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Memo to NASCAR: No more excuses
Sometimes Sunday the racing was good....but generally it wasn't as thrilling as this three-wide, with Carl Edwards on the inside of rookie Joey Logano (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
ATLANTA
Okay, Sunday's Atlanta 500, with its painfully anemic crowd, and boring racing, made it quite clear that it can no longer be just business as usual for NASCAR.
The sport's bosses and promoters can't simply wait it out for better economic conditions.
It's time to do some perhaps audacious things – Elliott Sadler had the perfect idea: free tickets.
We've suggested two-for-one tickets – like, buy a ticket to a Las Vegas race and get a free ticket to a California Speedway race, or vice-versa.
Empty seats?
Fill 'em.
Whatever it takes.
Heck, maybe NASCAR promoters need to borrow some ideas from the airlines, who have perfected cramming as many bodies as possible in to every flight, using whatever price-points needed to fill the planes.
NASCAR promoters say they have been reluctant to market like the airlines (selling similar seats for wildly different prices) because they don't want to alienate the sport's loyal fans who diligently buy tickets in advance.
Yes, that's a legitimate argument….but in today's world, sorry, it's no longer valid.
Sunday's 500 here had way too many empty seats.
And it's time to drop all the excuses.
The kicker: if NASCAR puts on a good show at a track, then fans will come back next time and buy tickets, or tune in.
But if NASCAR puts on weak shows, like Sunday's Atlanta 500 and the California 500, fans won't come back.
Tires were a major issue again here Sunday, in the Atlanta 500, but drivers did their best to bite their tongues about the tough racing conditions.
The race itself was too similar to last spring's 500 here, in which tires were roundly criticized as too hard.
And that may have been one reason for Sunday's poor attendance at this 124,000-seat arena just south of the Atlanta airport.
So Goodyear's test this Wednesday at Darlington, for the upcoming Mother's Day weekend race, may be timely. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Elliott Sadler are to do the test, in a Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge.
The Darlington test was previously planned.
However Sunday's 500 here, following a similar no-show crowd at LA's California Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago, should open eyes in NASCAR's Daytona Beach headquarters.
It is painfully obvious that the car-of-tomorrow simply doesn't work well with the current generation of tires at many of NASCAR's key tracks.
And NASCAR executives, for the good of the sport, need to reconsider just what they are putting on the track in the Los Angeles and Atlanta markets, two key markets for this sport.
For two years now NASCAR's bosses have ignored some basic engineering and technological issues, and that has damaged this sport.
NASCAR bosses have been steadfast in refusing to make any significant changes to improve the car's handling or to make things easier on Goodyear engineers.
The next move in this game may be up to the guys in Daytona.
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If I'm not mistaken I believe
If I'm not mistaken I believe the promoter in Atlanta whose name you seem to have forgotten is none other than the notorious Bruton Smith.
Ah, 'notorious.' I think El
Ah, 'notorious.' I think El Bruton would like that tag. As long as they're talking about you.....(it's a good thing he did his deal on Friday, before Sunday's poor crowd).
The seemingly inflexibility
The seemingly inflexibility of Nascar during trying economic times is just astounding someone needs to wake up the brain trust and tell them the Dow isn't at 14,000 anymore unless they just think empty seats are some kind of odd coincidence as well being in deep denial about their product on the track. The old expression of "win on Sunday sell on Monday" seems to have escaped Nascar brass who obviously think they are running a stand alone product like the NFL that has nothing to do with car sales or fan brand identification. Last week when Brian France was quoted as saying that Nascar wasn't tied to a solitary brand when ask if Chevrolet was to leave the sport how would it effect Nascar is a prime example of this out of touch thinking. Note to Brian France you need to fight, kicking and clawing to insure ALL your manufacturers have continued involvement in your sport as well as your fan base your father and grandfather worked so hard to build, grow and maintain through hard times as well. It's just unimaginable to me why with all the brilliant minds at their disposal and nobody happy with this car other than field filler teams why you would not have assembled a team of advisers made up of the best and brightest during the off season and made the obvious necessary changes to the basic package that would have improved this albatross of a car. It may be that Nascar has so much of their own money tied into the development of the car of today they need to run it for two more more years to either save face or fully amortize it out before finally crying uncle and asking for help. This is certainly not the sport I grew up with in the 50's, grew to love in the 60's through the early part of the first part of this century but then again I have to remember that was when it was being run by visionaries and sound shrewd business people and not just mere caretakers who never knew the lean times and thought the dance would last forever. I really have major questions whether the current Nascar administration has the resolve or ingenuity to get itself out of this fiasco or will continue to keep trying shove the same poorly produced product down everyone's throat in some failed attempt that the fan base will finally "get it". This year I had to think whether I wanted to renew my Brickyard tickets I've had since the inception of Nascar at Indy or opt for 500 tickets knowing although not a huge open wheel fan I would at least be able to see a decent race not another pathetic Nascar race at the Brick like 2008.
When i look at this cot, i am
When i look at this cot, i am reminded of that old dodge magnum, circa 1978....my advice to NASCAR: shoot digger, and bury the car-of-tomorrow. I agree with crew chief Todd Berrier -- it's time for car-of-tomorrow II, from a clean sheet of paper. And let's let Detroit's car makers have a bigger role in creating brand identification. i hate this common template thing -- it's just a crutch. put some personality back into these cars.
I can tell you how to fill
I can tell you how to fill those seats. Start the frekin races at a reasonable time. Folks would like to be able to go to a race and still be home in time to get a nights sleep and go to work the next day. NASCAR fans, as much as Daytona would like to deny it, are still working class Americans. If I go to a race that dosen't end till 7PM and I have to fight traffic for 2 hours and then drive 2 hours to get home it is after midnight before I or my school age kids get to bed.
Damned fine analysis. Wonder
Damned fine analysis. Wonder if anyone in Daytona will stop counting their TV dollars long enough to consider that?
Yes it does appear that the
Yes it does appear that the COT needs some refining - but I seem to recall that Ironhead said radials would never work and that the world was coming to an end when they replaced bias-ply tires. It is somewhat inconsistent to complain about the economy and turn around and say that major ( and costly) changes need to be made to the COT now. Richard in N.C.
Certainly the Big E was no
Certainly the Big E was no fan of radials....though he was the first to win on them, because he worked at it hard....and there are still those who believe if Goodyear switched back to bias ply tires, the racing would be much better, with drivers smokin' em in the corners. the radial of course, was designed in the heat of a tire war (F1) to be fast on the straights. and the variations in bias ply tires made 'a bad set of tires' pretty common, which nascar officials naturally liked, because it changed up the action.
That aside, the car-of-tomorrow has been on-track at midsized tracks since i believe that test at michigan in the summer of 2007, where Jeff Gordon roundly decried it. that's almost two years of playing with this thing now, and quite frankly the car simply doesn't work that well. like one championship crew chief told me 'It's a good thing it's a safe car, as much as these guys are crashing it.'
NASCAR is wrong on two major points:
first, the concept of taking downforce away from cars to make drivers drive and separate the good ones from the not so good. that's flat wrong. more downforce is better for racing, it makes drivers more comfortable, and the more comfortable a driver is, the harder he races. check sunday's atlanta race for an example of vice versa: winner kurt busch said the tires had good grip for one lap.
second, the concept that the car-of-tomorrow would be a cost-saving measure that would allow new car owners to come into the sport at a lower price point and that would allow smaller car owners to compete with the big guys. That's also backfired badly.
Now I certainly agree that in this economy it is difficult to see the point of making any expensive changes in anything; however, NASCAR, as Bruton Smith suggests, could be more lenient in the rules enforcement and let crew chiefs get creative -- which is something NASCAR should have done with this COT right from the start, instead of being so rigid and puritan about it.
The bottom line, though, is the entertainment on the track: was California worth the price of admission, was Atlanta?
NASCAR and its promoters have to figure out a way to put people in the stands and eyeballs on the tube -- and they're good people, so i'm sure they would listen to anyone's advice. How would you suggest we end this standoff and get back to some good racing at the midsized tracks?
