B
BigdaddyQH
Guest
For all of you "I love Nascar and they can do no wrong" people out there, read this:
NASCAR's growth slows after 15 years in the fast lane
By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY
NASCAR's popularity might have reached a plateau. As the Nextel Cup series nears the end of its first network TV contract, there are signs fan interest is lagging and a 15-year period of growth is sputtering.
Tracks don't release figures, but estimates from NASCAR reports show crowds have decreased in a third of the races this season. Fewer than half the Cup races were sellouts, and that includes two at the 92,000-seat grandstand of California Speedway east of Los Angeles, NASCAR's largest market.
That article was written in 2006, before Nascar ruined the sport for thousands by introducing the "car of tomorrow". That was before the downturn in the economy. That was 3 years ago. Is Nascar blind?
Here is how bad it was at Fontana this year. Stater Brothers GAVE away tickets to the race. All you had to do was purchase $50.00 in food and you received a free ticket. I know of no one who went to the race and actually paid for their ticket. All you had to do was to go to a special window and show a proof of purchase. Since they do not have names on them, it could be anyone's proof of purchase. I know of families that collected friends register tapes and got free tickets. The attendance was still lousy, thanks in part to a stupid decision by Nascar that started the race late, even though they knew that rain was in the forcast. They had another Daytona fiasco, but were aboe to finish the race.
That is how bad things are going for Nascar. They do not have a real popular driver. Junior could have filled the bill, if he could win races, but he can't. Jimmy Johnson is about as exciting as cardboard. There is no Dale Sr, Richard Petty, the Allison family, or the other great legends in driving because those drivers came from the South, where all they had was racing. Not so today. Today, Nascar tries to present itself as a "national" sport by racing allover the country. That is fine, but Nascar has to realize that in most of the country, they are going to take a back seat to numerous things.
So Nascar decides to run things like the Gestapo would. Everyone must have the same car. Those boxes that they run today are nothing more than IROC cars with a few minor exceptions. The engines are so identical that the same restrictor plate can fit on any car, despite the make. The announcers are a joke. They make listening to a race very difficult, though their job is not that easy because there is so little racing action in races these days. The drivers are on contract, and many of themcould care less if they win a race or not. Just be safe and get points is all that many of these clowns know. These are very common complaints. I am sure that many peoplein here share some of them. nascar had better do something to turn their situation around. It has been falling forsome time now.
NASCAR's growth slows after 15 years in the fast lane
By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY
NASCAR's popularity might have reached a plateau. As the Nextel Cup series nears the end of its first network TV contract, there are signs fan interest is lagging and a 15-year period of growth is sputtering.
Tracks don't release figures, but estimates from NASCAR reports show crowds have decreased in a third of the races this season. Fewer than half the Cup races were sellouts, and that includes two at the 92,000-seat grandstand of California Speedway east of Los Angeles, NASCAR's largest market.
That article was written in 2006, before Nascar ruined the sport for thousands by introducing the "car of tomorrow". That was before the downturn in the economy. That was 3 years ago. Is Nascar blind?
Here is how bad it was at Fontana this year. Stater Brothers GAVE away tickets to the race. All you had to do was purchase $50.00 in food and you received a free ticket. I know of no one who went to the race and actually paid for their ticket. All you had to do was to go to a special window and show a proof of purchase. Since they do not have names on them, it could be anyone's proof of purchase. I know of families that collected friends register tapes and got free tickets. The attendance was still lousy, thanks in part to a stupid decision by Nascar that started the race late, even though they knew that rain was in the forcast. They had another Daytona fiasco, but were aboe to finish the race.
That is how bad things are going for Nascar. They do not have a real popular driver. Junior could have filled the bill, if he could win races, but he can't. Jimmy Johnson is about as exciting as cardboard. There is no Dale Sr, Richard Petty, the Allison family, or the other great legends in driving because those drivers came from the South, where all they had was racing. Not so today. Today, Nascar tries to present itself as a "national" sport by racing allover the country. That is fine, but Nascar has to realize that in most of the country, they are going to take a back seat to numerous things.
So Nascar decides to run things like the Gestapo would. Everyone must have the same car. Those boxes that they run today are nothing more than IROC cars with a few minor exceptions. The engines are so identical that the same restrictor plate can fit on any car, despite the make. The announcers are a joke. They make listening to a race very difficult, though their job is not that easy because there is so little racing action in races these days. The drivers are on contract, and many of themcould care less if they win a race or not. Just be safe and get points is all that many of these clowns know. These are very common complaints. I am sure that many peoplein here share some of them. nascar had better do something to turn their situation around. It has been falling forsome time now.
