NASCAR 2014

I don't think we'll see a split, NASCAR (and their attorneys) are too smart for that, and I think everyone has learned from Indycar and sports cars what a terrible idea that is. IMO that's the point of the RTA...muscle NASCAR from within vs. threatening to go elsewhere.

If I had 8 or 9 figures invested in a NASCAR team I'd be scared ****less right now, the sport seems to be headed downhill.

If I had 8 or 9 figures to invest in a racing team, i certainly wouldn't be looking at NASCAR now. Indy or Sports Cars maybe, Global RallyX, Stadium Super Trucks, etc for sure.

the racing landscape will look very different in 10 years.

 

Just look at F1 this year.............

 

that's just the tip of the iceberg.

fans under 30 are in short supply for F1 and NASCAR, they just don't care. as boomers die off, there will be no replacement fan base for those sports. (I'd put indycar in that camp too, but they lost their fan base 20 years ago!)

 

Agreed, a split would be a disaster for everyone involved as Penske, Ganassi and any of the other
teams who went through the CART/IRL split for example well know.

As the article points out, teams are having to merge in order to remain sustainable. They're no
doubt looking at the new TV package that NASCAR has coming up and the revenues that it
will bring to the series even though the contracted networks are already looking for a way out.

Since we know NASCAR's business plan is a combination of NFL and WWE's, the teams may be
angling to get a piece of the TV revenues as the NFL franchises do. Each of the NFL teams
gets an equal share of the TV revenues regardless of their market size which keeps things
equitable. Why shouldn't they get a piece of the TV pie?

While Helton & Co. play down the whole thing, we have to know that back in their fake wood
wall paneled offices in Daytonner, they're setting about getting firmer grip on matters. They'll
put a cooperative face on things but the France's aren't planning to give up one of their main
sources of revenue.

The NASCAR teams have been pushed around quite a lot for the last decade or more. While
we don't see them complain (too much), we do know that with the introduction of the COT
and NASCAR instituting their Research & Development Center where each car that is crashed
and rebuilt must go through re-certification among other things such as the near constant
rule changes that put a financial drain on the teams.

The teams may count on selling t-shirts and trinkets along with prize money as revenue enhancers
to go along with their sponsorship packages but if people are staying away from the tracks and
not buying their stuff online, they may well be seeing those trends eroding as well.

So, while the teams are grumbling and forming a united front, the manufacturers have been
grumbling for years now complaining about lack of ROI and what a black hole it is for them
to invest in NASCAR engine programs since their involvement does not benefit them technically
the way a program in sports cars, Indy Cars or F-1 would and all it is in the end is a branding exercise.

Yes, there will be changes in NASCAR as for them to remain relevant and to attract a younger audience,
they've got to put cars on the track that people can identify with and not just keep counting on bringing
in young drivers to attract that important market moving forward.

Racing as a whole must take off the blinders and be looking at the big picture 10-20-30 years down the road.

BHW

 

they do....

tracks get 65%

teams get 25%

NASCAR gets 10%

(of course the France family owns 91% of ISC, so they get most of the track money too )

but yes, the teams are angling for a bigger chunk of that pie.

 

NASCAR bemused by teams alliance...

NASCAR bemused by new Sprint Cup teams' alliance - NASCAR news - AUTOSPORT.com

BHW

 

brian france is a total tool...a total joke!!!!

helton is only slightly less a tool.

nascar will now methodically kill the RTA...should be fun to see the fall out.

 

what's the buzz in Charlotte about this? I'd imagine a lot of teams are second guessing themselves by now.

 

Yahoo took time out from their Kardashian watch to show this story...

NASCAR Is In Big Trouble As Team Values Continue To Shrink - Yahoo Finance

BHW

 

great article. read the comments if you need the trouble nascar faces verified.

if they squash the RTA there will be SIGNIFICANT fallout...rome is beginning to smolder a bit.

 

first commenter, "Lizzy", says they should bring back North Wilkesboro.

are you "Lizzy"?

 

seriously though, those comments are on point. it seems everyone gets it but NASCAR

if people think the ads on TV are bad now, wait until Fox/NBC have to repay $8 billion over the next 10 years...they might as well put it on pay per view.

 

lol...you and I ...and lizzy know it would be a strong step in the right direction

 

I think you and I could run NASCAR pretty damn well

maybe we could hire Barton to polish the wood paneled walls and refill the Mountain Dew dispenser.

 

chas, I am west currently but I will be on the ground in clt soon enough. I will look forward to reporting to you all that I hear regarding the rta...I suspect it will be substantial!

 

Hey, I'm down with that!

How long before we start feeling sorry for NASCAR?

Thinking about it...................................NEVER!

BHW

 

After paying outrageous fees to the IOC to broadcast the Olympics, NBC has lost
billions and now they're embarking on the same sort of black hole in their deal
with NASCAR at a time when NASCAR's numbers are starting to dwindle and
interest is waning.

The problem, as some of the networks point out, is the huge blocks of broadcast time in
order to accomodate NASCAR. The races go on endlessly especially with rain delays or any
prolonged cautions or race stoppage.

When considering the average 500 mile race may take five or six hours or more to run,
factoring in the usual two hour pre-race hype and hour or more post-race, a NASCAR
broadcast may take up literally an entire day to complete.

Thus, the networks NASCAR is partnered with find themselves losing money when they
could be broadcasting something more profitable that falls within certain time frames.

As we see with stick and ball sports forming their own networks, this might be the path
NASCAR might think about following rather than sucking the life out of the networks
they're contracted with.

It's not a pleasure to see racing of any sort in demise. We're seeing it across all forms
of motor sport as there are simply so many other things competing for the entertainment
dollar these days. And, with the shrinking attention span of the general public, expecting
them to attend or watch a 500 mile roundy-round race that takes half a day to run is
asking a lot.

NASCAR has been the 900lb gorilla on the block for a long time now. They've openly
expressed their desire to control an monopoly of all of motor sports in North America and
they've made major strides in this direction. But, perhaps in their blind quest to run all
of racing, they've ignored the series (fans and teams) that brought them this far and we're
now seeing the teams openly taking exception and forming this Racing Team Alliance (RTA).

NASCAR's "us vs. them" attitude is remarkable given the competition for the racing public's
dollar including F-1, Indy Cars, etc. and the lengths they go towards getting a dollar spent
on a competing series back again.

When asked about this a few years ago, Burton Smith's reply was that NASCAR needed
to create more "manufactured drama". So, if they take this advise, they're on a very
slippery slope.

NASCAR simply must start to learn to change with the times, something they've never been
known to do willingly through their history. They started this "sport vs. show" nonsense
injecting absurd rules and regulations into what once was a great sport and reducing it to
professional wrestling status we see today.

Inherently, controlling a monopoly in anything creates all sorts of other issues.

BHW

 

the original plan for FOX buying Speedvision was to turn it into a NASCAR channel, a la NFL or MLB network. somewhere along the line they realized nobody wants to watch 168 hours a week of NASCAR, so they "rebranded" as SPEED, kept F1, and added nonsense filler like "Pass Time" and other awful reality shows. ultimately they decided the channel was more profitable as FS1 (which I agree with).

and I agree, all of racing is in a slump. IndyCar's was self-imposed in 1996, but F1, NASCAR, sports cars, etc are all in some form of ratings, attendance, or sponsorship decline. it's a shame as those are my favorite forms of motorsport but progress is progress, and the future is drifting, rallycross, stadium trucks, and other short sprint race, big action (cars getting airborne, huge powerslides, etc), "shows" vs. traditional first across the line racing.

 

Shorter races would help a lot. With the current car's aero making close racing eat the tires due to the lagging car not getting enough grip, passing only happens after pit stops really under different tires and setups, fresh vs old, and before the cars get strung out enough for some to get in clean air.

Shorter races would turn it from being a race start that is exciting, followed by a long practice session, then racing again in the last 30-40 minutes. Didn't pocono shorten a race 100 miles? Made it vastly more exciting.

Tracks not located in the southeast with heavy lightning threats - should race in the rain.

Finally - fines for being a person have stripped the personality from everyone. I used to watch the post race, but since Denny got fined after Phoenix, its simply become a list of sponsors from whoever they talked to. Maybe if they wrecked some one will predictably say "blah blah sorry, please don't wreck me back blah blah". Once done - it will take years to undo. Now I watch the races, if I'm by myself, I watch them on mute.

 

Always thought it was amazing how the NASCAR season goes 36 (or whatever) races
per year, sometimes twice on the same circuits, after a few seasons of this, wouldn't
it get boring to the drivers?

As stated time and time again, NASCAR over stepping the number one rule of marketing,
over exposure cheapens the product. A shorter season might be a good idea, the crews would
certainly agree as there has to be a big burnout factor for them.

NASCAR drivers want changes on the schedule - Yahoo News

BHW

 

Nothing wrong with having more than one race at the same track - its nice for the fans local to that track.

What would be nice, is shorter races, and multiple on the same weekend. A lot of these oval's have road courses, or extremely wide paved areas enough to paint an alternate course in. Run two cup races on the same weekend. This will give their talk shows a LOT more to talk about - two cup races per week instead of one. If one is a snoozer, for sure the other won't be.

 

as I said before...qualifying heat races

 

Just ran across this...

How is this for a race title name?

The Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 Powered by BigMachineRecords.com

What happened to "Brickyard 400"?

BHW

 

joke!

 

if NASCAR can find someone to write them a check, they throw tradition and history (and their dignity) out the window.