The Attendance Thread

DIDIT said:
But how many stayed? I don't disagree that some folks were fed up with NASCAR and moved on. I hope they are still attending and watching some form of racing. If not, were they really fans?
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Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans. Heck, they used to plan their weekends around the races like I did. We used to have parties centered around races. We no longer do. We used to play fantasy Nascar every season. We no longer do. It's sad to see but my small section of friends and family that were once dedicated fans have pretty much lost all interest. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone but I know my friends reasons for leaving. We've talked about it many times.
 
Yeah I’m retired from attending Nascar sanctioned events but I do watch from home through legal means which is more than I can say for some “fans.” As far as discrediting NASCAR goes it doesn’t need me as it takes care of that on its own.

dpkimmel2001 said:
Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans. Heck, they used to plan their weekends around the races like I did. We used to have parties centered around races. We no longer do. We used to play fantasy Nascar every season. We no longer do. It's sad to see but my small section of friends and family that were once dedicated fans have pretty much lost all interest. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone but I know my friends reasons for leaving. We've talked about it many times.
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Same experience here and none of them left due to a driver retiring as these guys were true blue fans. In reality they didn’t leave Nascar as it was the other way around. No more parties, pools, fantasy leagues, going to races or even just jawing about it. They are gone and have no interest in supporting an organization like Nascar.

dpkimmel2001 said:
Hell, I still love this sport. I'm just not as interested as I once was.. My lack of interest is directly related to the changes that have occurred under Brian's reign.
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I don’t love or hate Nascar but I still keep an eye on it as occasionally you will see a good race like yesterday. By next year Bruton could decide to change the track or they may put the wrong pine tar down to help things along. Nothing surprises me anymore.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans. Heck, they used to plan their weekends around the races like I did. We used to have parties centered around races. We no longer do. We used to play fantasy Nascar every season. We no longer do. It's sad to see but my small section of friends and family that were once dedicated fans have pretty much lost all interest. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone but I know my friends reasons for leaving. We've talked about it many times.
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I have basically this exact same story. I don't know a single person that watches Nascar anymore. It was a big deal for a bunch of us. Several of us used to spend big dollars traveling long distance to races every year.

The cot was probably the first nail in the coffin and the lottery style championship killed off the remaining. I am the only one left who watches at all and I am hanging on by a thread.
 
It’s all about personalities guys. Yeah there’s some things that can be improved, but the reason the NBA is so big right now is because of Durant, Curry, Harden, Lebron and their star power. Frankly Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson are all we really have star wise anymore
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans.
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Dan, what form of motor racing have your friends gravitated to, once Nascar became unappealing due to the changes in the sport? I might guess sprint cars, as Pennsylvania has a vibrant - yet very traditional - sprint car scene that operates at a high level?

If they were true racing fans, rather than attracted to a lifestyle fantasy that largely fueled the Nascar fad boom (but also existed before the fad boom), I'd think they would find another form of racing to satisfy that craving.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans. Heck, they used to plan their weekends around the races like I did. We used to have parties centered around races. We no longer do. We used to play fantasy Nascar every season. We no longer do. It's sad to see but my small section of friends and family that were once dedicated fans have pretty much lost all interest. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone but I know my friends reasons for leaving. We've talked about it many times.
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The makings of a Country Song (or Blues) somewhere in there...
 
Up the road from my house there's a little country store. Two old men play Checkers there daily, and two other old men watch. Well wouldn't you know the store owner up and bought a new checker board. Well one of the spectators quit coming in to watch, he wants the old Checker board back. He ain't having nothing to do with it. And By God, he'll buy his cup of coffee elsewhere. And the local village idiot comes in and sees that half the spectators are gone, and he's shocked!!!! And he tells everybody as often as he can that the store has lost half it's business!!! And all because that fool store owner bought a new Checker board. Oh, the humanity!!! Shocking!!!!
 
DIDIT said:
But how many stayed? I don't disagree that some folks were fed up with NASCAR and moved on. I hope they are still attending and watching some form of racing. If not, were they really fans?
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I consider myself a fan. I have been watching racing since late 80's and made the trek to Daytona twice at about $3000. per trip. At 76 I am still watching every week when I can get the races here in Canada. (No Trucks) However spring is coming and if Nascar continues to penalize teams for a tire sitting still inside their box OR because a pit crew member leaned over the wall and his hand touched the ground to keep his balance then I can see myself finding other things to do when the weather permits. You can only put up with so much stupidity before finding other forms of entertainment.
 
