Please NASCAR, don’t do it. Step back from the edge. You do not want to put all the lead lap cars up front, double file, for restarts.
Why? Follow this scenario: you are the second car one lap down, right on the bumper of the first car one lap down. The leader just passed both of you and the second place car is 100 yards behind you. There are 20 cars on the lead lap.
The caution flies. The car ahead of you will get the “Lucky Dog” and will now be the last car on the lead lap. When they line up all the lead lap cars double file you will restart 22nd on the track, having lost all track position. You cannot race your way back onto the lead lap, but will have to depend on getting the “Lucky Dog” to get your lap back.
NASCAR’s creation of the “Lucky Dog” was a mistake. This will compound the mistake. Each time NASCAR introduces more artificial manipulations of racing they actually make things worse. They continue to push away their hard core fan base. This scripting must stop. We all fell in love with this when it was a race – not a performed show.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
No Improvements Stated From NASCAR
The benevolent despots that rule NASCAR had their meetings with the owners and drivers of the Cup series on Tuesday. Everyone received a polite little pat on the head and were told that everything is just fine despite the poor television ratings. Here are the things the owners and drivers were told:
- Don’t worry about the drug testing issues, because we know best about that. Feel free to check with us before you take a prescription drug so we can tell you if we’ll suspend you for it. Even though what prescription drug you take is none of our business, we won’t tell anybody.
- And to improve ratings we’ve come up with this great idea to have all the lead lap cars up front on the restart - double file, with all lap down cars behind them. That should do it. So, if you are the second car a lap down and you are in between the first and second place cars when the caution flies we’ll just put all other lead lap cars ahead of you on the restart.
- And we are not changing the car! John Darby becomes apoplectic whenever we bring the subject up. He doesn’t handle change well.
- Yes, let’s have some more of these productive meetings.
NASCAR just refuses to get it. They insist on ruling from the top. They can get away with it because no owner or driver really dares challenge them. Sure, some owners and drivers spoke up on Tuesday, but I’m sure they were very careful in their choice of words and tone. They don’t want to upset the NASCAR despots and get paid back during their car’s next inspection.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, came out of the meeting that changes a thing from the fans’ perspective. NASCAR is tanking and its management just continues to whistle in the dark.
- Don’t worry about the drug testing issues, because we know best about that. Feel free to check with us before you take a prescription drug so we can tell you if we’ll suspend you for it. Even though what prescription drug you take is none of our business, we won’t tell anybody.
- And to improve ratings we’ve come up with this great idea to have all the lead lap cars up front on the restart - double file, with all lap down cars behind them. That should do it. So, if you are the second car a lap down and you are in between the first and second place cars when the caution flies we’ll just put all other lead lap cars ahead of you on the restart.
- And we are not changing the car! John Darby becomes apoplectic whenever we bring the subject up. He doesn’t handle change well.
- Yes, let’s have some more of these productive meetings.
NASCAR just refuses to get it. They insist on ruling from the top. They can get away with it because no owner or driver really dares challenge them. Sure, some owners and drivers spoke up on Tuesday, but I’m sure they were very careful in their choice of words and tone. They don’t want to upset the NASCAR despots and get paid back during their car’s next inspection.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, came out of the meeting that changes a thing from the fans’ perspective. NASCAR is tanking and its management just continues to whistle in the dark.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
NASCAR's Big Meetings
Well, NASCAR has seen the light and decided to have some “meetings” today with Cup owners and drivers. It must be that the brain trust of Brian France, Mike Helton, and John Darby have finally caught up with the fact that ratings and attendance are tanking. My feeling is that these meetings are mostly for public relations purposes. If you look at the history of NASCAR, it is the slowest moving organization in the world. It doesn’t listen to advice from outside its ruling elite.
There are many things that need to be addressed. I hope the owners and drivers speak up without fear of retribution on such things as the current car, the fence that really did not hold at Talladega, the drug testing policy, and whatever else they think can improve the series. But, I want to state as I have in previous posts the problems from a fan’s perspective.
1 – Too many races. It’s an endurance test even for hard core fans such as me. The casual fan will never stick with it.
2 – The television productions are terrible. Please TNT, don’t overdo it like FOX has. So much blather, so much nonsense.
3 – The cars have really become IROCized. Allow some creativity.
4 – Get rid of the Lucky Dog rule. Make a team earn that lap back. Do not change the restarts to double file with lap down cars to the rear. What you did before worked. It just needs a little tweaking for safety.
NASCAR can and has blamed the ratings problems and the attendance issues on many things. The economy, the rain shortened Daytona race, competition from other sports and activities, and lack of driver controversy. The real problem is that they have not paid attention to their base of hard core fans. They misread the ratings spike that occurred from the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. They thought they had suddenly hit the big time, and they failed to realize why.
There are many things that need to be addressed. I hope the owners and drivers speak up without fear of retribution on such things as the current car, the fence that really did not hold at Talladega, the drug testing policy, and whatever else they think can improve the series. But, I want to state as I have in previous posts the problems from a fan’s perspective.
