" Action on track isn't helping NASCAR attendance, ratings "

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by Bartruff1

As a fan, I go back to the beach in the 50's.....to me, they should go back to stock car racing....the hero drivers will emerge anyway...eg Petty, Flock, Fast Freddy Lorenzon, Fireball, etc... IMHO the last "close to stock car racing" with factory participation and world class drivers was Trans Am... damn I loved that ...real racing with real cars ...actual shifting and braking and accelerating on road courses...those were the days and those cars are still popular in Historic Racing...

I agree that those days were the best. I really liked the old Trans Am series. And the real cars which weren't as safe as they are today, but the racing was much better I thought. Whoever could make their car go the fastest and handle the best won which is the way it should be. I feel NASCAR is also hurting themselves with all of the various TV shows they have on.

Ron

[Wayne Maybury]

Originally Posted by Ron61

I feel NASCAR is also hurting themselves with all of the various TV shows they have on.

Ron

Ron, I cannot believe that some talking heads can go on, and on, and on for hours and hours every week talking about a race. They end up turning me right off. Some of the new NASCAR shows on Speed really suck.

I do enjoy listening to Dave Despain as he brings up some very interesting points. He has some good interviews and lastly, he discusses much more than just NASCAR.

Wayne

[Ron61]

Wayne,

His show is the only one that I watch. The rest are just a bunch of people rambling on and on about the same thing over and over. I watch the other races on Speed but that is about it for me and speed channel.

Ron

[Don]

From USA TodaY:

" The crowd didn't measure up to the event's luster. NASCAR's estimated attendance was 140,000, but the 275,000 seat grandstands appearred less than full. The Brickyard's listed crowd has fallen by 100,000 since a tire debacle in 2008 "

The 140,000 attending may or may not have included the RV area and infield parking. Either way, whatever NASCAR is contemplating to reverse the downward trend sure needs immediate attention. Won't have the words exactly right, " it's easier to maintain/retain the favorable status than gaining back that which has been lost "

[Bartruff1]

I keep thinking that if things get bad enough...they just might go back to basics and race stock cars....so this is good news to me...also, I have been overjoyed to read that f'ing Tony George is out of racing and the Brickyard !!!! I hope he dies a long slow painful death alone in some alley and that is a improvement in my opinion....as I have mellowed over the years..

[Tommy]

The rise and fall of NASCAR reminds me very much of the rise and fall of the WWF (now WWE) professional wrestling endeavor. There was a brief time when pro wrestling peaked that it was on the cover of major magazines, was analyzed as a successful business model, and was the subject of articles on serious television news shows. In my opinion it was a fad - an activity that became briefly popular with a much larger than usual audience as people became curious about what their friends were watching. After the larger audience had watched for a brief time, they became bored and went on to other forms of entertainment, leaving the WWE with its much smaller core audience. .... I believe NASCAR has seen a similar cycle. I have no doubt the bad economy has contributed to the problem, but I believe (or hope) that NASCAR's biggest days are behind it. Perhaps now that its fan base has shrunk, SPEED Channel will make room to cover some other motorsports.

[95CobraR]

I think it is a stretch to blame factors beyond the Great Recession for lower attendance.

My house is down 30%, my stocks are down 30%, and my cars are worth 30% less. The only thing that I can think of that is up is my tax bill.

I'll admit that I do not attend Nascar races and never will. I am a road racing fan. However, the best race that I watched lately is the Nationwide race at Road America a few weeks ago. Carl Edwards won. He dominated the race to give Ford its first victory this year (and maybe the only victory based on how Ford has been doing this year in Nascar).

Jamie Allison sure is having having poor year as Director of Ford racing. Maybe Ford fans are not going to events because Ford can't get out of their own way on the race track?

[Dan40]

Originally Posted by Bartruff1

I keep thinking that if things get bad enough...they just might go back to basics and race stock cars....so this is good news to me...also, I have been overjoyed to read that f'ing Tony George is out of racing and the Brickyard !!!! I hope he dies a long slow painful death alone in some alley and that is a improvement in my opinion....as I have mellowed over the years..

Don't be so wishy-washy, tell us how you really feel!!