Fontana to Martinsville and All About the Fan Experience
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I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and a warm cordial welcome as well to our assigned
reader of all things NASCAR. Well, the talking heads, or boobs on the tube as
I’ve become fond of calling them, will have to find a new topic to talk to
death. Kevin Harvick is human after all, and did not make it 4 in a row in the
wins column. I’ll just remind everyone… that’s the reason we run the race. The
winner is never predetermined and this scribe wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now,
everyone comes back east from the Western Swing, and we go to my favorite spot
on the schedule as the haulers roll up to Martinsville, the best little track
by a railroad track and far and away the best track on the NASCAR circuit. I’ve
written about her several times over the years. Last fall, I retitled probably
the best thing I’ve ever written, calling it “The Little Track by the Railroad
Track.”
Whatever one calls her, her racing is usually the best of the year.
This
spring race is the one we always attended, though back then it was the last
week in April rather than the 3rd week in March. That might be just
a little ambitious on someone’s part, though for sure no weather comes with any
sort of guarantee. Even that much later, there were a couple of memorable times
that demanded long johns under the blue jeans, a winter coat and a tightly
wrapped scarf protecting head and neck from icy winds.
Then
there was the year that broke many long-standing heat records. Saturday found
me in the ladies’ lounge being tended to for heat exhaustion by the young girl
whose duty it was to hand out paper towels. Does any other track have someone
doing that? I don’t think so! I recall that my garb that day included a pair of
black Capri pants with flowers scattered throughout. The sunburn attained
“through” those pants was amazing… in a very comical sort of way. Funny the
things that stay with us over the years, isn’t it?
Every
year I look forward to seeing the racing at “my” little track and this year is
no exception. Just hoping that NASCAR can get off one good race that doesn’t
turn into a laugh-fest. I refer here, of course, to Inspection-Gate, which
occurred over the past weekend at Fontana. Thirteen cars never took a
qualifying lap and were placed at the rear of the field… but ahead of a couple
of cars that had to start back-up cars. Y’all know the story. Starting out back
wasn’t really punishment, as those cars had sticker tires… a HUGE benefit at
cranky old Fontana, the oldest racing surface in NASCAR, excepting one would
think, the ceremonial “Yard of Bricks” at Indy. Cars that had passed inspection
were then “permitted” to “purchase” a new set but had to turn
in the scuffs with only a few laps… and of course, cough up the $thousands that
a full set of new Goodyear racing tires costs today. NASCAR announced that
failing to qualify for the Xfinity race later in the day would get you not only
a seat in the rear of the class, but a pass-through penalty at pit road speed
on lap 1. They “said” that would be extended to the Cup cars this week at
Martinsville. Then… they changed their minds. This week the new inspection
method will happen after qualifying and will be combined with pre-race
inspection.
So…
everyone qualifies. Cool! BUT… if you fail in that inspection following
qualifying, your time will be disallowed and you’ll start in the back. No
further mention of the pass-through penalty, so apparently that was a one-race
wonder and is now gone… or maybe waiting in the wings. To this old fan, it
doesn’t matter when the cars are inspected. Any car that fails gets to go home
early. Real early! “Sorry, but your car is illegal. Try again next week.” That
goes for failing post-race inspection as well. “Nice try! Next man up!” But the
Charter system guarantees Mr. Sponsor a spot in the show… and that, dear
Brutus, is where the fault lies.
That
was last week. Now we shift gears and subjects, to talk about “Buzz words”,
always one of my favorite things to rip apart. Remember “Encumbered?” “Edgy?”
“Engagement?” It seems someone’s dictionary doesn’t go to “F” and all things
considered, that’s probably a good thing. The one being pushed hard in this
still-young season is “Experience.” That would be “Fan Experience” to be more
specific. It seems that NASCAR has given up on attendance and ratings, which
continue their downward spiral at an astounding rate. Now, gentle readers, the
company line is that attendance doesn’t matter. It’s all about the Fan
Experience and coddling the little snowflakes with “cozy” surroundings.
HELLO?
Call me crazy… it’s happened before… but when I went to a racetrack, the Fan
Experience was the race! I can’t recall a single time that we went
racing to hear the music. If there was any, it was distorted by open-air mics
and not very pleasant to listen to. We could Experience hot dogs and burgers
near home one heck of a lot cheaper. This old “Core fan” cannot imagine there
aren’t more folks like me out there, who enjoyed the entire atmosphere of being
At
the Track. The sound of those snarling V-8 engines roaring by and
making the ground rumble in a way that could be physically felt throughout the
body. The smell of racing fuel and burning rubber intermingled with the aroma
of meats cooking on a grill and hot coffee being brewed. What more “Experience”
would anyone want?
Personally,
I think the mistake being made is calling a lot of folks “fans” that are just
not. I have to wonder if the increase in the popularity of Dirt racing today
isn’t a direct social comment on the prissiness that has developed in NASCAR.
Stop making up words or qualifying them to mean something quite different.
There is no such thing as a “Casual fan!”
Daytona
has “Risen” and Richmond is being “Reimagined” even as Phoenix has become ISM
and in the throes of a $178-million revamp of seating and the start/finish line
that also does away with all infield parking. Methinks someone better talk to
Lesa France Kennedy. Each of those tracks wears the ISC brand. Lesa is one
smart businesswoman. ISC is spending $millions, not to coddle the racing
non-fans, but to make the venues far more suitable for other varying forms of
Entertainment Experiences. Watch for that to continue. If there is one thing
this scribe intensely dislikes, it is dishonesty. In short, don’t tell me that
attendance no longer matters. It’s NOT all about the fans or the “Fan
Experience!” It’s all about the bottom line, just as it’s always been.
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout, and we have something a bit different
this week. It’s a biography of one of Classic Country’s greatest, The Texas
Troubadour, Ernest Tubb. I do hope everyone will enjoy it.
Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling.
It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay