Race lengths?

Race lengths: Not long enough or too long?

  • 500 miles is just right or not long enough.

    Votes: 13 76.5%

  • 500 miles is too long.

    Votes: 4 23.5%
  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
HoneyBadger

HoneyBadger

I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
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Should the races be shortened for added excitement for the 6 million+ people watching at home or kept at 5 hours, 500 miles to please the 60,000 fans in attendance?
 
I think some races should be shortened. However the Daytona 500, coke 600 and the "Big" races like that should be left alone.
 
I like the length of races, just not some of the tracks. If they started shortening the races I think it'd open the door for a lot of problems. NASCAR decreasing payouts, sponsors concerned about less exposure and not willing to put up the same amount of money, fans choosing to watch at home and not make the trip when they can, and so on and so on. I'm not saying I'm broken hearted about Pocono getting shortened but I don't think it should be a universal trend.
 
How many races per year run 5 hours from green to checker? None. Only a few exceed 4 hours. The vast vast majority run around 3-4 hours which is not much longer than other sports.
 
500 miles is just fine by me. If they shorten them to attract new fans I don't think that will work. those new fans probably have ADD and most likley won't stick around for 2 hours let alone an entire season.
Sorry if I have offended anyone with the ADD comment.
 
racer8 said:
500 miles is just fine by me. If they shorten them to attract new fans I don't think that will work. those new fans probably have ADD and most likley won't stick around for 2 hours let alone an entire season.
Sorry if I have offended anyone with the ADD comment.
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Err..what'd you say? I got distracted when....
 
I could go for it, if there were heat races on race day, that with the main equaled the sum total of a standard 500 lap show. A last chance DNQ race could be added in as well.


It could help the intermediate teams too, more chances to run up front in the heats even a DNQ equals good exposure because of the importance. In addition making a struggling big dog sweat out a DNQ would be interesting.
But those heats would need to be real, no safety nets, you have to earn your way into the main event.

At tracks like Martinsville the starting grid should be limited to 30 cars. I do like cycles, some will disagree with me but I would have softer tires that need some TLC, that's a built in game changer.


I would not change the 600.



But before any of the above I stop the gimmicks like provisionals and phantom cautions. A serious product needs total integrity.


Also it is an imperfect art, sometimes a driver gets hooked up and stinks up a show. That's not going to change.
 
Obviously I'm in the minority, so I guess nobody on here (except for me and the one other vote) will never complain about a race being too long ever again?
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Obviously I'm in the minority, so I guess nobody on here (except for me and the one other vote) will never complain about a race being too long ever again?
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Dang I'm the one that agreed with you.o_OI would say keep the Daytona 500 and the Coke 600 but make the rest like the lengths of the truck races.
 
I agree with most. I think case by case basis they should be shortened.
 
I think they are fine just the way they are. Like Matthew said, most sporting events are just has long, if not longer and no one complains, yes at certain tracks the cars get spread out on a green flag, but they still provide enough excitement. Every Football,Baseball,Basketball game is not a nail biter, there are plenty of blowouts in those sports.
 
I'm too busy, I've got too many things to do, I have to go there and there and be back again to be in a big hurry, GO GO GO. I am tired of the whole world being in such a big freakin hurry. If you take more than 5 seconds to put the change back in your wallet you can just feel the eyeballs burning into the back of your head by the person behind you in a major hurry to get nowhere to do nothing.
Sit back relax and enjoy the stratagey that goes with a 500 mile race.
 
I did not vote. That's not because I don't have an opinion. It's just that neither of the choices fit my opinion.

Some races have benefitted from being shortened. Fontucky at 400 miles is a better race than at 500 miles.
500 laps at Bristol or Martinsville is only 250 miles. Wanna shorten (or lengthen) them?
500 Kilometers at Phoenix. 350 Kilometers at Infineon. Both less than 500 miles.
Pocono was great (IMO) at 500 miles before NA$$CAR initiated their gear rules. 400 miles is enough with current rules.
INDY is only 400 miles.

Many races are perfect at 500 miles and shouldn't be messed with.
 
No way to vote for a race length number across the board. Each track is different. A Daytona 500 is a great experience. Make Martinsville 500 miles and hardly anyone could sit there that long.

Me, I don't care. As long as they keep the event in the 3-4 hour range, I could care less about the number of miles/laps. I'll be there from the time they drop the green until the checkered flies. I used to go to the 500 mile races @ Dover for years and loved every minute of it. I was more than pi$$ed when they cut it short by 100 miles and raised my seat prices.

Yesterday morning I renewed my Martinsville fall tickets to the Tums Fast Relief 500. Had it been the Tums Fast Relief 250 or Tums Fast Relief 300 I wouldn't had made that same choice.
 
Let's see, there's TV coverage, internet coverage, in-car cameras, nearly unccountable forums, websites and blogs.

Honestly, if people can't somehow keep themselves entertained, amused or otherwise distracted for 3 to 4 hours of a car race then I don't know what to tell them. I really don't :confused:
 
#17D500winner said:
Let's see, there's TV coverage, internet coverage, in-car cameras, nearly unccountable forums, websites and blogs.

Honestly, if people can't somehow keep themselves entertained, amused or otherwise distracted for 3 to 4 hours of a car race then I don't know what to tell them. I really don't :confused:
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I watch Oprah during the boring parts.
 
Even though ratings are attendance have declined they are still very good. Several other sports would love to garner the attention, ratings and attendance. I just don't thing NASCAR's decline has anything to do with the length of races. Hell, any fan who stopped watching over the past 12 years wasn't a real fan to begin with. It it so bad that NASCAR is left with a smaller but fiercely dedicated fan base?
 
Matthew2470 said:
Even though ratings are attendance have declined they are still very good. Several other sports would love to garner the attention, ratings and attendance. I just don't thing NASCAR's decline has anything to do with the length of races. Hell, any fan who stopped watching over the past 12 years wasn't a real fan to begin with. It it so bad that NASCAR is left with a smaller but fiercely dedicated fan base?
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Every other sport has a larger fanbase than NASCAR. The ratings aren't as high because there's only two teams playing on a certain channel at any given time, unlike NASCAR where all the drivers are on the track. The World Series, NBA Championship and any NFL game consistently draws higher ratings than any NASCAR race ever has.
 
NASCAR adjusted the length of some of the races a few years back and I think they have them Good now. Some of the races I enjoy more than others, some tracks I beleive are more challenging than others, but as it sits there's a very good blend of tracks and racing. Just look at this season so far 6 races in and we have 5 Winners! There's been a SuperSpeedway a big short track ( I'm not sure what to call Phoenix anymore? ) a hi banked short track a flat short track and a couple cookies....What else can you ask for?
I mean if you don't enjoy what we have now, Flip the channel.
 
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