The Annual "Griping" About Start Times Thread

DIDIT said:
I wonder what percentage of fans are from the local area vs traveling a bit of a distance? I don't have a clue on that one.
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This is a great question.

The closest Cup tracks to me are all a few hours of a drive (Kentucky, Indy, and Michigan are the nearest, 150-190 miles away) so I always get a hotel after the race, regardless of the track. I like to take Monday off work in case of rain, but even if there's no weather delay it makes raceday more enjoyable knowing I don't need to rush home right after and go to work the next morning.

If I went to a race that was less than two hours from home, I would probably just drive back right afterwards. Like you said, I would be curious to know the percentages on attendance, how many are local vs how many are coming in from several hours away.
 
IanMcVittie said:
A question for the board. Is it important for you to watch Nascar races live or does watching them later in the day work for you?

I prefer to DVR and watch later in the day or the next day. What I like about it is I can FF through all the things (commercials, stage breaks, hipster sightings etc) I don’t care for and see the race in a short time
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I like to start watching at least an hour into the race so I can FF during commercials and Rutledge and sometimes Burton. 3:00 PM Eastern starts are also paused during the evening meal. :D
 
I DVR every race it fits my schedule better and I’m not required to sit there for how many hours watching commercials and the Hipster from NBC reporting about useless info from the infield. If I do start early enough I catch up live and then try to watch while I post with you nice people. Start times don’t affect me really but if I had a gripe , I wish the Daytona 500 didn’t finish under the lights for tradition’s sake, should finish during the day. If NASCAR/Fox want a Sunday Night prime time Daytona 500 then jump all the way in the pool, not half ass it by running in late afternoon/early evening.
 
RacerrecaR said:
I have DVR but there's a special charm to watching sports live. Plus it increases the chance of having the outcome spoiled before I watch it on DVR.
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I totally understand what you are saying. I avoid any info on any broadcast until I have watched the race. I DVR because I do a lot of things on the weekend during the day. The night races I record because I will dang sure go to sleep in my recliner watching it, LOL.
 
Snappy D said:
If I do start early enough I catch up live and then try to watch while I post with you nice people.
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That's another reason I prefer live. Nowadays it's tough to find someone to watch a race with. If I watch it live, I can converse with y'all in the race discussion.

On those occasions I record a race, I usually don't have much trouble having it spoiled for me. When that does happen, it's usually with an IndyCar race; don't ask me why.
 
sdj said:
I can fast forward it, pause it, stop it, rewind a special happening at any time and do whatever for as long as necessary and not miss anything. :headbang:
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That is what I like as I have complete control. If I want to see things frame by frame I can but if there is a Mikey/Hipster sighting I FF. Also I think people would be surprised how fast you can watch a race when you pass on all the non related crap they soil a broadcast with.
 
I would love 900 a west coast starts

wake up wtahc race, ends about 1230 got al day to do whatever
 
Once again, NASCAR, and all of us here need to stop looking at in a myopic way. If you're on this forum, chances are you're a fairly serious NASCAR fan and will do what they need to do to see the race, but I'd say 50-70% of the audience on a given Sunday are NOT like us, and I know this because I know many that fit that description. When they sit down in their recliner after church or lunch or whatever, they flip on the TV and chances are they get into watching the first one-three things they find on the tube, or they turn the thing off and go do something else. I can promise you that by 3PM, the vast majority of these people have either found something to watch that they are not going to tune out of or have given up and gone on to do something else. I'm not sure what part of this NASCAR and the TV networks don't get. The DVR thing is likely not an option for them because most people that have a only passing interest in something DVR it to watch it later, and many supposed fans DO DVR it and never end up watching it. One of my best friends, who IS a fan and actually goes o a few races DVR's every Cup race. I usually see him a few days after the race and he tells me not to spoil it for him, and then about two weeks later he asks me what happened, because by that time the DVR has recorded over it or some other nonsense. The point is, another person who WOULD watch, yet doesn't.
 
I didn't even notice the Las Vegas 7pm thing. :XXROFL:

Going up against Sunday Night Football, Family Guy, The Simpsons, 60 Minutes, Madam Secretary, etc, etc.... it's a bold strategy cotton.
 
BobbyFord said:
I’ve never complained about race start times. Who cares about when the race starts?
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Only the people that actually watch the races and those that understand that NASCAR cannot thrive catering only to a handful of hardcore fans who will do whatever is necessary to see the race.
 
I watch a lot of races at 10 o’clock Sunday night because that’s where it fits in my busy life.
 
IanMcVittie said:
That is what I like as I have complete control. If I want to see things frame by frame I can but if there is a Mikey/Hipster sighting I FF. Also I think people would be surprised how fast you can watch a race when you pass on all the non related crap they soil a broadcast with.
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Yep, cut out the commercials and a race goes by quick
 
kyle18fan said:
Yep, cut out the commercials and a race goes by quick
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The usual race is 3 hours and there are 15 minutes commercial per hour so you will save
45 minutes. I tape the start of the race then start watching 30 minutes in so I don't see any commercials. However they get around the law with this split screen thing where you can almost see some racing.
 
Team Penske said:
The usual race is 3 hours and there are 15 minutes commercial per hour so you will save
45 minutes. I tape the start of the race then start watching 30 minutes in so I don't see any commercials. However they get around the law with this split screen thing where you can almost see some racing.
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In my world split screens are commercials so I FF through them.
 
Team Penske said:
The usual race is 3 hours and there are 15 minutes commercial per hour so you will save
45 minutes. I tape the start of the race then start watching 30 minutes in so I don't see any commercials. However they get around the law with this split screen thing where you can almost see some racing.
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I don't fall for the split screen trap .... or Rutledge Wood, they both go bye bye
 
Formerjackman said:
Only the people that actually watch the races and those that understand that NASCAR cannot thrive catering only to a handful of hardcore fans who will do whatever is necessary to see the race.
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I don’t think that later starting times will help or hurt things.
 
I wish the races started at 9am or 7 pm. I am getting to where I just don't want to waste a Sunday afternoon watching TV.
 
Matthew2470 said:
I wish the races started at 9am or 7 pm. I am getting to where I just don't want to waste a Sunday afternoon watching TV.
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Watching Nascar races has always been a challenge for me as many of them occur during the nice weather season. I would be depressed if I stayed inside on Saturday and Sunday watching television instead of being outside doing something.

A while back someone described watching Nascar on TV as a hobby. I suppose it is all in how you look at it but my idea of a hobby is actually doing something.
 
Sunday afternoon is the one time all week where for the most part people know to leave me the hell alone and let me watch something I enjoy in peace. If there is something important going on, I WILL DVR it, but for the most part that time on Sunday is MY time, and I NEVER* go to bed without having seen the Cup race, even if that means staying up till 2AM to watch it. *On a couple of instances, I have gone to bed and woke up at 4AM and watched it before I went to work. If the damn races started at a decent time like they used to, you could STILL have a big chunk of afternoon to do something else.
 
Formerjackman said:
Sunday afternoon is the one time all week where for the most part people know to leave me the hell alone and let me watch something I enjoy in peace. If there is something important going on, I WILL DVR it, but for the most part that time on Sunday is MY time, and I NEVER* go to bed without having seen the Cup race, even if that means staying up till 2AM to watch it. *On a couple of instances, I have gone to bed and woke up at 4AM and watched it before I went to work. If the damn races started at a decent time like they used to, you could STILL have a big chunk of afternoon to do something else.
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eh it never has been a big deal when they had the races. I prefer real time, but I record them if I have a conflict.
 
Formerjackman said:
Sunday afternoon is the one time all week where for the most part people know to leave me the hell alone and let me watch something I enjoy in peace. If there is something important going on, I WILL DVR it, but for the most part that time on Sunday is MY time, and I NEVER* go to bed without having seen the Cup race, even if that means staying up till 2AM to watch it. *On a couple of instances, I have gone to bed and woke up at 4AM and watched it before I went to work. If the damn races started at a decent time like they used to, you could STILL have a big chunk of afternoon to do something else.
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Based on how you like to watch the races I see how later starts could be problematic
 
FLRacingFan said:
Especially as the box featuring the race has gotten smaller and smaller over time. TNT and ESPN had as much race as commercial, if not more.
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proven long ago that there is a line of over saturation with commercials in television programming. They can get by with it for most stick n ball events, they have timeouts every minute or two it seems, but applying the same thing with auto racing isn't working and has been counter productive. The Indycar races are so much easier to follow because they aren't deluded with commercials like Nascar is. One of the many reasons I don't care if Nascar gets less for TV coverage come contract time.
 
Team Penske said:
And that is why we record it. You can hit the couch and watch it when ever you like and FF the commercials or any parts you find boring.
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I should have included in my previous post that I am a cordcutter with no DVR. I have access to a DirecTV Now account but their Cloud DVR is unreliable for long recordings. :(
 
Formerjackman said:
Sunday afternoon is the one time all week where for the most part people know to leave me the hell alone and let me watch something I enjoy in peace. If there is something important going on, I WILL DVR it, but for the most part that time on Sunday is MY time, and I NEVER* go to bed without having seen the Cup race, even if that means staying up till 2AM to watch it. *On a couple of instances, I have gone to bed and woke up at 4AM and watched it before I went to work. If the damn races started at a decent time like they used to, you could STILL have a big chunk of afternoon to do something else.
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I relate to all of this. I don't think I missed 5 races between 1999 and the end of 2015. My shift from being an "ardent" fan towards being a casual fan has changed things a bit. I still absolutely love NASCAR but I am ok if I miss a race and watch highlights on the YouTubes.
 
kyle18fan said:
Woods could single handidly drive me away from racing as a whole, including bicycle racing if he ever shows his face there.
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suitable for framing.
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IanMcVittie said:
Be careful what you wish for as if there is a sizable drop in broadcast rights fees there will be less races to go along with less commercials.

IDK if stick and ball have more or less commercials per hour than Nascar. However Nascar is one big commercial with “4 Goodyear tires” and 2 cans of Sunoco race fuel” and all the other assaults on our senses.

I agree that Nascar is over saturated and they have more product and series than meets demand. I think it will be this way until current broadcast deal is completed as Nascar and the tracks are taking in a dollar and giving back fitty cents worth of value. Presumably that will correct itself in the next go round but who knows for sure?
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same ol dog and pony show. I guess if you buy into the more more more mentality people have been fed since birth in the U.S. that's supposed to mean something. It's business, I have lived all my life around boom or bust oil men, had a boom or bust business myself. Ya make changes for ups and downs.
 
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