Let's Fix NASCAR, Part 1
10/22/2014
David Allen
Talladega has come and gone. The incident with Brad Keselowski is now a thing of the past, though fans won’t forget either one. You see, fans for the most part... they don’t forget. They know when a popular driver has scored them, been done wrong or won the championship. Regardless of the outcome, fans cheer and they cheer big. Problem is, NASCAR has a blind eye it seems and doesn’t realize yet fans aren’t in the seats to cheer.
That’s right, they aren’t in the seats; ticket sales for the most part are down and even worse, even with the new Chase format, ratings still aren’t rising. The only thing that seems to be rising is the blood pressure of fans and some of the popular drivers with the recent on-track incidents.
So what has NASCAR done so wrong? Simple, if you ask me; they have totally forgotten their roots and where they came from. In the business world for the car dealer the attitude always was, win on Sunday and sell it on Monday. That’s because the cars seen on the race track on Sunday looked similar to those you could buy at your dealer. That’s not the case anymore; the big NASCAR teams are more like small time assembly lines.
They want to make the car as light as possible, as cheap as possible and oh, better make it fast too. If the car can’t run up front they won’t get any of that precious television time. Without the television time the sponsors don’t get the return on investment they are looking for, so you better believe they won’t be paying your bills for long. It takes millions of dollars to run just one successful Sprint Cup team today. Anything less and you’re better off staying at home. The winnings from running in the 43rd position likely won’t pay the diesel bill on the hauler that got you there.
Do I have a problem with NASCAR and its future? You bet! While I’m one of its biggest critics, I’m also one of its biggest fans. I can sit here and offer up dozens of reasons as to what might be wrong with NASCAR. I do it every year. I will continue to do it. However, getting someone to listen is like going to the dentist and asking for a free dental exam. I own and operate a small business. Last time I checked, making ten dollars on a customer was good money, and turning down the customer that I would only make a dollar from was bad business.
NASCAR, I love you; I do! I tune in faithfully on a weekly basis. I support you in the products I buy. However, you’re expensive for the product that is being delivered. A family of four shouldn’t have to spend a week's paycheck to go see you and have a good time. Then again, if it didn’t cost the teams millions of dollars to field a car, you wouldn’t be charging me double time for that hamburger I’m holding and for my good seat, $50 per hour for me to sit in it. It’s a double-edged sword. I get it. You have to make money so you can make the Yacht payment, but making a smaller profit and having a smaller boat is better than no boat at all, isn’t it?
How would you fix NASCAR if you could? If you ask me, it’s very simple. Tune in next week for some ideas on what I would do to make our sport more accessible, not only to the fan, but the aspiring driver as well!