1 – Too many races. It’s an endurance test even for hard core fans such as me. The casual fan will never stick with it.
2 – The television productions are terrible. Please TNT, don’t overdo it like FOX has. So much blather, so much nonsense.
3 – The cars have really become IROCized. Allow some creativity.
4 – Get rid of the Lucky Dog rule. Make a team earn that lap back. Do not change the restarts to double file with lap down cars to the rear. What you did before worked. It just needs a little tweaking for safety.
NASCAR can and has blamed the ratings problems and the attendance issues on many things. The economy, the rain shortened Daytona race, competition from other sports and activities, and lack of driver controversy. The real problem is that they have not paid attention to their base of hard core fans. They misread the ratings spike that occurred from the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. They thought they had suddenly hit the big time, and they failed to realize why.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Has NASCAR awoken?
So NASCAR has suddenly become concerned about their television ratings! See the following article in "Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal":
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/62420
The comments made in the article are quite strange:
- It claims Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lack of success is complicit in the ratings decline. Huh? True race fans are not going to stop watching if one of their favorites is not running well.
- The article says that the horrendous Carl Edwards crash at Talladega was thought (hoped?) to increase interest (ratings). See my April 27 blog entry. Does NASCAR, in fact, really want a blood sport?
- NASCAR official Paul Brooks is quoted in the article comparing NASCAR ratings to those of other sports on the same weekend. That is apples to oranges.
What the article does not address is that the rating decline is a continuation of a decline begun a couple of years ago. NASCAR’s television ratings declined significantly from 2007 to 2008 too. It is just getting worse. The comments made in this article are like whistling in the dark. There is a problem – please address it meaningfully!
My March 30 blog entry addressed some areas that need to be looked at. I want to add another idea concerning the networks’ presentations. Prior to 2001 many more networks were involved in bringing us the races. The same network did not do the telecast week after week until its part of the schedule ended. We may have watched the race on ESPN one week, TNT the next, then TBS, and so on. The point is: we did not have to endure the exact same on-air personalities week after week. I constantly hear from my racing friends of how tired they are of one announcer or another. It would be much nicer if the old jumbled schedule was still how it was done.
http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/62420
The comments made in the article are quite strange:
- It claims Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lack of success is complicit in the ratings decline. Huh? True race fans are not going to stop watching if one of their favorites is not running well.
- The article says that the horrendous Carl Edwards crash at Talladega was thought (hoped?) to increase interest (ratings). See my April 27 blog entry. Does NASCAR, in fact, really want a blood sport?
- NASCAR official Paul Brooks is quoted in the article comparing NASCAR ratings to those of other sports on the same weekend. That is apples to oranges.
What the article does not address is that the rating decline is a continuation of a decline begun a couple of years ago. NASCAR’s television ratings declined significantly from 2007 to 2008 too. It is just getting worse. The comments made in this article are like whistling in the dark. There is a problem – please address it meaningfully!
My March 30 blog entry addressed some areas that need to be looked at. I want to add another idea concerning the networks’ presentations. Prior to 2001 many more networks were involved in bringing us the races. The same network did not do the telecast week after week until its part of the schedule ended. We may have watched the race on ESPN one week, TNT the next, then TBS, and so on. The point is: we did not have to endure the exact same on-air personalities week after week. I constantly hear from my racing friends of how tired they are of one announcer or another. It would be much nicer if the old jumbled schedule was still how it was done.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
NASCAR Ratings Continue Slipping
NASCAR Cup racing continues to have a serious television ratings problem. Things have gotten no better since my comments on 3/30/09. The ratings for the last five races compared to last year:
Martinsville - down 13%
Texas - down 13%
Phoenix - down 18%
Talladega - down 12%
Richmond - down 12% (overnight)
How can this be?!?! Has NASCAR, aided by FOX, killed the goose that laid the golden egg???? I think it has, at least, seriously injured it.
FOX only has three races left this year so it is too late to change anything. But, FOX needs to revamp its on-air personnel for next year. And get rid of Digger. Quit insulting us fans.
NASCAR can only hope that ratings improve when TNT takes over, followed by ESPN/ABC later in the summer. There may be some improvement, but for all the reasons I stated in my blog of 3/30/09, I am not confident that there will be a significant turnaround.
Martinsville - down 13%
Texas - down 13%
Phoenix - down 18%
Talladega - down 12%
Richmond - down 12% (overnight)
How can this be?!?! Has NASCAR, aided by FOX, killed the goose that laid the golden egg???? I think it has, at least, seriously injured it.
FOX only has three races left this year so it is too late to change anything. But, FOX needs to revamp its on-air personnel for next year. And get rid of Digger. Quit insulting us fans.
NASCAR can only hope that ratings improve when TNT takes over, followed by ESPN/ABC later in the summer. There may be some improvement, but for all the reasons I stated in my blog of 3/30/09, I am not confident that there will be a significant turnaround.
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