LewTheShoe said:
Dan, what form of motor racing have your friends gravitated to, once Nascar became unappealing due to the changes in the sport? I might guess sprint cars, as Pennsylvania has a vibrant - yet very traditional - sprint car scene that operates at a high level?

If they were true racing fans, rather than attracted to a lifestyle fantasy that largely fueled the Nascar fad boom (but also existed before the fad boom), I'd think they would find another form of racing to satisfy that craving.
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Like me, none are/were attracted by other forms of racing.

''True Race Fan'.... I see that term thrown around a lot but it always seems to be defined in different ways. By your definition above, I guess I no longer can be defined as a true race fan either.

I've always loved this sport, just not the changes that have made it a former shell of what it once was. That's my reason for no longer attending races so I only add to the attendance issues. I can no longer justify a high $ weekend of camping at and attending a race where in the past I considered that money spent gave me back what I put into it.

My final straw at attending was when they removed my seats at Martinsville replacing them with a failed concept of a party deck. I no longer receive invoices for my season tickets at Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond & Dover. I no longer do one off's at Michigan, Eldora, Pocono or Watkins Glen. They've lost me. I'm part of NASCAR's attendance problem.
 
Bruton Smith announced emergency reconstruction plans along with an announcement of a complete sellout for the August 2019 weekend. Work began with the checkered flag this past Sunday. Work is to be completed in time for the August Night Race. Along with the announcement an artist rendition of the new configuration plans were leaked.....

8a18d0813f97524bac8c6b686aa001f4.jpg
 
mack said:
Up the road from my house there's a little country store. Two old men play Checkers there daily, and two other old men watch. Well wouldn't you know the store owner up and bought a new checker board. Well one of the spectators quit coming in to watch, he wants the old Checker board back. He ain't having nothing to do with it. And By God, he'll buy his cup of coffee elsewhere. And the local village idiot comes in and sees that half the spectators are gone, and he's shocked!!!! And he tells everybody as often as he can that the store has lost half it's business!!! And all because that fool store owner bought a new Checker board. Oh, the humanity!!! Shocking!!!!
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I love the story and it sounds just like Nascar. Take a product that people enjoy and are enthused about and start making unnecessary changes to the point you lose half your customers. Unfortunately for Nascar they have already lost more than half their customer base.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Bruton Smith announced emergency reconstruction plans along with an announcement of a complete sellout for the August 2019 weekend. Work began with the checkered flag this past Sunday. Work is to be completed in time for the August Night Race. Along with the announcement an artist rendition of the new configuration plans were leaked.....

8a18d0813f97524bac8c6b686aa001f4.jpg
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I could get behind it.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Not many of my friends bother watching anymore. None of them attend anymore either. And, yes, they were fans. Heck, they used to plan their weekends around the races like I did. We used to have parties centered around races. We no longer do. We used to play fantasy Nascar every season. We no longer do. It's sad to see but my small section of friends and family that were once dedicated fans have pretty much lost all interest. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone but I know my friends reasons for leaving. We've talked about it many times.
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Switchback said:
I have basically this exact same story. I don't know a single person that watches Nascar anymore. It was a big deal for a bunch of us. Several of us used to spend big dollars traveling long distance to races every year.

The cot was probably the first nail in the coffin and the lottery style championship killed off the remaining. I am the only one left who watches at all and I am hanging on by a thread.
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So you both have a different experience with fans you were associated with than I do. Not going to argue that. With our group only one remained a racing fan and now closely follows IMSA. What I do find interesting is that the few of us that remain we now enjoy going to the dirt tracks as much as going to NASCAR races...and back in the day, I was the only one doing dirt.
 
LewTheShoe said:
Dan, what form of motor racing have your friends gravitated to, once Nascar became unappealing due to the changes in the sport? I might guess sprint cars, as Pennsylvania has a vibrant - yet very traditional - sprint car scene that operates at a high level?

If they were true racing fans, rather than attracted to a lifestyle fantasy that largely fueled the Nascar fad boom (but also existed before the fad boom), I'd think they would find another form of racing to satisfy that craving.
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My friends were stock car racing fans and don’t follow any other form of racing religiously. They will see some sprint car races and head to Winchester and Eldora from time to time.

You mention the term “lifestyle fan” a lot and even though you have never explained what it means you use it in a negative sense. The idea that you have to be an enthusiast of multiple forms of racing in order to be a “true race fan” is insulting.

