A Voice for the Fans ~ A Questions For Brian Z. France
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I bid you welcome gentle
readers, and of course, we’re always happy to accommodate our assigned reader
of all things NASCAR. Today we’re going to attempt to both ask and answer one
or two of the questions that readers ask or comment about here on Race Fans
Forever.
You probably don’t need
to be told that most of what follows will discuss the much vaunted, highly
gimmicked and in my opinion ridiculous and phony “Chase for whatever.” First,
let your scribe openly state that she knows exactly three people that say they
“like” the Chase. Their names are Jim, Jeremiah and Al… and the latter I
suspect just says it to bait me because he enjoys laughing at my somewhat fiery
at times responses. One of the others is in the employ of NASCAR and the other
is very close to me, so I ignore his faults, fancies and fallacies. (Note, they
are all from the male of the species)
The rest of you out there
seem to see the Chase for what it is, and over the past dozen years since it
was foisted upon us in 2004, a vast number of fans have simply turned and
walked away, and all the “tweaks” in this world are not going to bring them
back because they are gone, gone, gone! Those that remain are for the most part
very vocal and not a bit timid about sharing their feelings on what is widely
seen as the biggest mistake ever made by NASCAR. How else could anyone explain
the thousands… hundreds of thousands when viewing all 36 races on all 23 tracks…
that were here and are now absent from the racing scene? In 2004, when the current
Ringmaster took over the Circus, NASCAR sanctioned Cup Series stock car racing
was the second-most watched sport in America. Today, we take a back seat to
almost everyone we felt sorry for back then… but not too much. One friend and I
used to joke about Curling, a sport played on ice with brooms, but today,
Curling outdraws NASCAR races.
So, you would be
justified in asking, why do I stay? Mostly because I love to write and racing
is all I know aside from cooking, and with age and dietary restrictions, much
of that has become a tad boring, so racing it is. That, and of course the fact
that I truly love my gentle readers, too many of whom have been lost because
Brian Z. France believes he is above human reproach, knows more than any living
being and lives to spend the fortune two generations of his family spent their
lives earning. He’s doing fine in that respect I’d guess. When those TV
contracts run out, or when they are cancelled for non-performance on the part
of NASCAR, he will have to start feeling the pinch of having far more outgo
than income.
Are you listening Brian
Z. France? We do hope so, because this aged scribe has a question for you,
posed by one of my readers, and it’s one so simple you should have no
difficulty in understanding and answering. You have your “Chase” and you are so
fond of it that you’ve extended the concept to all three major touring series
of NASCAR. The reader in question made point after point about plummeting TV
ratings and such poor attendance at any given track that even with all those
thousands of seats now gone, it cannot be hidden from the cameras.
Like most of us, he is
left to scratch his head, wondering who in this world could see any of that as
a good or promising thing, and his bewildered question, asked in a tone that
sounded as if tears were already falling, was “What is the need of a Chase? Why is
it necessary?” It is almost unanimously detested. It has cost untold loss of the
fan-base… for what? No one has ever explained or even attempted to explain why
a once great sport has a need for such contrivance.
OK Brian Z. France… or
Mike Helton or Steve O’Donnell if you gentlemen care to jump in… that is the
question of the day. Why does NASCAR need a “Chase?” Please, skip the “It
is what it is” bit. We’ve all heard that one and it’s become a trite phrase at
best.
While someone or anyone
is thinking of the best “Buzz Word” answer, please allow me to point something
out to you that this old lady and many thousands of seasoned race fans have
known for years. Stock car racing is or was a family sport. Your Father and
Grandfather knew that and advertised it as such. You, yourself have advertised
it that way, but most families merely laugh at that and are not fooled. One
cannot claim to be a family sport, and in the next breath tell that family to
leave Grandma and Grandpa at home, as they are no longer part of your target
demographic.
Here’s a very simple
explanation that perhaps even you can understand. Grandma and Grandpa were your
core fans. They brought their kids to the track and taught them to love the
sport. That generation in earlier times,
would now be bringing their kids, but they are not… and the reason they are not
is because their parents… those core fans you tossed away and disregarded as
expendable… were made to feel unwelcome in a sport they had loved, supported,
and cheered on for decades.
You’ve made a serious
mistake in underestimating “The Power of Grey.” That generation… those one-time
core fans of NASCAR, have and probably always have had the largest amount of
disposable income per capita. In short, they can afford to go racing. I’d love
for you to describe to me the 18-year old that can afford to attend a Cup race
with his own money. From the new and somewhat disingenuous advertising aimed at
children, apparently someone in one of your boardrooms has figured out that
kids will one day be adults, but there’s a bit of a hitch in that reasoning.
Kids today are still
kids, when they are not plugged into a phone aka ultra-portable computer. For
the most part, they go where they are taken by adults. Oops! Brick wall ahead!
Better slow down. TV ads aimed at children are almost universally played in and
around a race. The obvious problem in that scenario, the Catch 22 if you will,
is that almost no one is watching the race. Our friends at Nielsen keep us
informed about things such as that. The parents and grandparents of those kids
are not watching the race, so it’s more than a safe bet that most kids never
see those ads, and couldn’t get to a race if they wanted to do so.
Take a bow Brian Z.
France. That is a situation entirely of your making, and all of the mumbling,
bumbling words in this world are not going to change things from what they’ve
become. All of the gimmicks and gadgets you have conjured up, tweaked and retweaked incessantly over the past dozen years and added
more sleight of hand, and smoke and mirrors to, attempting to disguise racing
so as to be unrecognizable from 20 years past… none of that has worked. The
crowds have gone from vast to almost nonexistent. The TVs in over a million
homes have changed channels and the viewers are happier wherever they are than
they were with your unsound ideas of what racing should be. In short, you have
made NASCAR stock car racing the “New Coke” of this millennium. Coca-Cola had the good sense and good
judgment to withdraw that product and go back to what was tried and true. They
heard their “fans”, the consumers, and they listened.
In all the years you’ve
held the reins, everything that was sweet has gone sour. Your gimmicks have not
brought in a single race fan. Perhaps they brought in a few curiosity seekers,
but they sought; they saw and they are now gone.
If you truly want to bring
back your old fan base or even attract a new one, forget aiming at the kids. Do
something big; do something to convince those grandparents and parents that
NASCAR still offers something good for the whole family.
What could you do that
would get that ball rolling again? My best suggestion, and it is one I’ve heard
from fans over and over again until the roar is deafening… Resign! Give over
control of the sport to someone that knows it and loves it. His or her name
doesn’t have to be France, and I wouldn’t dream of suggesting anyone, but step
down and give real racing a chance. That’s what would bring back a lot of those
that have left in tears… tears for the memories of good times and camaraderie
at the tracks… tears for all that you took away.
What say you Brian Z.
France? Do you care enough about saving the sport to leave it? If not, then the
handwriting is already on the wall, and it reads for all the world like an
obituary for NASCAR. Stock car racing will live on, but NASCAR is on life
support and sinking fast.
Time now for our Classic
Country Closeout, and today I’ve brought for you a few poignant songs in
keeping with the sadness above. One talks of Classic Country Music singers gone
to rest; another speaks of changes in America and the last tells about the way
NASCAR used to be and how the fans were loved, not cast aside. Each delivers a
very important message that touches the things I love most in life… America,
Classic Country and NASCAR racing.
This is George Jones,
with the question of the ages, “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?”
Please enjoy…
And here is a great one
from Merle Haggard, “Are the Good Times Really Over for Good?”
One more, and this has to
be the most important one; it tells the story of “The King” and how things used
to be… when times were good and NASCAR loved and honored “You, the Fans.” This
is Alabama, giving us their tribute to the King, “Richard Petty Fans.”
Be well gentle readers,
and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay
