What is the future of the Xfinity and Truck Series?

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http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...agues-and-Governing-Bodies/NASCAR-series.aspx

Faced with wide-ranging challenges, NASCAR stakeholders are trying to sort out the overall health of the sport’s two lower-rung national series.

The Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series still draw solid TV audiences. For example, the Xfinity Series is averaging 1.1 million viewers across NBC and NBCSN so far this year, while the Truck Series this season is averaging 672,000 viewers on Fox Sports’ channels.

But there are increasing concerns around the sport about team shutdowns, low attendance and the quest to properly define the identity of each series.

“If you’re comparing motorsports to the second and third tiers of other professional sports, NASCAR is blowing them out of the water,” said Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion who will shut down his Truck Series team after this season. “But NASCAR has lost the middle class [of team owners in the series], and you just can’t grow that back overnight.”

The challenges are mainly split between financial issues on the team side and questions on the fan side about what mixture of venues and eligibility rules will produce the most attractive product.

Two notable Truck Series outfits in Keselowski’s team and Red Horse Racing announced plans this year to shut down, with Red Horse shutting down mid-season. And multiple Xfinity Series cars stopped running mid-season due to a lack of sponsorship. That included the Roush Fenway Racing Ford that was driven by rising star Darrell Wallace Jr., who has been on the sidelines since then save for a few one-off appearances.

On the fan side, scant crowds turn out at some races, which are often held in the days leading up to that weekend’s premier series race. NASCAR this year introduced a youth policy where fans 12 and under are free for the lower-tier races, a move that industry executives say is seeing incremental results. However, NASCAR does not provide attendance figures for its races.

Jim Cassidy, NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing operations, said he doesn’t view now as a particularly critical juncture for the lower-tier series’ future. But he conceded that the sport has a big focus on the team business model in the lower tiers.

“I don’t think it’s a significant moment in time just looking back at my tenure in the sport and being close to these series,” said Cassidy, who has been with NASCAR since 2000. “Each moment in time, given the different layers, you’re always going to have a particular focus where you have to put a little more energy into a certain area, and right now we’re focusing on making sure that the business model makes sense.”

Teams are working with NASCAR to cut costs. For example, NASCAR is introducing rules to switch from a steel body to a lower-cost composite body in the Xfinity Series and considering implementing a spec engine for the Truck Series. Keselowski said teams also could save money by using fewer crew members at the track, and by racing at more short tracks.

It costs about $6 million to run a top Xfinity Series car per season, a figure that JR Motorsports executive Joe Mattes thinks needs to come down to $4 million to $5 million in order to keep teams better afloat. It costs about $4 million to $5 million to run a top Truck Series entry, a figure that Keselowski says should be closer to $2 million to $2.5 million.

Some observers have called for a re-evaluation of the sport’s split of television money. While teams get 25 percent of the $820 million annually that goes into the sport from Fox Sports and NBC Sports, the two lower-tier series get only a small percentage of the total.

“There’s a three-legged stool: sanctioning body, tracks and teams — and none of us can sit, survive and stand alone,” said Mattes, JR Motorsports’ vice president of marketing and licensing. “The only issue with the three-legged stool is two legs make all the rules and the third leg in teams … really aren’t making any money.”

On top of Keselowski, drivers who have publicly opined on the future of the lower-tier series this year include Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. Harvick proposed shifting the lower-tier series’ schedules to local short tracks around the country to build more grassroots interest in the sport, though that would raise questions about those venues’ financing, amenities and safety features.

The two lower-tier series used to race often on short tracks but evolved into primarily companion events at larger tracks. Out of the Monster Energy Series’ 36 points races this season, 35 were companion events featuring either a race from the Xfinity Series or Truck Series, or on rare occasions both.

Ben May is president of the independent Pocono Raceway, which has two annual Monster Energy Series weekends that feature companion events. He said his track still finds value in the lower-tier races.

“We love our companion events; they’re a major part of the show, and are also why we continue to host ARCA races as well,” May wrote in a text message. “The safety [features] of the short tracks would be the first thing that I think of [regarding lower-tier races at local short tracks]. Adding SAFER barriers is a heavy lift.”

One of the more extreme suggestions has included switching one of the lower-tier series to running electric vehicles, given the trend away from gas-based cars.

This all comes as NASCAR implements rules that will cut back on the number of races top drivers can participate in with the lower series. The Xfinity Series’ tagline is “Names Are Made Here,” but it often features veteran Monster Energy Series drivers such as Busch waxing the field. Some fans have grown weary at such top-flight drivers dominating those races, making the events less exciting and stealing the spotlight from younger drivers trying to make a name for themselves.

Still, observers in the sport say there is a wealth of young talent rising through the ranks. Daniel Suarez stayed in the Xfinity Series for two years, winning the championship last season, before graduating to the premier series, and William Byron is set to move up, too, and wheel Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 ride.

Cassidy remains confident.

“We’re definitely relatively happy [with where the two series are], but never complacent,” he said. “Motorsports and racing requires constant attention at all levels, and that’s exactly what we provide day in and day out.”
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Lots of interesting things in the article especially for me as I don't follow the lower series. I liked the truck series a lot when it was the retirement series or like the PGA Senior tour. If they could get that series and X to primarily race on short tracks and eliminate Cup drivers with over 50 starts or something like that I would tune in and at least check it out.

I was interested that the S word was used for the truck series as in spec engine and if both X and trucks remain I could see both series using spec engines and some sort of spec engine option for cup.

I always cringe when I see a quote attributed to BKez as he needs his own traveling fact checker. IDK what he means by the lesser series blowing sports leagues second and third series out of the water but I am sure that the President and CEO of the American Hockey League would love to sit down with BKez and set him straight. The Hershey Bears pull in around 345K fans over 38 home dates and there are 7 other teams over 300K. The AHL has some great young stars and established vets and has 30 teams and will expand to 31 next year. They actually have franchises that have monetary value too and they are portable.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I always cringe when I see a quote attributed to BKez as he needs his own traveling fact checker. IDK what he means by the lesser series blowing sports leagues second and third series out of the water but I am sure that the President and CEO of the American Hockey League would love to sit down with BKez and set him straight. The Hershey Bears pull in around 345K fans over 38 home dates and there are 7 other teams over 300K. The AHL has some great young stars and established vets and has 30 teams and will expand to 31 next year. They actually have franchises that have monetary value too and they are portable.
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Let's not forget also that college football numbers are bigger than even cup series numbers in a lot of cases.
 
Larsonfan1995 said:
Let's not forget also that college football numbers are bigger than even cup series numbers in a lot of cases.
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Good point as IDK how many people watched ND and USC on Saturday night but it was a lot I'm sure.
 
In the Truck series, nobody wants to match the money or can approach what Toyota is putting in to it or can match the engineering necessary to be really competitive. Toyota has blocked efforts to cut costs on one of the big tickets, the engine costs. weather that is good for the overall series or not who knows. Ridiculous to have cup drivers racing in that series if they want the series to have an identity. The truck series needs to cut costs somewhere drastically IMO. Why they haven't is starting to look political with me. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of sponsor money floating around in the truck series to offset the costs. Xfinity has moved forward with the composite body full time next year. That should help the smaller teams a bit. they can't afford to do all the engineering necessary to keep up with the aero tweaks the bigger teams have been able to do. I think it cuts labor time to hang a body a bit for cost savings. Limiting the cup drivers more next year should give the series more identity. A lot of the Xfinity drivers like the cup drivers racing in the series. The fans don't seem to. Who knows what the sponsors think.
 
The idea of Xfinity becoming an electric series is interesting. Seems like Formula E has alot of manufacture's attention and might be something NASCAR should look into. Keep it there though, I don't want to see electric Cup cars.

I feel like they could do a bit more standalone races with Xfinity and Trucks but I'm not a big fan of bringing in alot of short tracks that just aren't up to NASCAR standards. I'd be down for a few more road courses with just Xfinity and Trucks.

