NASCAR may not be sick.
In fact its health is most likely better than average. But it does have symptoms that if not properly treated could lead
to something worse. Maybe it’s flu or the start of a cold. However, it may be the early signs of something more serious. Let’s
give NASCAR a physical and try to determine the source of the potential illness.
TV coverage: I don’t know who deserves the highest marks for its coverage this past season, but I
am convinced that ESPN deserves the worst. It’s hard to know where to start, so let’s start at the top. There
is no necessity to have Brent Musburger in his role as overall host. He is great with basketball and football, he will
no doubt be remembered as a Hall of Fame announcer, but his knowledge of NASCAR is clearly lacking and the host role he plays
is just not needed.
Suzy Kolber is a fine
sideline reporter for football and appears to make a great effort in her NASCAR responsibilities, but again her knowledge
is weak and the role is unnecessary.
The rest of the cast
is adequate but not the best. In fact the best player they have is Allen Bestwick and he’s relegated to the pits
most of the time. Bestwick could handle all the body of work currently being done by Musburger, Kolber. Then Dr. Jerry
Punch a man that knows his racing and ESPN would miles ahead.
The first time I saw
ESPN’s newly developed graphic depicting the air moving around one car passing another car or the draft and dirty air
as it’s commonly referred to, I thought it was interesting. But how many times do we need to see it? And
while we are watching it, we are missing something else. Next the tag line that if you want to learn about some technical
issue they’ve explained, you can visit their internet website. Who really does that? While all of this is
going on, we are missing something on the track. Are you telling us this is the most important thing we could be seeing at
any point in the race?
Lastly, it appears that ESPN
is less willing to share with the SPEED channel as much as the other major networks in their coverage of events leading up
to the race. If you want to watch a Cup practice for instance, you’d better hope there’s not a Lacrosse game between
2 teams no ones heard of, because ESPN will delay the switch over. A big mistake when you carry the number two sport in viewers
in America.
Another clear issue NASCAR
has seemed to be the Car of Tomorrow (COT) or today or whatever they are now calling it. Let’s face it, its ugly.
It looks like a cross between a car and a truck, which I grew up thinking, was an El Camino, and they were ugly too. The
car has benefits; it seems safer, is built like a tank and can withstand hard hits without as much damage. It’s
also worthwhile that the car can be driven at Bristol one week and then on to
a super speedway the next. This greatly supports lower budget teams that don’t have to build so many different
cars for the various track configurations.
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However, the drivers
seem to be someplace between hating the car and begrudging acceptance. It won’t turn and the dirty air makes it
difficult to pass. Many fans have said it makes for boring races. I attended the Bristol night race last year as fans left the race; the common theme that night
was the race was boring. While this might be less a statement of fact as it was merely an inevitable change to a new
COT style of racing on the short tracks, it does have an impact on the next symptom.
Attendance at races and TV viewership: They both seem to be on the decline. As I interact with longtime, diehard
NASCAR fans, there appears to be a diminished interest races. It’s difficult to identify the definitive reasons
for this, and may actually be a combination of factors. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s change from Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI)
to Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) has not set well with some of his fans. The fact that Earnhardt was not involved in the
2007 Chase seemed to diminish the interest of his fans also which in turn has a significant impact on races. His fan
base is huge and when TV coverage is focused elsewhere, Earnhardt fans are more apt spend less time attending races and/or
watching them. It didn’t help that his racing luck and performance during much of the 2007 season and particularly the
end of the season, left his fans with little to look forward to other than next season.
The dominance by HMS
cannot help NASCAR either. It started early in the season, lulled a bit in the middle, and then all there was to talk about
in the final races of the chase was Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. If you were a Gordon or Johnson fan your discussions
on Monday mornings were most of the time great fun. The purpose of the Chase was to generate new fan interest late in
the season, and for the most part it appears to have worked. However, this year’s Chase was dominated by Hendrick
and most of the top 12 teams were mathematically eliminated halfway through the Chase and all but two were left to fight it
out at the end. There’s no denying Gordon and Johnson have strong fan bases, but when Tony Stewart’s out
of contention as well Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton, and Kevin Harvick, and Kasey Kahne and Earnhardt were never in the Chase,
that leaves a great many fans with diminished interest.
Parity in NASCAR is good
thing, and the COT appeared to be a positive step toward leveling the playing field. However, by the season’s
end it was apparent the well-financed teams at HMS had done their homework and literally lapped the field.
NASCAR’s health
may be acceptable and only slightly diminished. The nominal illness may be short-lived and 2008 may be one of the most
exciting seasons yet. On the other hand, the early warning signs may worsen and more serious healthy concerns may surface. The
answer may lie in issues raised herein or may be found elsewhere. NASCAR has proven itself as an innovator with excellent
growth in recent years. Maybe these symptoms are just growing pains. As an avid
NASCAR fan, I hope so.
2006 StockCar Review.
