving over at NBCSN.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
NBC thought they could reverse that trend. And, to be fair, every other sport that moved to NBC/SN has seen ratings increases. Premier League, F1 and NHL are thriving over at NBCSN.
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To be fair too, NBCSN is the TV home of Ivy League football so NBC is perfectly willing to invest in niche sports.
 
10. CHANGE TRACK CONFIGURATIONS TO SLOW CARS DOWN - yes, reconfigure most of the cookie cutters into something 1 mile or less.
11. ADD MORE ROAD COURSES AND/OR SHORT TRACKS TO THE SCHEDULE - of course.
 
BOWTIE GUY said:
to feel that in your body when they fire engines at the track is a experience all race fans should enjoy.
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Yep, no one wants to see a bunch of electronic cars on a track. Don't know what would even make them think about that. Honestly that's the most memorable thing about a race is the sound of the cars and the power you feel when they drive by.
 
Why do they want to slow the cars down? That's another dumb one. Like, what's the reasoning? Racing should be about going faster not slower. Quieter and slower cars would kill NASCAR.
 
The Nature Boy said:
To be fair too, NBCSN is the TV home of Ivy League football so NBC is perfectly willing to invest in niche sports.
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NHL and Premier League are niche sports. Which is why I brought those examples up. And niche sports tend to thrive on NBCSN. They have a totally different model. ESPN doesn't care about most sports they air, it's just something they use to fill airtime and promote the NBA. And Fox Sports, while I love their commitment to motorsports, seems to have the same model as ESPN.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
NHL and Premier League are niche sports. Which is why I brought those examples up. And niche sports tend to thrive on NBCSN. They have a totally different model. ESPN doesn't care about most sports they air, it's just something they use to fill airtime and promote the NBA. And Fox Sports, while I love their commitment to motorsports, seems to have the same model as ESPN.
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Honestly NASCAR was a niche sport that had a boom period. The Frances are not okay with that however.
 
The Nature Boy said:
It hurt in the long run in other ways too. The driving up of costs has been insane and is unsustainable.
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The hotel costs and stuff are insane. When attendance has been cut in half, how do people think they are still going to get this much money out of a NASCAR race?

Pocono announced earlier they're holding qualifying on the same day as the race now. I've got a feeling this is gonna become more common.

And places like Charlotte, Martinsville, Richmond, Kansas, I could see them being able to draw more locals if the costs came down.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
The hotel costs and stuff are insane. When attendance has been cut in half, how do people think they are still going to get this much money out of a NASCAR race?

Pocono announced earlier they're holding qualifying on the same day as the race now. I've got a feeling this is gonna become more common.

And places like Charlotte, Martinsville, Richmond, Kansas, I could see them being able to draw more locals if the costs came down.
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I just wish that someone had taken advantage of the boom and built a North Wilkesboro or Rockingham clone in Chicago or Kansas or Dallas/Ft. Worth instead of what we got.
 
Simple Fan said:
Yep, no one wants to see a bunch of electronic cars on a track. Don't know what would even make them think about that. Honestly that's the most memorable thing about a race is the sound of the cars and the power you feel when they drive by.
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What's the point of going 220 mph if aero is king and the racing sucks?

More braking in the turns=more in the drivers hands=better racing.

Michigan before they started tweaking the aero packages is a prime example of this


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I will say it is great to see the blame for NASCAR's downfall placed squarely where it belongs. It took a real f-up to kill the golden goose that the Bill Frances built.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
NBC thought they could reverse that trend. And, to be fair, every other sport that moved to NBC/SN has seen ratings increases. Premier League, F1 and NHL are thriving over at NBCSN.
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IDK what sort of things they thought they could do in order to improve things but I don't blame the networks for Nascar's continuing decline.
 
They should have told Cable Networks to go **** themselves years ago.


They could have set up their own streaming service almost 10 years ago and they could have avoided all the hands in the kitchen. Ship has been captained by incompetent doucheweasels for many years at this point. No wonder we are where we are. It's amazing we are still THIS well off.

Granted, the original "Chase" was all the offsprings' idea.
 
Simple Fan said:
Why do they want to slow the cars down? That's another dumb one. Like, what's the reasoning? Racing should be about going faster not slower. Quieter and slower cars would kill NASCAR.
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At first blush it makes sense to think that racing is about speed but in reality it is just about being faster than the other guy whether it is at 120 or 220 mph. The differential in speeds between the cars makes racing interesting for me not watching an aero-fest and 190.
 
DUN24 said:
They should have told Cable Networks to go **** themselves years ago.


They could have set up their own streaming service almost 10 years ago and they could have avoided all the hands in the kitchen. Ship has been captained by incompetent doucheweasels for many years at this point. No wonder we are where we are. It's amazing we are still THIS well off.

Granted, the original "Chase" was all the offsprings' idea.
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What a UCF dropout gets us ;)
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
That's true too, but there aren't many "hometown heroes" anymore. That sets NASCAR a part from NFL, MLB and so on. The people you watch in the minors or in high school football might end up going to the big leagues and you root for them when they do.

The fact that Lee Pulliam, Bubba Pollard and Derek Thorn have never even started races in Trucks or XFINITY is especially egregious. I'll harbor resentment over the fact that Lee never got a shot until the day I die. How much sh!t does the dude have to win to prove he's among the greatest racers alive today and deserves to make a few NASCAR starts?
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I agree Andy
 
The Nature Boy said:
It hurt in the long run in other ways too. The driving up of costs has been insane and is unsustainable.
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As less and less money flows into Nascar and if interest continues to wane at its current pace the business model they are using now will be unsustainable, IMO.
 
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