My friends and millions of others left Nascar because something they enjoyed turned into a ****show. They did nothing wrong and decided to do something else with the thousands of dollars they spent going to the track and the hundreds of hours watching the series.
 
DIDIT said:
What I do find interesting is that the few of us that remain we now enjoy going to the dirt tracks as much as going to NASCAR races...and back in the day, I was the only one doing dirt.
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I like the sensation of speed when those cars accelerate and zoom around the track, dive into the corners, teeter right on the edge as they battle --

watching a NASCAR race especially on the Start/Restarts, it seems like those cars are just slogging through the gears -- no "hit" off the bottom, just noise... :D
 
Ventisca said:
I like the sensation of speed when those cars accelerate and zoom around the track, dive into the corners, teeter right on the edge as they battle --

watching a NASCAR race especially on the Start/Restarts, it seems like those cars are just slogging through the gears -- no "hit" off the bottom, just noise... :D
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It looks like the cars are pulling invisible parachutes to me. Good, bad or indifferent I can’t believe people can’t see how slowed down these cars are.

Of course loop data shows 4 million passes for the lead each race so it makes it all good.
 
DIDIT said:
Wrestlemania is the "in thing" people follow it and go to it because that is what everybody is doing. Years ago NASCAR had the same appeal. People did not go to the race because they were race fans, but went because their friends were going and it was the "in thing" to do. Those fans have now moved on and we are back to our core fans.
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This is simply not true... While WWE is still very popular they don't get the tv ratings and attendance that they did in their boom period from 97-01.

I don't see how you can call something the "in thing" when they have been selling out and drawing big crowds for 35 WrestleManias. It's not something new.

People travel from all over the world for WrestleMania week but its the die hard fans that do that and it's nowhere near as popular when it comes to mainstream attention as it use to be. Their weekly TV shows can't even sell out the NHL/NBA arenas anymore. Most of the sections are tarped off.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
This is simply not true... While WWE is still very popular they don't get the tv ratings and attendance that they did in their boom period from 97-01.

I don't see how you can call something the "in thing" when they have been selling out and drawing big crowds for 35 WrestleManias. It's not something new.

People travel from all over the world for WrestleMania week but its the die hard fans that do that and it's nowhere near as popular when it comes to mainstream attention as it use to be. Their weekly TV shows can't even sell out the NHL/NBA arenas anymore. Most of the sections are tarped off.
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I didn’t know any of this as I’m still in the Ohhhhh Yeah times of the Macho Man, the Undertaker, Jake the Snake and Earthquake
 
LewTheShoe said:
Dan, what form of motor racing have your friends gravitated to, once Nascar became unappealing due to the changes in the sport? I might guess sprint cars, as Pennsylvania has a vibrant - yet very traditional - sprint car scene that operates at a high level?

If they were true racing fans, rather than attracted to a lifestyle fantasy that largely fueled the Nascar fad boom (but also existed before the fad boom), I'd think they would find another form of racing to satisfy that craving.
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I don't find the question posed here insulting, just digging a little deeper than the surface that gets explored in these discussions all the time. No, nobody is doing anything "wrong" by making their own personal choices in what to watch and not watch.

Apparently there were millions of people who became fans of NASCAR racing but never any other forms of auto racing, and then were driven away due to various factors. I'll compare it to myself growing up an NFL fan. At one point I watched upwards of a dozen hours of NFL football every week. From 2016-2017, I largely lost interest and probably only watched 20-30 games total. Watched considerably more last season, but still am a casual fan at this point. I don't care if I miss an entire weekend of games to do other things. I could see myself skipping out entirely at some point, or staying engaged on an occasional level. Regardless, I will not seek out another football league to watch.

Therefore, I get why someone can become a fan of a sport, but only a particular version of that sport. However, accordingly, I would not claim to be a hardcore fan. I meet those guys all the time, they're at high school games on Friday and so on. That's not me, and yes, they are much more passionate about the sport itself than I am.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
This is simply not true... While WWE is still very popular they don't get the tv ratings and attendance that they did in their boom period from 97-01.

I don't see how you can call something the "in thing" when they have been selling out and drawing big crowds for 35 WrestleManias. It's not something new.

People travel from all over the world for WrestleMania week but its the die hard fans that do that and it's nowhere near as popular when it comes to mainstream attention as it use to be. Their weekly TV shows can't even sell out the NHL/NBA arenas anymore. Most of the sections are tarped off.
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Vince also just signed a billion dollar deal with Fox for Smackdown to be on Friday nights, programming on FS1 and has that Saudi Money coming in. So while main show's arnt what they used to be, Vince an Co. have become creative in other ways to become more profitable than some would say in their 2 boom periods.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
This is simply not true... While WWE is still very popular they don't get the tv ratings and attendance that they did in their boom period from 97-01.

I don't see how you can call something the "in thing" when they have been selling out and drawing big crowds for 35 WrestleManias. It's not something new.

People travel from all over the world for WrestleMania week but its the die hard fans that do that and it's nowhere near as popular when it comes to mainstream attention as it use to be. Their weekly TV shows can't even sell out the NHL/NBA arenas anymore. Most of the sections are tarped off.
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So true. I remember in the late 90’s and early 00’s every kid was a wcw or wwf fan. Kids would wear wrestling tees to school, we would have nwo vs dx in dodgeball. It was nonstop wrestling. At the ocean center they used to draw 16k. A few years ago I went to my first wwe event in 10 years. Only 7k went.
 
rowdy3 said:
So true. I remember in the late 90’s and early 00’s every kid was a wcw or wwf fan. Kids would wear wrestling tees to school, we would have nwo vs dx in dodgeball. It was nonstop wrestling. At the ocean center they used to draw 16k. A few years ago I went to my first wwe event in 10 years. Only 7k went.
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nWo 4-Life!

Wrestling blows now. Haven't watched it since 2002 other than a few minutes here and there, and it's become absolutely terrible. But from '96 to 2001ish, it was awesome.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
This is simply not true... While WWE is still very popular they don't get the tv ratings and attendance that they did in their boom period from 97-01.

I don't see how you can call something the "in thing" when they have been selling out and drawing big crowds for 35 WrestleManias. It's not something new.

People travel from all over the world for WrestleMania week but its the die hard fans that do that and it's nowhere near as popular when it comes to mainstream attention as it use to be. Their weekly TV shows can't even sell out the NHL/NBA arenas anymore. Most of the sections are tarped off.
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Ok, I will take your word for that as I really don't know anything about this wrastling stuff these days. Once The Sheik and Bobo Brazil were no longer popular I stopped following.
 
DIDIT said:
Ok, I will take your word for that as I really don't know anything about this wrastling stuff these days. Once The Sheik and Bobo Brazil were no longer popular I stopped following.
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Wrestling has been on much of the same trajectory as NASCAR. They, much like NASCAR, had a late 90s early 2000s heyday because of the personalities and less censorship. The stars of that time were just that, stars. They were popular outside of the "sport" just like Gordon, Earnhardt and many others were well known outside of NASCAR. The common folk knew who Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart and Triple H were. All of these guys are retired or part time now. Nowadays, ask anyone outside each circle and they may name one or two current drivers/wrestlers if they're lucky. Ratings and attendance are about half of what they used to be for each entity outside of Wrestlemania/Daytona 500.
 
IanMcVittie said:
You mention the term “lifestyle fan” a lot and even though you have never explained what it means you use it in a negative sense. The idea that you have to be an enthusiast of multiple forms of racing in order to be a “true race fan” is insulting.
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I certainly did not intend to be insulting, and I don't believe that I was insulting. If someone is a hardcore fan of racing as a competition of skill and bravery... and their favorite form of racing evolves into something they find unpalatable... then I'd expect most people like that to gravitate toward another type of racing that remains a contest of racing skill and bravery. Why is that not OK?

Also, I have discussed Early Nascar Era lifestyle fans with you in detail, but it was mostly when you were posting under the SkoalBandit and AtomicPunk handles... a few are here, here, here, here.
 
Tennis is dead on TV.

I always enjoyed John McEnroe screeching at the umpire during his intense battles with his arch-rival Bjorn Borg.
 
aunty dive said:
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Orioles owner Peter Angelos can be thanked for that. Ever since the initial success under Schowalter a few years ago Baltimore has regressed to full on dumpster fire mode. They were the worst team in baseball last year and many thought they could be historically awful this year. It's a shame because Baltimore is a great baseball town when the fans have something to cheer about. Sadly, they organization's future is extremely bleak until Angelos passes (he's 89) and there's change at the top.

The Redskins 70 miles to south face similar problems. Ownership is everything in pro sports....
 
Kiante said:
Attendance for baseball has gone down drastically as well. Oh my goodness, economics affects all sports. Oh my gosh, the sky is falling in on baseball. Oh no!
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I'm really glad that you're just joshin us because we don't need another "Run For The Hills We're All Gonna Die" poster on here. :D
 
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