On the Cup drivers in lower series I still believe instead of limiting them they need to invite them to say 10/7 races in each respective series. Track points between Cup drivers and reward the driver with most points. Gives the regulars a majority of the schedule and set races to prepare for Cup drivers.

I don't like spec motors either but I fear they are coming. I just don't think it's smart when you are also trying to add more manufacture's. Could also upset current manufacture's.

The cost to run those Xfinity and Truck teams didn't seem all that outrageous to me and lower than I expected, especially for Xfinity. I can understand owner wanting that lowered but that also falls on them a bit.
 
LJ7201 said:
The trucks can cut costs by not going to any plate tracks, they have no business being there and all those wrecked cars must cost a fortune
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Kind of agree as they are just a bunch of wrecks and they are full throttle at Texas and Michigan and some 1.5s. Alot of the younger drivers can't race there either be t same applies for the 1.5s as well.
 
Assuming the purpose of the two lower series is to prepare drivers for Cup, I don't see the point either becoming an electric series. The acceleration is obviously going to be different from a Cup car, and I suspect a different center of gravity will make the vehicle handle differently.

If the Truck series were to return to its roots as a mostly standalone series for senior journeymen and veterans to beat and bang, electric might make sense. However, I suspect the only way an electric series would gain acceptance is as a completely separate start-up without NASCAR branding and no obvious association to that body (see IMSA).
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Lots of interesting things in the article especially for me as I don't follow the lower series. I liked the truck series a lot when it was the retirement series or like the PGA Senior tour. If they could get that series and X to primarily race on short tracks and eliminate Cup drivers with over 50 starts or something like that I would tune in and at least check it out.

I was interested that the S word was used for the truck series as in spec engine and if both X and trucks remain I could see both series using spec engines and some sort of spec engine option for cup.

I always cringe when I see a quote attributed to BKez as he needs his own traveling fact checker. IDK what he means by the lesser series blowing sports leagues second and third series out of the water but I am sure that the President and CEO of the American Hockey League would love to sit down with BKez and set him straight. The Hershey Bears pull in around 345K fans over 38 home dates and there are 7 other teams over 300K. The AHL has some great young stars and established vets and has 30 teams and will expand to 31 next year. They actually have franchises that have monetary value too and they are portable.
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Yeah, I'm not sure what exactly that was referencing. College football is effectively the development system for the NFL, and college basketball for the NBA. Maybe he was talking about the G-League but very few players ever come out of there to make a big splash in the NBA.

Minor league baseball and hockey may not draw on TV at all but they typically have dedicated local fan bases as you mentioned.

I think if you ran Truck and Xfinity doubleheaders more often like they do at Atlanta you'd probably get more people to show up. I went to the first one there a few years ago and it seemed decent enough to me.
 
StandOnIt said:
In the Truck series, nobody wants to match the money or can approach what Toyota is putting in to it or can match the engineering necessary to be really competitive. Toyota has blocked efforts to cut costs on one of the big tickets, the engine costs. weather that is good for the overall series or not who knows. Ridiculous to have cup drivers racing in that series if they want the series to have an identity. The truck series needs to cut costs somewhere drastically IMO. Why they haven't is starting to look political with me. There doesn't appear to be a whole lot of sponsor money floating around in the truck series to offset the costs. Xfinity has moved forward with the composite body full time next year. That should help the smaller teams a bit. they can't afford to do all the engineering necessary to keep up with the aero tweaks the bigger teams have been able to do. I think it cuts labor time to hang a body a bit for cost savings. Limiting the cup drivers more next year should give the series more identity. A lot of the Xfinity drivers like the cup drivers racing in the series. The fans don't seem to. Who knows what the sponsors think.
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NASCAR's feeder series are unique in that they still depend upon manufacturer involvement to a large degree. Most similar series around the world are spec in most senses although that's hard to do when you're marketing pickups. I'm not sure that Truck as a spec series makes sense although as is Ford and GM aren't really invested anymore. Most series of that tier around the world just don't have the engine and aero developmental battles that Truck does.
 
FLRacingFan said:
NASCAR's feeder series are unique in that they still depend upon manufacturer involvement to a large degree. Most similar series around the world are spec in most senses although that's hard to do when you're marketing pickups. I'm not sure that Truck as a spec series makes sense although as is Ford and GM aren't really invested anymore. Most series of that tier around the world just don't have the engine and aero developmental battles that Truck does.
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I've occasionally wondered why NASCAR isn't running trucks as their top-tier series. Ford and GM sell far more trucks than cars in the US; you'd think they'd want their most popular products where they'd get the most attention. Maybe they think the cars need the visibility to prop up the diminished sales? Although that wouldn't explain why for decades they fielded their most popular models, or why Chevy ran a limited production model like the SS.
 
Simple Fan said:
The idea of Xfinity becoming an electric series is interesting. Seems like Formula E has alot of manufacture's attention and might be something NASCAR should look into. Keep it there though, I don't want to see electric Cup cars.
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Better watch out. They are starting to stoke the fires and I'm starting to hear "blasphemer" chants. Personally, I think that would be an outstanding idea and could pave the way for the future.

Course, change is a very bad thing to NASCAR fans.;)
 
Towmater said:
Better watch out. They are starting to stoke the fires and I'm starting to hear "blasphemer" chants. Personally, I think that would be an outstanding idea and could pave the way for the future.

Course, change is a very bad thing to NASCAR fans.;)
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I think it's something to look at but like @Charlie Spencer said it probably be best for them to do something outside of the NASCAR name. I do think electric stock cars could be interesting but its also something that would take alot of work to get started.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I've occasionally wondered why NASCAR isn't running trucks as their top-tier series. Ford and GM sell far more trucks than cars in the US; you'd think they'd want their most popular products where they'd get the most attention. Maybe they think the cars need the visibility to prop up the diminished sales? Although that wouldn't explain why for decades they fielded their most popular models, or why Chevy ran a limited production model like the SS.
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I don't think they care too much, their sales numbers are way up there in comparison when it comes to the trucks so probably the bean counters have made the decision to put their money else where.
 
Towmater said:
Better watch out. They are starting to stoke the fires and I'm starting to hear "blasphemer" chants. Personally, I think that would be an outstanding idea and could pave the way for the future.

Course, change is a very bad thing to NASCAR fans.;)
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I could see it if the manufacturers are spitting money out of their pores. Anything is possible if enough greasing of palms occurs.
 
The big 3 profits are driven by their truck divisions.That is the reason for the redesigned 2018 Ford and coming 2019 Chevy and Ram pickups.If you're in the market for a new pickup,it will pay to wait.Ram has proven,you don't have to be in NASCAR to have great truck sales numbers.I would love to see NASCAR make meaningful changes for the 2 lower divisions health as others have already mentioned.
 
I like the idea of the truck racing but I would like to see them use full size pick ups that you can buy in the show room. I also would like to see them racing on tracks under a mile long with a dog leg to keep the speeds down. Vehicles don't need special engine or chassis just to race and I have no problem with a spec engine. We already have manufacture spec engines in Cup racing with TDR for Toyota, HMS for GM products and R/Y for Fords. RCR being the exception.
Double headers with Xfinity and Trucks racing on all tracks 1 mile and shorter for Saturday
with Cup cars on Sunday. Xfinity and cup cars on all other tracks.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Assuming the purpose of the two lower series is to prepare drivers for Cup, I don't see the point either becoming an electric series. The acceleration is obviously going to be different from a Cup car, and I suspect a different center of gravity will make the vehicle handle differently.

If the Truck series were to return to its roots as a mostly standalone series for senior journeymen and veterans to beat and bang, electric might make sense. However, I suspect the only way an electric series would gain acceptance is as a completely separate start-up without NASCAR branding and no obvious association to that body (see IMSA).
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Maybe because one of your partners, GM, has stated publicly that they are attempting to move away from gas powered engines. Another partner, Ford, announced it was moving forward with 13 electric or hybrid vehicles in the next 5 years. China, California, and Europe are starting to mandate no gas powered engines by certain dates. Paris won't allow them after 2030. Britain and China have announced 2040 as cut off years for them. Lastly, India is shooting for 2030.