Bias ply tires - I remember
Bias ply tires - I remember May 2002 at New Hamsphire, the BGN weekend when the series was a stand-alone race there. The Busch cars raced first, then the Busch North (now Busch East) cars raced. Martin Truex and Brad Leighton were the stars and they fought for the lead hard - the lead was a drag race for several laps and it changed back and forth numerous times.
I also remember several races in 1990 and 1991 during the phase-in of radials - Michigan in 1991 was one of the last tracks to run bias-plies and in June the lead changed 35 times (my count) in a stretch of 30 laps.
The COT has been on intermediate tracks since December 2005 and the very first test of the thing, at Atlanta. In that test the car pushed worse in traffic than the old car. They found they needed a much bigger rear spoiler to make it stable. Then NASCAR inexplicably went with a wing, and it hasn't worked.
The two points on which NASCAR is wrong are perfect - cutting downforce doesn't make better racing, and the idea that a design-by-committee would allow new teams to come into the sport can't work because the absurd economics of the sport aren't being addressed at all.
Loved the days before the
Loved the days before the manufacturers got so involved -- when you brought an olds to the super speedways and a Monte Carlo to the short tracks. Once the manufacturers got involved and teams were "stuck for life" with a manufacturer (Elliott, Roush, Hendrick) all the belly aching started as soon as one make got an advantage and then all the tweaking started. Remember the spoiler heights, angles, etc?
Go back to what detroit (and only detroit) puts out is what you run.
RE: "Brian France you need to
RE: "Brian France you need to fight, kicking and clawing to insure ALL your manufacturers have continued involvement in your sport as well as your fan base your father and grandfather worked so hard to build, grow and maintain through hard times as well."
PLEASE SEE THIS LETTER BRIAN RECENTLY SENT TO CONGRESS --
Dear Senator,
I'm writing you as a concerned American who wants what is best for our great country. Of course, the domestic automobile manufacturers play a very important part of the heritage of NASCAR, but more importantly it is vital for all of America. The U.S. auto industry has long been the backbone of our nation's manufacturing sector. This industry isn't confined to "Detroit" or even the Midwest. It's everywhere in America. And its current troubles are putting our country's overall economic heath at stake. The collapse of the U.S.-based auto industry -- a grim possibility amid the current economic and credit crises -- would have an impact far beyond nearly 355,000 Americans directly employed by the Big Three. The livelihood of one in 10 people in America is related to the U.S. auto industry.
The economic ripple effects of a collapse of our auto industry would be devastating:
* Nearly 3 million jobs would be lost in the first year alone – with another 2.5 million to follow over the next two years
* Personal income in the United States would drop by more than $150 billion in the first year.
* The cost to local, state, and federal governments in lost taxes, and unemployment and health care assistance could reach more than $150 billion over three years.
* Domestic automobile production would more than likely fall to zero – even by international producers, due to supplier bankruptcies.
For these manufacturers to survive, your assistance is urgently needed. By immediately supporting America's automobile industry, you can help our nation avoid a devastating economic blow.
We urge the Administration and Congress to support the bridge loan package under deliberation. As unattractive as the idea of corporate federal bailouts can be to many Americans, including me, there appears to be no alternative. Federal aid is in the best interest of the entire country.
Respectfully,
Brian Z. France
Even with an un-standardized
Even with an un-standardized car Nascar can still manipulate the races to accommodate their agenda. Even with parity and much mandation Nascar can still influence the outcome of these races. What with a few carefully placed hot dog wrappers and used condems a debris flag can totally change the complection of the event. Nascar is such a huge entity they can force feed people a race with forty percent of the laps run under yellow. You will eat it and like the seventy five dollar price tag for that nose bleed seat. Either don't count caution laps or give these people a refund. Nowadays when these teams blow a rear tire the rear deck lid, quarterpanel, sideglass, and sometimes fuel tank filler get taken out in the high speed detonation. Where are the run flat tires? The Australians and yeruhpeeins have been using them in their touring car divisions for a quarter century. Ask Marcos Ambrose. Run flats even use no sidewall so they use less material to make and they can't be cut down by side contact. With so much coverage on, and arond Nascar, the transparecies of their actions seem more evident day by day. Improve management, improve stock car racing! When will World of Outlaws run companion events with Cup events? Now there is a series that could never disolve under bad management.
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