NASCAR in 3D-TV? Wow! Better get some Dramamine

  When team owner Jack Roush gets wound up, like he was Tuesday on the Charlotte Media Tour, better just stand back and let him vent (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   CONCORD, N.C.
   Greg Biffle was busy down in Fort Worth testing tires and that new four-inch flat-blade rear spoiler at Texas Motor Speedway Tuesday, in the first key test of NASCAR's proposed new aerodynamic rules change, as the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Media Tour rolled on through Day Two.
    But the rest of the Jack Roush gang was heads-up here and exuding optimism and fire about the upcoming season, with vows to bounce back from a relatively disappointing 2009.
    However it was a charge by Roush and his number two, Geoff Smith, about the shape of the sport itself that really made the day....with Smith and ESPN officials both talking about putting NASCAR races on in Avatar-like 3D, and maybe sooner than anyone might expect.
    Roush himself led the charge, complaining that the media, principally high-profile TV commentators, had been too pessimistic about the state of NASCAR racing last year, echoing complaints heard last fall from NASCAR execs themselves. NASCAR's Mike Helton and Brian France have been meeting one-on-one with key members of various Cup teams the past two weeks, listening to suggestions and offering some suggestions of their own, basically wanting a more positive spin on the sport and less negativity.
    "I would say NASCAR's problems have been blown out of proportion," Roush declared, during the Roush Day part of the week-long NASCAR media fling.
   "NASCAR has brought a number of things to our attention, and I've got a stump speech I enjoy making:
   "As we all started down this economic decline, anyone who had money in a 401-K saw their investment cut by 30 to 40 percent. And when I look at my own automotive business up north, I went from 2500 people to 1500, based on the amount of business I had.
   "But NASCAR, at worst, has (only) been down 11 to 15 percent.
   "NASCAR – and all the fans and businesses around it – has been a success story in this down economy.
   "And as history repeats itself, as I'm sure it will, the sponsors and people marketing through NASCAR are going to come out of this thing with (increased) market share.
   "So what we're doing – and our competitors here too – are not only trying to help our teams win but also our sponsors in the broader economy.
   "I'm willing to speak my mind, and if you look at our sport and the way it's reported – and the way the television box is related to what's going on – there is not a sport in the world that has greater and more knowledgeable critics. But we have not had the level of support from the TV studio box that the other sports have.
   "And I would hope that Fox and ESPN and everybody else really thinks about what they're doing.
  

  

  Geoff Smith, head of Roush Fenway Racing, offers a fiery defense of the health of NASCAR racing (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)

  

   "We had more passes last year than we've ever had," Roush went on. "We had more passes for the lead than we've ever had. We had more different winners than we've ever had. We had more cars finishing on the lead lap than we've ever had.
   "The competition was great.
   "ISC (the France family's track holding company, International Speedway Corp.) has done a study, and they did not have one complaint from anybody who bought a ticket about something not working in the race the way they thought (it should have).
   "So there is no complaint from the fans regarding competition. The complaints have come from reporters and media that may have a vested interest; if you look at Darrell Waltrip and all the other ex-drivers, like Rusty Wallace, and ex-crew chiefs who are out there, it's not unreasonable to say they've got some ax to grind over something that frustrated them in their careers. And we need to reel that back in. That is not something that needs to be carried out front to the fans and the public.
   "We need to talk about how close the racing is...and how contentious things are in the garage...and not fault teams for the decisions they make or fault NASCAR for the government they provide.
   "NASCAR racing is the best-run form of motorsport anywhere in the world. It may be the best-run form of sport anywhere in the world.
   "NASCAR does a better job of keeping their house in order and keeping things fair and consistent and safe and exciting than anyone else in motor racing."

   
   

   Are TV commentators like Fox' Darrell Waltrip too critical of NASCAR? That's what Jack Roush says (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   

    Smith, the man who, as president of Roush Fenway, is responsible for finding the money to keep the operation going, added stats to the back up Roush.
   "Throughout last year I kept hearing 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling,' and they'd duck," Smith said, leading into an emotional spiel.
    "And it wasn't just one chicken; it was the whole henhouse.
    "But we've got all our teams fully sponsored, and our sponsors are happy.....so I got tired of hearing 'the sky was falling.'
     "So I've come up with figures:
    "Six and a half million people watch the race program every week. That's 240 million people (over the 36-race season).
    "Compare that to any regular TV program, that's extraordinary. It's extraordinary.
   "Life-content shows, like our sport, are extremely hard to get. That's why you see ratings declines in sports much less than ratings overall.
   "The ratings declined you hear about are in the 18-35 year old male...and that's an extremely important part of the TV negotiations with NASCAR.
   "But from a sponsor point of view, most of the demographics of these sponsors isn't just limited to that narrow band. They're looking at the bigger picture, at the broader audience, which NASCAR brings.
   "The Wall Street Journal last week pointed out that the NFL gives you only 11 minutes of live action in a three-hour broadcast. But we (NASCAR racing) offer three full hours of live action.
   "And it's not just the race shows -- but there are eight shows (weekly) outside the racing, and the consensus is there are at least 25 million viewers of that.
    "Plus, there's a lot more media distribution...and the components of the digital distribution and the live race broadcasts and all that are huge -- and that's why our sponsors are glad to be here and want to stay here.
   "If you saw Avatar, there will be 3D TV...and there is no one better positioned than this sport. It's coming. And there will be nothing like watching 43 people going 200 mph in 3D. It's going to be incredible.
   "So we're not going to be talking about 'the sky is falling.'"
  
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  NASCAR in Avatar-3D? ESPN says get your new 3D TV sets and be prepared (Photo: James Cameron/Avatar)