China is the number 1 market in the world. If they mandate something then the auto makers have no choice but to follow suit. That's what all these changes are about.

Lastly, it will start to make more sense for a auto maker to dump R&D money into an electric series than to keep dumping money into a technology that will go the way of the dodo bird in the next 30 years.
 
LJ7201 said:
The trucks can cut costs by not going to any plate tracks, they have no business being there and all those wrecked cars must cost a fortune
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This. Right. Here.
 
StandOnIt said:
Toyota has blocked efforts to cut costs on one of the big tickets, the engine costs. weather that is good for the overall series or not who knows.
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Toyota was putting money into this series when nobody else would. Additionally, they made it clear to NASCAR why they wanted to go racing, and I a certain that brand identity was a big part of the equation. You change the game, you change this player. NASCAR is free to give Toyota the finger. We know why they won't.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Lots of interesting things in the article especially for me as I don't follow the lower series. I liked the truck series a lot when it was the retirement series or like the PGA Senior tour. If they could get that series and X to primarily race on short tracks and eliminate Cup drivers with over 50 starts or something like that I would tune in and at least check it out.

I was interested that the S word was used for the truck series as in spec engine and if both X and trucks remain I could see both series using spec engines and some sort of spec engine option for cup.

I always cringe when I see a quote attributed to BKez as he needs his own traveling fact checker. IDK what he means by the lesser series blowing sports leagues second and third series out of the water but I am sure that the President and CEO of the American Hockey League would love to sit down with BKez and set him straight. The Hershey Bears pull in around 345K fans over 38 home dates and there are 7 other teams over 300K. The AHL has some great young stars and established vets and has 30 teams and will expand to 31 next year. They actually have franchises that have monetary value too and they are portable.
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Never heard of the AHL or the chocolate bears. Bkez is right
 
Revman said:
Toyota was putting money into this series when nobody else would. Additionally, they made it clear to NASCAR why they wanted to go racing, and I a certain that brand identity was a big part of the equation. You change the game, you change this player. NASCAR is free to give Toyota the finger. We know why they won't.
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as KDB racing just announced that they hired Keselowski's X crew chief Mike Hillman for the 51 truck in the Toyota truck racing series featuring KDB. :D. Ford and Chevy don't care :idunno:
 
Minor league baseball and hockey teams aren't in the same cities as major league teams.

On the same token, the XFINITY and Truck Series should maybe race at different tracks in different markets. If the Cup guys come to run, good. When I was a kid, my family would go to Homestead every year for the Busch Grand National Series race there. Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte, along with a few others, usually ran. It was just cool to get a NASCAR race.

An XFINITY race at Portland and a Truck race at Evergreen would be a good start. Then there's Colorado National, Elko, Memphis, Greenville-Pickens and Southern National which would all be good races for different markets.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Minor league baseball and hockey teams aren't in the same cities as major league teams.

On the same token, the XFINITY and Truck Series should maybe race at different tracks in different markets. If the Cup guys come to run, good. When I was a kid, my family would go to Homestead every year for the Busch Grand National Series race there. Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte, along with a few others, usually ran. It was just cool to get a NASCAR race.

An XFINITY race at Portland and a Truck race at Evergreen would be a good start. Then there's Colorado National, Elko, Memphis, Greenville-Pickens and Southern National which would all be good races for different markets.
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I'm almost thinking they need to start with a blank sheet in the truck series, go back and look at what it was when it started and go from there.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
Minor league baseball and hockey teams aren't in the same cities as major league teams.

On the same token, the XFINITY and Truck Series should maybe race at different tracks in different markets. If the Cup guys come to run, good. When I was a kid, my family would go to Homestead every year for the Busch Grand National Series race there. Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte, along with a few others, usually ran. It was just cool to get a NASCAR race.

An XFINITY race at Portland and a Truck race at Evergreen would be a good start. Then there's Colorado National, Elko, Memphis, Greenville-Pickens and Southern National which would all be good races for different markets.
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Andy do you think a truck series race not exceeding 90 MPH would need the safer barriers etc mandated for the big tracks? Could they not race safely with all the equipment in those vehicles and drivers gear at a lower speed?
 
Team Penske said:
Andy do you think a truck series race not exceeding 90 MPH would need the safer barriers etc mandated for the big tracks? Could they not race safely with all the equipment in those vehicles and drivers gear at a lower speed?
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NASCAR runs Eldora without SAFER barriers.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Assuming the purpose of the two lower series is to prepare drivers for Cup, I don't see the point either becoming an electric series. The acceleration is obviously going to be different from a Cup car, and I suspect a different center of gravity will make the vehicle handle differently.

If the Truck series were to return to its roots as a mostly standalone series for senior journeymen and veterans to beat and bang, electric might make sense. However, I suspect the only way an electric series would gain acceptance is as a completely separate start-up without NASCAR branding and no obvious association to that body (see IMSA).
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Marketing gimmick. Get OEMs interested and invested again. That kind of deal.

Still, there has to be a short-term plan for the immediate future as well. Anything electric would have to be several years down the line. Formula E still uses two cars per race and their races are much shorter, speeds much lower and less sustained, and the cars much lighter than an Xfinity car or Truck.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Marketing gimmick. Get OEMs interested and invested again. That kind of deal.

Still, there has to be a short-term plan for the immediate future as well. Anything electric would have to be several years down the line. Formula E still uses two cars per race and their races are much shorter, speeds much lower and less sustained, and the cars much lighter than an Xfinity car or Truck.
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Very quiet, no resemblance to a stock car, great for racing in crowded cities that are pretty much deserted during the weekends. That is about all they can do right now.
 
Trucks with MW is so annoying, I wont watch. Xifinty has double dippers / bushwhackers which isnt fun to watch, ever. I'm at the point of not watching nascrap any more. Way too predicable week after week, penalties that go un punished to a few, not all. NBC ( nothing but commercials) is like fingernails on a chalk board, stage racing isnt a fix, its a 10 minute yellow-flag commercial, which gets me to change he channel. Jr leaving ( he might as well, its a dying sport anyway) I get my racing "fix" from the local race track on Saturday nights. ( Berlin Raceway) great short track and 10 minutes from home. After all these years, I lost pretty much all interest in nascrap, it has became way too commercialized as you cab see some sort of advertisement on top of the screen "nonstop" , then they break to a ??? you guessed it, a commercial. My kids and wife watch netflix because is doesnt have commercials---Good idea-- I like the NFL and some hockey at times. Television in general is dying.
 
Why not kill off trucks or X? All I hear is owners bitching about how much it costs them so why bother?
 
rocket dawg said:
Trucks with MW is so annoying, I wont watch. Xifinty has double dippers / bushwhackers which isnt fun to watch, ever. I'm at the point of not watching nascrap any more. Way too predicable week after week, penalties that go un punished to a few, not all. NBC ( nothing but commercials) is like fingernails on a chalk board, stage racing isnt a fix, its a 10 minute yellow-flag commercial, which gets me to change he channel. Jr leaving ( he might as well, its a dying sport anyway) I get my racing "fix" from the local race track on Saturday nights. ( Berlin Raceway) great short track and 10 minutes from home. After all these years, I lost pretty much all interest in nascrap, it has became way too commercialized as you cab see some sort of advertisement on top of the screen "nonstop" , then they break to a ??? you guessed it, a commercial. My kids and wife watch netflix because is doesnt have commercials---Good idea-- I like the NFL and some hockey at times. Television in general is dying.
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Last night I watched a hockey game between an undefeated team and a good young team coming off a bad loss. The game was highly entertaining with end to end action and great saves by the goalies. Then I watched a football game between divisional rivals and got to see tremendous athletic plays and a young QB earn the respect of the nation with toughness, skill and intelligence.

I am not saying these sports are better than Nascar as each individual can make that choice for themselves. However if a sports fan in looking to Nascar for excitement and action they either need to redefine what those things mean or find a different way to enjoy the series.
 
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