Comments on: It’s Coming

By: jimmccoy22

jimmccoy22 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:14:45 +0000

@Jerm #4. For more information about abadoned tracks- read this: http://stockcarracing.automotive.com/83201/scrp-0412-abandoned-race-tracks/index.html. It also includes telling commentary from the track operator at Mansfield.
I’ve looked and I’ve found no evidence of Stewart being fined for his comments about Goodyear last year. He got fined for his “B.S.” comment after winning the year before, and lot’s of other things, but not that.
TV ratings are a bit of a straw horse. Ratings for sports, Tv ratings in general are “down.” you can make the conclusion that the quality of racing is the total blame, but to do that is an oversimplification of a more complex issue of people’s media usage habits.
On this P.C. business, I would hardly call Kyle Busch P.C. Dale Jr. has been openly critical of the new car. As for Bowyer, apparently you’ve missed his comments about Michael Waltrip being the “worst driver in NASCAR” and similar statements about other drivers. Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle have also spoken out on their concerns about the drug testing policy.
The complacency you speak of was Jackie speaking to the notion that fans take for granted the idea that a driver can walk away from a major crash. The CoT has helped enhance that, but still, when you’re talkign about sa 200 lb. man going 200 mph in a 3,500 lb. car in tight traffic- you know as well as I do what CAN happen.
I think you’ve missed the point of the article to beat a dead horse that has been beat over and over.

The point is this:

The CoT and other innovations have helped save the lives of Michael Mc Dowell, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and others. That said, the danger STILL exists.

Perhaps Monte Dutton said it best in this column http://nascar.rbma.com/on-track/general-motorsports/18612-are-the-good-times-over-for-goo-or-is-it-just-me

Like it or not, times have changed, and they’re not going back. That leaves fans with two choices: accept it, OR make use of the “off” button. It’s what I did with Major League Baseball. I think John Chapman in his first guest post this week nailed it. NASCAR is going through a course correction after years of unprecedented growth. Where it will land remains to be seen.

By: Jerm

Jerm — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:29:11 +0000

Local tracks here in Ohio are doing dandy. I was unaware so many were going broke.

Stewart was penalized for missing a post race press conference in Phoenix a couple years ago because NASCAR new it was done in protest. He was fined 10,000 big ones for calling out GoodYear….so, political correctness? You betchya.

Harvick has some how managed to get away with it, and I love that. It is long overdue. I have never heard much squawk out of Bowyer.

I forgot to mention that TV viewership was down. Fox released a story three races in to this season stating that very fact and even attributed it to the new car and less passing. I don’t know if that article made your local paper, but it did mine.

I don’t think fans have developed complacency, I think they have devoloped disgust, especially hard core old timers. I have only been a fan since 1996, and to see the degradation of the sport I knew when I started diving into it is sad, to say the least. We are definitely aware of the risks involved, duh, that is why we like the sport. It’s fast, emotional, and risky! Humans love to see humans take risks. We like watching wrecks as much as you rubber neck at an auto accident on the highway. (You cannot debate that subject with me, I am privy specifically to that knowledge) However, I am glad to see Ken had my back, because he brought up several issues I did not…cookie cutter drivers, cookie cutter cars, on cookie cutter tracks.

Tony Stewart proposed something last season I thought was phenominally well thought. He would donate a million of his personal dollars to bring the IROC series back from the ashes if they would race on one event on a dirt track. He was even quick on the draw to say it didnt have to be his own track, Eldora. Now I would pay to watch that! Slipping, sliding, rolling, mud, and passion! So Nationwide will have a COT, how long before the truck series has a TOT? Now that just sounds stupid!

By: Jackie

Jackie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:17:58 +0000

I think the point has been missed here. The COT and the economy are only TWO of the reasons why attendance of races and TV ratings of races are down.
And yes, I have set through 3 hour snooze fest races waiting on the “Big One” to happen.
But my point is I think fans have become complacent about the risk of fatalities. Even with all the safety innovations like the COT, safer barriers and the HANS device, eventually there will be a fatality during a race. I think that a lot of people have just forgotten the risks those 43 drivers take each week.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:44:19 +0000

It’s far more than the economy. If it was the economy keeping people from the race tracks, the TV viewership should be higher than ever. The TV ratings are down double digits so it is clear people are tuning out in addition to not coming to the races. Generic cars being driven by generic drivers on generic 1.5 mile tracks does not make excitement. If you take the winner after a race, disguise the voice and remove the sponsors, I would wager that you couldn’t figure out who the winner was. The lack of personalities of the cars, drivers and even most of the tracks will keep the interest in NA$CAR dropping. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart are the only drivers with any hint of an individual persoality.

By: jimmccoy22

jimmccoy22 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:36:52 +0000

@Jeremy. As you astutely point out, it’d be foolish to think that dissatisfaction with “the product” is ONE factor in NASCAR’s “decline.” But ’splain this to me: if it’s all the CoT’s fault- then why are the local tracks going broke?
This PC stuff, I’m sorry Jer, is B.S. Not when you have Shrub, Smoke, Kevin Harvick, Bowyer, Scott Speed, etc. I’m not buying it.

By: Jerm

Jerm — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:09:14 +0000

Look, I appreciate the sentiment here. As a matter of fact, I have written a couple articles for other sites regarding how sterile NASCAR has become due to it’s unseen rule book enforced at the governing body’s leisure, and the new car. That’s right, I have called out the new COT several times. It DOES in fact, make racing much more boring, there is less passing, less competition, etc. Fans are tired of the political correctness that NASCAR now enforces on its drivers like it is some sort of communist regime. Sure, the economy is definitely a contributing factor. I can tell you I purchased four of my Daytona 500 tickets for 2010 for what I normally spend for three. Did anyone notice NO tickets were sold for the back stretch for the 400 at Daytona? The two 400s I have attended there I sat on the back stretch. So, totally on the economy? One would have to be extremely naive to believe that.

…and let’s face it, though tragic at times, (after all a it killed my favorite driver), as fans, our guilty pleasure at races is wrecking. Especially when it comes to drivers we don’t particularly like. We do not want to see injuries, but nothing gets a crowd into a race more than crunching sheet metal. Ever been to a NASCAR event and listen to the crowd’s reaction when a certain driver crashes? It is unquestionable. Safety? Of course due to my profession, I am all for it, but when you start having caution-free events because 43 box-shaped turds are running around the track, even more seats will be left to the tumble weeds.