dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
I just read this on what it would take to do a weeknight race on the NASCAR schedule. Thought some of you may be interested in reading......
A Monday night race that follows a Saturday night race, or even a midweek race.
It sounds like such a simple answer. Schedule a race a year in advance on a weekday instead of a weekend. Pro and college football teams do it. Prime time under the lights during the week. What would be better? What’s the problem?
The problem is a midweek race will require someone to take a big risk and probably more than just one group to put necks on the line. It will take a track willing to put its budget on the ledge, and it will take a television network willing to upset the planned weeknight prime-time lineup. And it also could take NASCAR giving up a little bit of money.
Television money is the key. From 2015-2024, with the average annual television deal $820 million and the bulk going for Cup events (the previous contract had 93.75 percent for Cup events; the division of this one has not been announced), the average Cup race weekend will earn roughly $20-21 million overall for the industry per Cup event weekend. NASCAR gets 10 percent of the television deal, the teams get 25 percent through the purse and the tracks get 65 percent.
No one wants to part with money. That’s why a shorter schedule with fewer races is not feasible. With tracks likely getting a $12-14 million payday on average for each Cup race from 2015-2024, even pulling one event out of the pockets of those track operators could send their stock into a tailspin. Without being able to cut races, the only other option is a weekday race. That’s where NASCAR will need to find a willing track operator.
Tracks depend on people to spend two or three days at the track, not one night. Many of their ticket holders come from areas where they couldn’t just drive in and out on a weekday (especially compared to a college or pro football game). They’d likely need to spend one night, and they likely would miss two days of work if that means a race even on a Monday.
No track wants to give up that potential ticket revenue to serve as the experiment for a weekday race. Unlike a football team with eight home games, tracks only have one or two prime opportunities to make money. The track operator would want a break on the sanction fee from NASCAR. And the television network might want a break on its overall fee for impacting a weeknight prime-time lineup.
If NASCAR is serious about trying to create buzz as well as trying to give its participants a little more normalcy in life, it will need to put up the money or at least make a guarantee that if a track doesn’t have a certain ticket sales or if a television network doesn’t hit a certain rating, it gives some sort of rebate.
Giving back money isn't exactly a sound financial philosophy. But it would be worth a shot at a track where more fans are nearby, where it is more of a “local” event where camping isn’t as prevalent. The problem is those are closer to big cities, where the other logistical headache would be traffic.
Phoenix would seem to be a logical place for such a race until considering traffic — a 5:30 or 6 p.m. Mountain Time race on a weekday would be a nightmare. Richmond? Probably a similar problem considering the traffic is heavy throughout a Saturday on its race days.
No easy solutions exist to having a weeknight Cup race. But at some point, where there’s a will, there should be a way. Hopefully, as NASCAR continues to take bold steps to excite fans, there’s enough will out there to make it happen soon.
from HERE
A Monday night race that follows a Saturday night race, or even a midweek race.
It sounds like such a simple answer. Schedule a race a year in advance on a weekday instead of a weekend. Pro and college football teams do it. Prime time under the lights during the week. What would be better? What’s the problem?
The problem is a midweek race will require someone to take a big risk and probably more than just one group to put necks on the line. It will take a track willing to put its budget on the ledge, and it will take a television network willing to upset the planned weeknight prime-time lineup. And it also could take NASCAR giving up a little bit of money.
Television money is the key. From 2015-2024, with the average annual television deal $820 million and the bulk going for Cup events (the previous contract had 93.75 percent for Cup events; the division of this one has not been announced), the average Cup race weekend will earn roughly $20-21 million overall for the industry per Cup event weekend. NASCAR gets 10 percent of the television deal, the teams get 25 percent through the purse and the tracks get 65 percent.
No one wants to part with money. That’s why a shorter schedule with fewer races is not feasible. With tracks likely getting a $12-14 million payday on average for each Cup race from 2015-2024, even pulling one event out of the pockets of those track operators could send their stock into a tailspin. Without being able to cut races, the only other option is a weekday race. That’s where NASCAR will need to find a willing track operator.
Tracks depend on people to spend two or three days at the track, not one night. Many of their ticket holders come from areas where they couldn’t just drive in and out on a weekday (especially compared to a college or pro football game). They’d likely need to spend one night, and they likely would miss two days of work if that means a race even on a Monday.
No track wants to give up that potential ticket revenue to serve as the experiment for a weekday race. Unlike a football team with eight home games, tracks only have one or two prime opportunities to make money. The track operator would want a break on the sanction fee from NASCAR. And the television network might want a break on its overall fee for impacting a weeknight prime-time lineup.
If NASCAR is serious about trying to create buzz as well as trying to give its participants a little more normalcy in life, it will need to put up the money or at least make a guarantee that if a track doesn’t have a certain ticket sales or if a television network doesn’t hit a certain rating, it gives some sort of rebate.
Giving back money isn't exactly a sound financial philosophy. But it would be worth a shot at a track where more fans are nearby, where it is more of a “local” event where camping isn’t as prevalent. The problem is those are closer to big cities, where the other logistical headache would be traffic.
Phoenix would seem to be a logical place for such a race until considering traffic — a 5:30 or 6 p.m. Mountain Time race on a weekday would be a nightmare. Richmond? Probably a similar problem considering the traffic is heavy throughout a Saturday on its race days.
No easy solutions exist to having a weeknight Cup race. But at some point, where there’s a will, there should be a way. Hopefully, as NASCAR continues to take bold steps to excite fans, there’s enough will out there to make it happen soon.
from HERE
