You Asked For It! ~ "Where Have All The Fannies Gone?"
4/11/2014
PattyKay Lilley
I bid
you welcome gentle readers to another, "You ask; I'll try to answer"
column, and as always a warm welcome is extended to our assigned reader for
today, hopefully ensconced in a room with windows, as it promises to be a
beautiful spring day here in the sunny Southland. Today's question is quite
simple, and has been asked in one form or another for at least a decade as we
have watched attendance dwindle to sad proportions for a sport that was once
world-class in popularity.
On this
past Monday evening, your scribe participated as part of a panel discussion on "Bump
'n Run" hosted by Race Fans Forever's newest columnist, Robyn Vandenberg,
heard each Monday at 8:00 on Racin
Nation Radio,
and once again this question became part of our general conversation; where
have all the fannies gone? You know, the fannies that
used to fill all those empty grandstand seats... or as I like to call it,
"What the Hell Happened?" Though we've touched on the topic in many
ways and in many columns, it's been years since these pages have taken it head
on and answered directly and as completely as my knowledge allows.
For
openers, as an up-front disclaimer, no Brian France, it was not solely the
fault of the economy, though that eventually did lend a push to a sport already
in freefall after having been driven over the edge of the cliff. By the same
token gentle readers, it was not entirely the fault of Brian France as so many
are quick to assume. Many factors entered into what in Hollywood jargon might
be called, "The Perfect Storm."
Let's take
a quick look at what we know and can easily be supported by established
figures. Throughout the decade of the 1990s, NASCAR underwent a massive and
unprecedented growth spurt that would be the dream of any promoter of any
sport, anywhere in the world or out of it. New tracks sprang up across the
country as if they were as free as the prize in your Cracker Jacks box, and new
grandstand seating couldn't be built fast enough at existing tracks to keep up
with the demand. "Those were the days my friend; we thought they'd never
end." Ah, but as a very wise man once said, "This too shall
pass."
With the
end of that decade came the end of an alliance with folks that had become old
friends, when ESPN and TNN were replaced as broadcast facilities of all things
NASCAR by new upstart networks FOX and NBC, with TNT subbing for a then
non-existent cable affiliate to NBC. With strangers at the helm of our viewing
experience, the very first race of the new millennium produced the unthinkable.
The sport's biggest and brightest star, seven-time Champion Dale Earnhardt was
killed in the final turn of the last lap of the Daytona 500.
For
those at the track that day, there was shock and horror as the word crept
slowly through the crowd, and tears were shed and shared with strangers for the
loss of a Champion. For those at home, there was no Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett or
Benny Parsons to cushion the blow, and somewhat like salt in the wound, the
strangers left the air for local news, leaving it to Mike Helton some two hours
later, to eventually deliver those fateful words, "We've lost Dale
Earnhardt." The ensuing weeks and months were exceedingly difficult for a
sport without its icon, and Earnhardt's death was truly felt around the world.
Still, he was but one man and things did level out for a bit, but a short two
years after his death, R.J. Reynolds, 30-year Series Title Sponsor, announced that
the Federal government had finally succeeded in bringing them to the point
where they could no longer afford to sponsor NASCAR racing and 2003 would be
their final year in that capacity.
Now
gentle readers, we had a sport that had not only lost its shining star, but its
long-time sponsor, with which racing was so closely associated. A second
crushing blow, to be sure, but the hits just kept on coming. Along with those
two major setbacks, the benevolent dictator of NASCAR, Bill France Jr. had
developed cancer and after a long period of recuperation, announced that like
Reynolds, he too would end his reign as head of NASCAR with the 2003 season.
And so
it was that when 2004 dawned in the world of NASCAR, it was without Dale
Earnhardt, without R.J. Reynolds and without Bill France Jr. Don't take my word
for this; present that set of facts to anyone with a knowledge of economics or with
any measure of business acumen and that person will tell you that failure,
though not unavoidable, loomed imminent. The ship wasn't just floundering; it
was pitching and rolling amid rocks and boulders... dangerous times in
dangerous waters. What was needed was a calm and guiding hand at the helm;
someone to bring that ship out of the storm and back to safe harbor... steady
as she goes Mate.
What the
good ship NASCAR got instead was Brian Z. France, grabbing the wheel, spinning
it wildly from side to side and bellowing, "Change! We must have
change!" And change he did... everything he could touch. The point system,
in place for the entire modern era of NASCAR, was thrown out in favor of a
playoff system strangely reminiscent of the NFL. That system has now
"changed" some seven times in a decade, with the latest now seemingly
akin to the NBA's "Sweet Sixteen." Next came
the cars. Instead of being content with engineering marvels that still somewhat
resembled their street counterparts, we were forced to watch the "Cars of
Tomorrow" which resembled nothing more than a pregnant roller skate,
attempt to compete while unable to pass one another.
Almost
the entire field was locked into each race with something called a
"guaranteed top-35", which meant that only 8 cars even had a need to
try to qualify for each race. As predicted, that proved good for some
sponsors... the ones with the most money... but not only discouraged smaller
sponsorships but rookie teams as well. Race entries fell to a point where
NASCAR was forced to look the other way as more and more cars started a race,
only to spend 9/10 of it in the garage, having run a few laps and parked
permanently.
Along
with the on-track changes came the at-the-track
changes, which were repeated as TV brought them to our living rooms. NASCAR, it
was decreed, needed a new "Image." This fan saw nothing wrong with
the old Image... the one that put all those fannies in
all those seats to begin with. What was sought with the new image was a new
demographic of fans... younger and more "in tune" than old folks like
me. And to that end, the music found at most tracks sounded more like something
from MTV than from FOX and whoever the current second network might be.
At one
point early on, a driver (Derrike Cope) was not allowed to race because his
hood bore the sponsor name, "Redneckjunk.com" Brian France found the
word Redneck offensive. Oh PLEASE! Only a couple years back, golfer Bubba
Watson bid on and won the original "General Lee" from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, at a Barrett-Jackson Auction. Later that
year, he was scheduled to parade the car at a race in Phoenix, but was
cancelled because someone felt that a car with the Stars and Bars (Rebel flag)
on its roof did not project the proper "Image" of NASCAR. Yes, this
would be the same NASCAR that for years ran a race called the "Rebel
500!" That would in fact, be the upcoming "spring" race at
Darlington, now insultingly being called the Southern 500, though for over 50
years, tradition shows that the Southern 500 was the Labor Day race at
Darlington. That tradition also fell by the wayside when Brian France sent the
Labor Day race to Fontana.
All of
that began in 2004, a year you've heard mentioned time and again on these
pages. In 2005, track attendance and TV ratings leveled and then began to fall,
and have remained in a downward trend that has turned to a spiral ever since. Bear
in mind that the housing bust didn't even begin until 2008, so no blame for the
start of the fall-off can be laid to the economy or any president or political
party. It has been, as described, a Perfect Storm.
Circumstances
not of anyone's making got it started, and piled up one on top of the other.
Bad decisions and misguidance only made a bad situation worse. It's really no
one's "fault" in total, but Mr. France, your inept handling of the
good ship NASCAR has gone far toward sinking her since you took over. Every
time I see you retrench and attempt to mend an error, you seem to do so by
making another and greater one. Yes, you eliminated the top-35 guarantee,
thereby opening up the field to teams that wouldn't even bother with that in
place. Good move... but then you bring in your new NBA version of something
only your mind could see as viable in racing... with the Championship totally
dependent on the outcome of one race. Why not just run one race and be done
with all the others? No one's watching them anyway.
Referring
back to the chart of TV ratings, this column would not be complete without
mentioning to all my gentle readers that NASCAR, with all its power and all its
attorneys, took Andrew Maness, site-master of NASCARnomics.com, to court and
sued for misuse of their corporate name. You will now find the site at http://racingnomics.com/
Visit often and help out a nice guy with great ideas. Note to Brian France: Is
there no measure of smallness to which you will not stoop?
In the
current year of 2014, despite what seem like positive changes, making the Gen-6
cars more competitive and the racing better, TV ratings are still falling and
have reached new lows at multiple races. It breaks this old heart to hear that
Pretty Little Martinsville now holds the dubious honor of being the
least-watched race in TV history. Attendance has followed suit. Already her
entire backstretch seating has been given over to billboards and they can't
even sell out what's left. When I left her in 1995, we had to make our
reservations for good seats a full year in advance. Now I'm told one can get
them on race day.
And... that
should be enough to get some conversation going for our assigned reader of the
day to process. As you can readily see, it was not any single thing responsible
for the flight of fannies from grandstand seats or from
living rooms for that matter, but the Perfect Storm has had some help. With the
exception of the years 2001 - 2003, where he lacked control, it almost seems
that Brian France has been bent on seeing how much damage and destruction one
man can cause to one corporation in some given period of time. Again and again,
I keep hearing in my mind those three little words, uttered by Brian last year
when announcing that the Chase would be run by a Baker's Dozen, to include Jeff
Gordon... "Because I can."
Does
anyone else find that distasteful?
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay