Shorter Races

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Skoalbandit33

Guest
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?
 
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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Doubting shorter races will bring more action unless it's a 25 lap race
 
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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NO.
 
Over time they have shortened several races and it has gone well, the balance of the races on the circuit would be a real challenge to change that.



I have been reading and hearing all this talk about "How do we draw younger Race Fans".

One of the best ways is for an older race fan to take a younger person to a race.
Second would be to promote the excitement of the event, in car shots with driver perspective, high speed shots, some carnage (not a lot just a little), post this on all the new media outlets, (that I do not use), that they live on and by.

If any of you all listen to Nascar on XM radio you will hear the lamest adds by Nascar being announced by a monotone deep voice about fear, what bull****.

If the young people are not watching the races on TV, then why does Nastycar cater to them so strongly on TV aired races?

I personally am immune to any type of promotion for the Nastycar Races, because, I am a Nastycar fan and am going to watch the races no matter what they spew out as promotion.
 
I'd like to rephrase Skoalbandit33's question.

Instead of one long Cup race, what if there were two or more shorter races Cup races on Sunday totaling the same number of laps as the original long event?
 
klemmabyna said:
jmo

shorter races will irritate me more than restrictor plates and the chase. and that is significant irritation.:D
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It doesn't matter to me if the races are shortened or lengthened as I cheat and DVR any race I watch anyway. I can make the race as short as I want to lol
 
sdj said:
Over time they have shortened several races and it has gone well, the balance of the races on the circuit would be a real challenge to change that.



I have been reading and hearing all this talk about "How do we draw younger Race Fans".

One of the best ways is for an older race fan to take a younger person to a race.
Second would be to promote the excitement of the event, in car shots with driver perspective, high speed shots, some carnage (not a lot just a little), post this on all the new media outlets, (that I do not use), that they live on and by.

If any of you all listen to Nascar on XM radio you will hear the lamest adds by Nascar being announced by a monotone deep voice about fear, what bull****.

If the young people are not watching the races on TV, then why does Nastycar cater to them so strongly on TV aired races?

I personally am immune to any type of promotion for the Nastycar Races, because, I am a Nastycar fan and am going to watch the races no matter what they spew out as promotion.
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I think you have some good ideas concerning attracting younger Nascar fans. For years I have suggested giving out tickets to church groups, youth organizations and underprivileged kids. Instead of having 30-50,000 empty seats make some good use of them. It is a PR win for Nascar, young people from all ethnicities are exposed to Nascar and the stands are less empty.

I don't understand about marketing and advertising but I know that I am dead to most companies as I am in the dreaded over 50 demographic. I have money to spend but no one other than AARP wants my business lol.

I can't remember all the races that have been shortened over the years other than MIS and Pocono. Personally I don't think that shorter races are the answer but more interesting tracks are. IMO the cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks have killed it for the long time fan and do nothing to attract new ones.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'd like to rephrase Skoalbandit33's question.

Instead of one long Cup race, what if there were two or more shorter races Cup races on Sunday totaling the same number of laps as the original long event?
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Running 2 shorter races may be a good idea. I know some have floated the idea of heat races and a main event which is another option. The only concern I heard was that people would only tune in for the main. I would love to become a rabid Nascar fan again but don't know if that will be possible. Fingers crossed.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Build more short tracks.
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You will get zero argument from me as short track racing is real racing to me. The old Atlanta track was a good one before it was ruined and Wilkesboro was another good one. More half and 3 quarter mile tracks work fine for me.
 
If a 500 mile race becomes a 400 mile race will nascar lower the ticket price 20%???? The concessions at the track also?
 
I like the way the V8 Supercars does it. I went to the Austin 400, their format was 2 100km races on Saturday and 2 100km races on Sunday. Wouldn't mind seeing NASCAR do something like that. Maybe take a 400mile race weekend with 1 200 mile race on Saturday and the other 200 miles on Sunday. I do not like sitting there baking in the sun for 400 miles non stop. Its one of the reasons i've pretty much stopped going to cup races. Way too long.
 
Either that or I would like to see the majority of the race become relevant again - meaning, stop throwing cautions for every piece of garbage that happens to float above the track for a second. Personally, I'm having a harder time getting into races almost assured of ending with a run of ten or fewer green flag laps to the checkered. It takes away from what the crew chiefs do in terms of making adjustments to keep up with the track and with the competition throughout the race, it takes away from what the crews do the first half a dozen times they pitted the car, and it takes away from what the drivers do by managing tires and managing the brakes and lapping cars and...

So, yes, if the vast majority of the race is going to continue to be pointless I would take shorter races. And maybe it will get even more people my age into the series.
 
I've never been able to understand why a fan of this sport would want less. It's like wanting less sex. Hell no!

If you want shorter races, tune in later. We'll all have what we want. Why make the existing fans of this sport suffer for the desires of a few?
 
Bobw said:
If a 500 mile race becomes a 400 mile race will nascar lower the ticket price 20%???? The concessions at the track also?
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Your question makes sense but monkeys will fly out my butt before prices are reduced.
 
What idiot would tell a marathon runner or a tour de france rider that shorter races would make them more attractive to "fans" ? Absolute BS
 
toledo47 said:
I like the way the V8 Supercars does it. I went to the Austin 400, their format was 2 100km races on Saturday and 2 100km races on Sunday. Wouldn't mind seeing NASCAR do something like that. Maybe take a 400mile race weekend with 1 200 mile race on Saturday and the other 200 miles on Sunday. I do not like sitting there baking in the sun for 400 miles non stop. Its one of the reasons i've pretty much stopped going to cup races. Way too long.
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I like hockey games that normally take 2.5 hours and football games around 3. However how much I am being entertained trumps the length of any event for me.
 
They could always change the direction of the race at the midway point left turns first half right turns second half.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Either that or I would like to see the majority of the race become relevant again - meaning, stop throwing cautions for every piece of garbage that happens to float above the track for a second. Personally, I'm having a harder time getting into races almost assured of ending with a run of ten or fewer green flag laps to the checkered. It takes away from what the crew chiefs do in terms of making adjustments to keep up with the track and with the competition throughout the race, it takes away from what the crews do the first half a dozen times they pitted the car, and it takes away from what the drivers do by managing tires and managing the brakes and lapping cars and...

So, yes, if the vast majority of the race is going to continue to be pointless I would take shorter races. And maybe it will get even more people my age into the series.
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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.
 
ted@economy said:
What idiot would tell a marathon runner or a tour de france rider that shorter races would make them more attractive to "fans" ? Absolute BS
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I believe the thinking was that in order to keep the attention of a newer fan the races would have to be shorter. I think it is more about quality of product than length of race.
 
Wingnutcnc said:
They could always change the direction of the race at the midway point left turns first half right turns second half.
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I thought that the drivers should participate in some sort of skills competition, a demo derby or drag race at different events.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Either that or I would like to see the majority of the race become relevant again - meaning, stop throwing cautions for every piece of garbage that happens to float above the track for a second. Personally, I'm having a harder time getting into races almost assured of ending with a run of ten or fewer green flag laps to the checkered. It takes away from what the crew chiefs do in terms of making adjustments to keep up with the track and with the competition throughout the race, it takes away from what the crews do the first half a dozen times they pitted the car, and it takes away from what the drivers do by managing tires and managing the brakes and lapping cars and...

So, yes, if the vast majority of the race is going to continue to be pointless I would take shorter races. And maybe it will get even more people my age into the series.
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This. NASCAR's love of the reset button is what is making the first 95% of races irrelevant. If you know there's going to be a plastic cup caution with 10 laps to go, why would a casual fan bother with the rest of the race?
 
I do not see a need to shorten any more races, JMHO. But the whole crux of the matter that I see here, is asses in seats at the race tracks. Asses in seats at the race track is not what pays the big bills, TV is what pays the big bills. How do you get TV viewership up?

Since I DVR all races and watch less commercials, when I want to watch them. (The exception being both Dega Races, I try to watch those live after they are going for 1.5 hours), it ain't no big deal to me either way. How to get 20 somethings to sit still long enough to watch a race is the biggy. Hell I am 62, love the sport, and I can not sit still that long at home, that's why I DVR and enjoy.

I still say it is up to the die hard fan to take young folks to a race or two live, that will normally hook anyone.
 
I like the short races they already have - the dual 125s and the all star race. I don't think shorter races will do anything to attract younger fans, but it might annoy existing fans. Football games are still 60 minutes but the coverage has gotten longer, over 3 hours.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I believe the thinking was that in order to keep the attention of a newer fan the races would have to be shorter. I think it is more about quality of product than length of race.
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And ..that changes what I said ? Does it make sense to tell a marathon runner that his race will be shortened because of some idiot fan who has the attention span of a flea?
 
Long races and a "boring" points system brought this sport to a high popularity years ago. I don't think shortening the races is a good way to go, we already have 2 series w/ shorter races and tapered spacers. Do we really need 3?
 
ted@economy said:
And ..that changes what I said ? Does it make sense to tell a marathon runner that his race will be shortened because of some idiot fan who has the attention span of a flea?
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Don't shoot the messenger as I am just offering an opinion on what Brian France said. I would like to see Nascar succeed and to do that it needs a younger fan base. I enjoyed Nascar for many years but if it disappeared tomorrow it would not bother me a bit.
 
sdj said:
I do not see a need to shorten any more races, JMHO. But the whole crux of the matter that I see here, is asses in seats at the race tracks. Asses in seats at the race track is not what pays the big bills, TV is what pays the big bills. How do you get TV viewership up?

Since I DVR all races and watch less commercials, when I want to watch them. (The exception being both Dega Races, I try to watch those live after they are going for 1.5 hours), it ain't no big deal to me either way. How to get 20 somethings to sit still long enough to watch a race is the biggy. Hell I am 62, love the sport, and I can not sit still that long at home, that's why I DVR and enjoy.

I still say it is up to the die hard fan to take young folks to a race or two live, that will normally hook anyone.
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Possibly but if you took a kid to MIS, Cali, Kansas, Joliet, Pocono or Atlanta they may fall asleep. A friend of mine took his son to a race at MIS a few years back. The kid played on his electronic device for most of the race and didn't watch the race. Later on he told his dad that he liked playing the Nascar video game but going to the race was boring. That is only one kid but I suspect there are many others like him.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Don't shoot the messenger as I am just offering an opinion on what Brian France said. I would like to see Nascar succeed and to do that it needs a younger fan base. I enjoyed Nascar for many years but if it disappeared tomorrow it would not bother me a bit.
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I feel the same as you Skoal...... they are gonna' have to figure it out on their own because they are the ones that got themselves into this mess they are in. Not us..... And..... just like you.... They have distanced themselves from me so far that I wouldn't give a rat's ass if they folded up tomorrow.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Don't shoot the messenger as I am just offering an opinion on what Brian France said. I would like to see Nascar succeed and to do that it needs a younger fan base. I enjoyed Nascar for many years but if it disappeared tomorrow it would not bother me a bit.
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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 .
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Possibly but if you took a kid to MIS, Cali, Kansas, Joliet, Pocono or Atlanta they may fall asleep. A friend of mine took his son to a race at MIS a few years back. The kid played on his electronic device for most of the race and didn't watch the race. Later on he told his dad that he liked playing the Nascar video game but going to the race was boring. That is only one kid but I suspect there are many others like him.
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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.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
At this point in time Nascar needs everyone including idiots to give it some support.
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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......
 
I
kymartin6 said:
I feel the same as you Skoal...... they are gonna' have to figure it out on their own because they are the ones that got themselves into this mess they are in. Not us..... And..... just like you.... They have distanced themselves from me so far that I wouldn't give a rat's ass if they folded up tomorrow.
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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.
 
The NHRA has short races, why not just go there.
 
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