Nascar: 2010

[Don]

" All in all I just hope this season starts to have some real racing again as I am about ready to just write off Nascar "

I think NASCAR realizes there now needs to be some compromises between leveling the playing field and cost reduction, in order to have fan friendly racing. No fans, then no sponsors, then no funding to the Teams

Fan attendance decline at the tracks can be partially explained by the economic conditions. But, the bigger concern is the drop off in TV viewing which relates to decreased sponsor/advertising dollars and the subsequent revenue for the tracks and Teams.

Having more consistent start times in 2010 might help, but shorter races might also attract and retain the viewers, except for historically significant races such as the Daytona 500. There are races where the middle portion becomes very uninteresting, waiting for the action to start at the end of the race.

[Don]

" Some NASCAR tracks cut seating capacity "

By Nate Ryan
USA TODAY Jan 19

As demand has shrunk for NASCAR tickets, so have the superspeedways that hold Sprint Cup races.

Several tracks have sliced their grandstand capacities by several thousand seats after a 2009 season in which attendance was flat or down at virtually every race. Among the biggest drops are Daytona International Speedway (168,000 to 146,000) and Phoenix International Raceway, which dropped by 20,000 seats. With a seating capacity of 56,000, Phoenix now has the coziest oval grandstands on the series behind Darlington Raceway and Martinsville Speedway (both 63,000) despite being one of NASCAR's largest markets.

Noting many other professional sports leagues have built venues with more intimate seating, International Speedway Corp. chief operating officer Roger VanDerSnick says bigger isn't necessarily better anymore.

"My philosophy is don't let PR drive a business decision," says VanDerSnick, whose company owns Phoenix, Darlington, Daytona and nine other Cup tracks. "Phoenix is a nice market, but it's been hit hard. This is an opportunity to take valuable real estate that wasn't going to be used and turn it into amenities."

The cost often is negligible because seats are widened rather than being removed. Phoenix and Richmond International Raceway (which reduced capacity by 12,000) expanded seat width from 18 to 22 inches to address a frequent complaint from fans, according to Phoenix track President Bryan Sperber.

"We think guests are going to appreciate the extra room," Sperber says.

ISC has slashed prices on 500,000 tickets, about a third of total capacity for its 19 Cup races. Though the Daytona 500 (which opens the season Feb. 14) has tickets available, VanDerSnick says ISC has seen a slight uptick in corporate sales, which plummeted last year.

[Joe Wicked]

Originally Posted by Don

" All in all I just hope this season starts to have some real racing again as I am about ready to just write off Nascar "

I think NASCAR realizes there now needs to be some compromises between leveling the playing field and cost reduction, in order to have fan friendly racing. No fans, then no sponsors, then no funding to the Teams

Fan attendance decline at the tracks can be partially explained by the economic conditions. But, the bigger concern is the drop off in TV viewing which relates to decreased sponsor/advertising dollars and the subsequent revenue for the tracks and Teams.

Having more consistent start times in 2010 might help, but shorter races might also attract and retain the viewers, except for historically significant races such as the Daytona 500. There are races where the middle portion becomes very uninteresting, waiting for the action to start at the end of the race.

I really hope so because I used to really enjoy watching and about 02 or so it started to decline and the new car just killed it.