Shorter Races

Hockey is a big sport in Canada that has spent many years trying to crack the American TV market , as has Soccer ,and many other sports . It's a tough market to crack and Nascar is doing a lot better than most of the others .
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
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It is such a shame as I can remember being excited as all get out just arriving at the track. When the engines fired my heart started racing I was so thrilled. Nascar was very fortunate that the Fox and NBC cable outlets needed programming and ponied up for the broadcast rights. I just read that Sprint will be leaving as the title sponsor in a couple of years but no matter how much crap Nascar falls in they come out smelling like a rose.
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Nascar will more than likely be here with us...... but.... they will have lost me..... in fact.... they already have..... in as much as how I used to believe they were a religion..... no more...... they can kiss my ole butt ..........
 
Thegroundpounder99 said:
Most adults would fall asleep at those tracks lol. I'm all for different tracks and some of these newer big tracks and cookie cutters to go bye bye.
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I remember the first time I had a big yawn at MIS and hoped no one saw me.
 
kymartin6 said:
It would take an 'idiot' to start following Nascar now with the resolute that we did 40 years ago. ' We' are the only reason Nascar still has a base..... Us and our kids and grandkids that were entrenched in it by us....... I guarantee you it isn't interesting enough to a new fan wanting to just check it out... (except for being indoctrinated by a family member) to keep attention for more than a few weeks......
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It was fun for me back in the days with different engine and chassis builders, the Unocal globe and Bill "The Hat Man" Broderick.
 
kymartin6 said:
Nascar will more than likely be here with us...... but.... they will have lost me..... in fact.... they already have..... in as much as how I used to believe they were a religion..... no more...... they can kiss my ole butt ..........
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They can pucker up for me too. There are races I will check out like the flat tracks and short tracks. I like Sonoma too.
 
ted@economy said:
I'm not shooting the messenger , I just see the argument of changing the product to appeal to some non existent fan as silly . It makes as much sense as changing baseball games to eight innings or golf to seventeen holes . It's just a stupid idea that makes no sense .Nascar racing , like baseball , is a sport that can stand on it's own or fail (if that's what happens) but continually changing the product is creating a self fulfilling prophesy .
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Baseball is experimenting with a pitch clock to speed games up in AA and AAA ball this year.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Baseball is experimenting with a pitch clock to speed games up in AA and AAA ball this year.
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I can see tweeking some stuff , but to fundamentally alter the game ,by reducing the number of innings , or the number of strikes, would be insane.
 
ted@economy said:
I can see tweeking some stuff , but to fundamentally alter the game ,by reducing the number of innings , or the number of strikes, would be insane.
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Reducing the number of strikes would alter baseball significantly more than reducing the length of races would. As I said before, as it is now things like pit strategy, tire wear, and mid-race adjustments have only a marginal effect on races thanks to NASCAR abusing the GWC rule as a sprint format. We haven't even mentioned how mechanical attrition is almost nonexistent outside of the World 600 now, and we haven't even begun to use the engines that are supposed to be able to last multiple races. That isn't to say races like the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 shouldn't be preserved for tradition's sake but I can't see the actual racing suddenly taking a turn for the worse.
 
Greg said:
If a person hates a 500 miler they will hate a 300 miler too.
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You are probably right.
ted@economy said:
Hockey is a big sport in Canada that has spent many years trying to crack the American TV market , as has Soccer ,and many other sports . It's a tough market to crack and Nascar is doing a lot better than most of the others .
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Advertisers like the demographic of the NHL from what I understand and NBC is doing a good job of showing the games on the main network and cable. More Americans are playing hockey and many of the top players in the NHL are American born and trained. The NHL is slowly growing which I think is good. Nascar posted some abysmal TV ratings last year and hopefully that was rock bottom and they can slowly try and recapture all they have lost.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Baseball is experimenting with a pitch clock to speed games up in AA and AAA ball this year.
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The NHL did a fantastic job of speeding up the game about 10 years ago so it makes sense to me that baseball would try and do the same thing.
 
What about shortening (or eliminating) the 1-hour pre-race crap? There's enough information online and multiple shows on tv all week where a pre-race is basically meaningless now. I think a lot of casual fans expect to see a race time and when they tune in and see nothing but people talking, they get bored very easily and turn the channel without ever bothering to come back an hour later to watch the race. Come on air right as the national anthem is about to start and I'll be just fine with that, and I am sure most other hardcore and casual fans of the sport feel the same way.
 
ted@economy said:
I can see tweeking some stuff , but to fundamentally alter the game ,by reducing the number of innings , or the number of strikes, would be insane.
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I think Nascar provides a good example to others of what can happen when you change many aspects of what you previously did.
 
I don't think any changes are going to make a difference to the fan base. In the beginning, to take any 50's model car and make it go fast with a roaring big block engine, combined with skinny tires, a hungry driver with a beer in one hand and a cig in the other was very exciting. Couple that with Rock'n Roll, Country music, people hanging out with coolers of beer ( better known a tailgate parties) and you had a formula for success. Those same people are now responsible parents ( we hope) or grand parents who are forced to think more about their future than partying. So we have a decline in fans. Many of us could pull down an engine or work on our cars in the driveway and that to has gone away with the new cars as well.

Things are just not the same. At one time I sat around a fire drinking beer and party with Geof Bodine as did many others. Drivers today are on their jets going home before the race ends if their car is wrecked. Even they don't find it exciting enough to hang a round.
I predict racing of all types will go away in the near future.
 
fox / nbc signed long10 yr big $$ contracts for " live content "......lots of it for their fs1 / nbcsn new babies.
why would they wanna reduce # of content hrs they're payin for.........when they'd have ta replace it w/ content that'd cost 'em even more $$ ?

alternative ? mimic 500 lb gorilla --nfl. ?
4 qtrs maybe ?
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I read somewhere that Brian France was on a program and asked about shorter races coming to Nascar in the future. He was not opposed to it but did say that the tracks would likely put up some opposition. It is no secret that Nascar has an older fan base and needs and infusion of youth. Is shortening races a way of creating more action and thus drawing more fans?
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This will never happen … drivers have been opining for both shorter races and seasons for years … it aint gonna happen …

When it comes down to NASCAR and their broadcast partners it is all about the $$$$ …

Myself personally I wish they would ditch some of the 1.5 mile cookie cutters in favor of some different tracks … This might help draw in some new fans …

Iowa, IRP, Memphis and Road America are tracks I would like to see on the NASCAR schedule …
 
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Clutch said:
Another road course or 2 would go a long way.
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Although most of us have grown fond of road course racing, they and short tracks still post the worst TV ratings. We're in the minority there, unfortunately.
 
Man, I really wish you guys/gals out there could find this sport as entertaining as I do instead of trying to change everything about the sport. NASCAR's got a television contract with two national networks that are signed for the next ten or so years, give a take a couple years. NASCAR continues to be one of the highest rated sports broadcast of the weekend. NASCAR's not folding up anytime soon.

Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your plans for the Daytona 400. Carry on.
 
I'm sure all the fans at California Speedway are fine with shorter races. :idunno: Even though I'm starting to wish that place had two 500 mile races again. Somehow, that track has become one of the best in NASCAR.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I'm sure all the fans at California Speedway are fine with shorter races. :idunno: Even though I'm starting to wish that place had two 500 mile races again. Somehow, that track has become one of the best in NASCAR.
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California. Something I always wondered..... Many fans seem to love it so much better as a 400 mile race vs. a 500 miler. What makes the 400 mile California race so much better than the last 400 miles of a 500 mile race @ California? How is it any different? I never quite get that.
 
You know.. some would hate the idea ... but with the success of the new elimnation format of the chase.. rather than shorter races.. I'd like to see elimination style races... every quarter of the race a quarter of the field is eliminated or something like that. It has potential to bring in the "youth/ADHD/need it now" audience NASCAR is looking to please.
 
This is what, the 10th or 12th thread about this in the last 3 or 4 years and nobody has changed their opinion yet? My opinion is still the same. Leave Everything Alone For A Few Years and let things settle down.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I have read where many former diehard fans may have the race on but are doing other things. Then with about 25 to go they sit down and watch the rest.
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There was a time that come hell or high water my butt was in front of the TV watching a the race. Then I got a VCR and would watch and tape. Occasionally if a race interfered with real life I'd set the VCR and watch later.
Then came cable who started showing a repeat of the race a couple of times during the week in the middle of the night. And DVR's
My life is no longer controlled by when the race is on. Sometimes after hearing who won and reading posts here that the race sukked I don't bother watching.
Cookie cutter cars built to spec on cookie cutter tracks with drivers told they'd be repercussions if they spoke critically of the ''on-track product''.
 
RacerrecaR said:
What about shortening (or eliminating) the 1-hour pre-race crap? There's enough information online and multiple shows on tv all week where a pre-race is basically meaningless now. I think a lot of casual fans expect to see a race time and when they tune in and see nothing but people talking, they get bored very easily and turn the channel without ever bothering to come back an hour later to watch the race. Come on air right as the national anthem is about to start and I'll be just fine with that, and I am sure most other hardcore and casual fans of the sport feel the same way.
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Networks want to keep that stuff, for whatever reason. Personally, I'd be fine with no pre-race show at all and an extended post-race show and/or longer race but FOX made it known a few years ago they want something like 40 minutes of pre-race in a 4-hour broadcast window.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Would people be talking about "shorter races" if there were more tracks like Martinsville though? If the racing is good, nobody's going to complain about it being too long. And the 10 races that made up the Chase was the best 10 race stretch I've ever seen.
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Thats a good point... the tough thing IMO is that a lot of the excitement is toward the end of a race.. for people like us the excitement is in every turn but for a casual or non fan watching I would imagine they see cars going in circles until something crazy happens.. but did they already change the channel? Btw... are you in the facebook group NASCAR and other racing? I'm the guy that asked u if u were "get off my lawn andy from r-f" lol... good group eh?
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I haven't seen that comment. I've got notifications turned off since that Steve dude posts every 32.5 seconds.
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Lol yeah he goes a bit overboard sometimes.. he's all about the local drivers. He usually is trying to promote his radio show or dirt track drivers. Sometimes some admin post too many pictures and it makes the group hard to go through. All in all its a great group though. I've been an admin there from the start just last yeara dn were up to over 4500 members. Steve used to work for Hendrick as a tire engineer. I posted a thread in here about him a while ago lol
 
SlicedBread22 said:
Lol yeah he goes a bit overboard sometimes.. he's all about the local drivers. He usually is trying to promote his radio show or dirt track drivers. Sometimes some admin post too many pictures and it makes the group hard to go through. All in all its a great group though. I've been an admin there from the start just last yeara dn were up to over 4500 members. Steve used to work for Hendrick as a tire engineer. I posted a thread in here about him a while ago lol
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Yeah, he shares stuff on there from several drivers I know.
 
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