What Drove the Core Fans Away?
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I
have NEVER EVER claimed to be an expert on racing, but I have spent about 50
years around it. I know lots of people in the sport, and fans of the sport.
I
recently posted a comment on Facebook giving NASCAR a grade, and I caught hell
over it. One person asked “if you hate NASCAR so much, why do you waste your
time watching it?” Well, let me answer that.
I
have been a fan of NASCAR since the 60’s. I got in trouble all through school
for drawing race cars. I related everything I did to racing in one way or
another. As I got older it became a way of life for me, and in a way it
still is.
I
was a fan when legends of the sports were driving; drivers like Richard Petty,
David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Jody Ridley, and these men knew racing; they
could work on their own cars, and most did.
Races
were a speed contest of 500 miles. It was a battle, making a car race for 500
miles, and having a driver who could pilot it that far. It was more than just
who led a lap, or who raced well for 30 or 40 laps; it was the total package.
Slowly
but surely NASCAR went through changes, and as the times changed, so did
racing. I went right along with it,
because the ideal of the sport stayed the same. It was about who had the total
package, and how problems were dealt with during the race and how to overcome
the issues that arose.
Then
came the era of Brian France; the sport had thrived under his father, and it
had grown to be the #2 spectator sport in the world. Brian felt he needed to
make his own mark on the sport. He wanted to shake things up, so out came the
“Car of Tomorrow” and rule changes, as the car lost its identity, and drivers
were held in check by the rule “Actions detrimental to the sport of stock car auto
racing.” The sport started to lose its mark. It lost its appeal, but the true
fans, the ones who had made the sport what it was at the time, stood by, hoping
the fad would pass.
But
it didn’t; in fact it got worse. By making the cars all the same, with only
decals being the identity, the sport again stumbled. Drivers were not
happy, and when they voiced concerns they were hit with fines and penalties.
This action truly changed the sport. It robbed the sport of the
individuality that made the sport what it was. And the downward spiral began.
The
powers that be made it known that drivers could speak their mind all they
wanted to, as long as it didn’t criticize the management. Management ruled with
an iron fist. It didn’t take that long to backfire; the fans started to
lose interest, and attendance numbers bore this out. NASCAR soon saw the
writing on the wall, and began making wholesale changes, bringing in aero
packages, to “improve” the show they were giving the fans. Adding more and more
frills to the sport with driver introductions, required media day attendance… the
list goes on and on, as the powers that be caved in to the money, and the
businesses that were standing in line to get on board. But instead of staying
with” the one who brung ya”
format of racing, NASCAR felt it was mandatory to give the sponsors what they
wanted, sponsors who jumped on board because of the product… the product of
side by side racing. Slowly that product went away. It became a sport of
money, money and more money. Those who had the money made the rules, sort of
like the inmates running the asylum. Again, the fans left in droves.
But
NASCAR knew what was needed; they had conducted polls; they had done research.
I personally don’t know where they did all this but they SAID they did… no one
ever asked me… but I digress…
NASCAR
had a gushing wound in the sport, but instead of taking a stand and doing what
was needed, by bringing back the type of racing that made the sport so great,
NASCAR decided that they would just throw on a few Band-Aids, with spoilers, or
airfoils, or restrictor plates, and the fans left in droves again.
NASCAR
saw that changes had to be made; the TV cameras were showing empty stands and
folks were seeing the sport decline; NASCAR decided that they couldn’t have
that; they had to do something! Action was needed and in a hurry! So, knee jerk
reaction, if the stands are empty take them out! Here was a sport on a
downward spiral, in need of help, BUT instead of making all those empty seats
full again, perhaps by giving away tickets to charities or Veterans, NASCAR
took them out! They could have cut prices in half and filled the seats, and
STILL have been making money, but that didn’t fit the “models” that the “polls”
and “research” had shown. Never once did the brass at NASCAR walk through the
stands and ask the fans who paid their hard earned money what THEY wanted. Why?
Because to NASCAR that didn’t matter; they already had those fans’ money, so didn’t
need to please them. And THAT is the problem that NASCAR didn’t address.
Instead they chose to mess with the format and change the rules again. And
again…
All
this happened over a 14 year period. Yes NASCAR has been in steady decline for
14 years. Look back at attendance numbers over this time frame. According to www.sportsmediawatch.com,
ratings have dropped 20% each year over the last 3 years! That’s down 60% over
a 3 year time span, but NASCAR doesn’t have a problem.
The
time has come for the brass at NASCAR to make a change; leadership has faltered
and changes need to be made or NASCAR will continue its downward spiral. If they
want to know how to fix it… I’ve got the solution. It’s really easy, but for
NASCAR brass, it’s a novel concept they will never see…
You
want fans in the stands? Here is how you get them.
- Think of the fans
first.
- Get rid of the
current car and go back to stock sheet metal,
- Cut the cost of
racing by going to hard tires, and 9:1 engines.
- Drop prices of
seats.
- Get fans back by
showing you care about what they want; get in the stands and ask them.
- If you have
cheating, take the win away
- Stop trying to
clean up the history of the sport. It is what it is; moonshiners made this
sport; embrace it don’t hide it!
- Let the fans know
they matter. Without the fans there is no racing.
- Take the muzzle
off the drivers and let them say what they want!
- Give the sport
back to the people who made it great… the fans.
I
admit I may not have all the answers. I am not a corporate lackey who knows all
the ins and outs of business, but I do know what fans want. I know what the
sport needs to get fans back in the stands and it isn’t the direction they are
going now. When you constantly overlook
the history of the sport and try to reinvent it, you will destroy the sport.
The history is the basis of the sport, and the way they have tried to sanitize
it is one of the nails in the coffin. But some think that the sport is evolving;
that this is just a rough patch, and that the fans today want this version they
are promoting. While this may have some truth to it, what about the millions of
fans who have supported it through the years?
Can
NASCAR afford to ignore the core fans while they attract a new era of fans?
Why
can’t they find a middle ground, to please BOTH sides of the fence? Because the
way it is now, it looks like NASCAR don’t care about the very crowd that made
them what they are.
This
is just my view, my humble opinion, good or bad, I call it like I see it.