A Look into NASCAR's Declining Fanbase

It’s no secret that NASCAR audiences are dwindling, both at the track and on television.

It’s easy to blame the economy for the anemic attendance at the track on racedays. Fans -- especially the middle-class that have felt the pinch of the recession – have stayed home on Sundays and watched the action from the comfort of their own homes.

The thing is, they’re not really doing that either.

According to Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer’s blog, “Lucky Dog,” Nielsen ratings were down staggering amounts for the first three Chase races. New Hampshire’s numbers were down 28 percent, Dover 23 percent and Kansas was down 28 percent as well.

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that something is really wrong and NASCAR is not drawing fans like it once did. But what is it?

I’ve been watching NASCAR religiously – and when I say religiously, I mean missing a grand total of about five Cup races – since then end of the 1992 season.

My grandfather, who I looked up to a great deal, watched NASCAR so I followed suit and have been hooked ever since. So, when I think about NASCAR I get an extremely nostalgic feeling.

NASCAR fans are unique in the respect that they root for a driver, not a team. And drivers, unlike the vast majority of teams in the big four sports – football, baseball, basketball and hockey – have a shelf life.

One day, your favorite driver is going to hang up his helmet, retire and then you’re stuck without a dog in the fight. Even if your favorite player retires – in my case, Cal Ripken Jr. – your favorite team will still be there to hold onto.

When Rusty Wallace retired, there I was, lost without a driver.

I’m guessing a lot of NASCAR fans are in my boat right now. During the early-90s, when NASCAR was making its rise to national prominence, there were faces that fans connected to.

Dale Earnhardt. Ricky Rudd. Bill Elliott. Terry and Bobby Labonte. Darrell and Michael Waltrip.

The only drivers still active – and competitive – from this era are Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin and even Martin’s career is coming to a close.

The fans that joined the sport when it started to boom have lost the drivers that they fell in love with and now are searching. Sure, you can latch onto a Kyle Busch, Joey Logano or Kasey Kahne if you’re a fan whose driver’s time has passed, but it’s not the same.

They say, "you never forget your first love." That same sentiment holds true for NASCAR fans. They're just not willing to watch since the driver they loved for so many years is now gone. These fans make up a great deal of the fanbase. Couple that with casual fans who can take or leave sitting down and watching a race and you're bound to have a drastic ratings decrease.

It would be like if the Dallas Cowboys ceased to exist at the exact moment Roger Staubach decided to hang it up. This is why so very many fans flocked to Dale Earnhardt Jr. when Sr. passed away. They loved – and still love – Dale Earnhardt and want to hold onto those amazing, nostalgic feelings that Sr. gave them when he raced.

Today’s fan, for whatever reason, seems to be a much more casual fan and as a whole are less die-hard than those of the previous decade. NASCAR saw this coming and this is why the Chase for the Cup was created. I know there are those who live and breathe NASCAR like I do. We never needed a manufactured reason to watch a race.

NASCAR needed to create a reason to keep these casual types of fans enthralled in the action at the end of the season. But with Jimmie Johnson’s domination the past four years, fans have been turned off by the monotony of it all.

It doesn’t help that the sport’s most popular driver – Little E – has run in the back with the start-and-parks for the majority of the races this season. And, of course, NASCAR throwing phantom debris cautions for hotdog wrappers and dirty Kleenexes when the field gets spread out.

The inevitability of “Four-Time” becoming “Five-Time” is a factor in television viewership being down but the coverage of races hasn’t helped either.

Pre-2001, NASCAR broadcasts were a thing of beauty.

ESPN, ABC, TNN, CBS and TBS all delivered great, credible NASCAR productions from beginning to end. The way races were presented made the viewer feel like each and every race was valued and a spectacle to be witnessed. Almost epic, actually.

Races on television have lost that feel. They almost feel like a sideshow.

Whether it’s the cheesy Hinder music ESPN has played in the past, the less-than-impressive openings or the fact they have way too many analysts crammed into one broadcast, it leaves the viewer’s head spinning.

FOX started this trend with the “Hollywood Hotel” which, at the time, added a little different, fresh perspective to a race. But even FOX, with the addition of "Digger and Friends", has left its production with a less-credible feel to it.

You don’t see woodland creatures on the broadcasts of any other sport on any network. You don’t see Peyton Manning sending you to a commercial break while playing Rock Band while you watch an Indianapolis Colts game.

Die-hard NASCAR fans, who seem to have been forgotten by NASCAR television, long for a professional feel to a race broadcast, not a Broadway production.

NASCAR broadcasts in the early 90s left the blueprint for how a race should be produced, beginning to end.

Just take a look at this CBS intro of the 1998 Daytona 500 and try not to get chills. I haven’t seen a broadcast begin like this in quite sometime. And that’s exactly the problem with the networks that cover NASCAR today. They have forgotten their roots.

They're neither clear nor concise. This 1993 ESPN intro to the Hooter's 500 is another great example of how a broadcast should be done.

The CBS 1994 Michigan 400 intro does it as well. The analysis of the track surface breaking up is superb and the attention to just the storylines and not fluff is something you don't see today.

Fans like me long for the days of a Ken Squier and Ned Jarrett tandem in the booth. Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons. Eli Gold and Buddy Baker. Not 11 analysts over-analyzing and not allowing the racing speak for itself.

This is just part of the problem, however, and unfortunately it may not be fixable. The fact that old-school NASCAR fans have little to hold onto anymore may be something that haunts NASCAR for the foreseeable future. It’s depressing not to see a better number of fans becoming entranced and excited by the sport that I love so very much.

He’s Back! Johnson closes in on 5th title with Dover dominance

Jimmie Johnson is back in championship form.

The 4-time champion reminded the field at Dover International Speedway exactly why he’s going for his record-fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title.

There was speculation that the No. 48 Lowe’s team wasn’t on top of its game as the Chase started last week at New Hampshire. Johnson had a strong car, but a spin and a loose wheel relegated him to a 25th-place finish.

But after winning the AAA 400 on Sunday, it seems everything is right in the world.

Johnson led a race-high 191 laps including the last 34 after the final round of green flag pit stops and cruised to a 2.637-second victory over Jeff Burton.

Everyone knew Johnson wouldn’t stay down for long. But there was some question as to when he would show his hand in the Chase. It didn’t take long for the 48 guys to show who was, yet again, the team to beat in the Chase.

"It's a huge weight off my shoulders that we were able to come here and win a race in the Chase, rebound from last week," Johnson said.

As the weekend started with a war of words brewing between Denny Hamlin and Richard Childress Racing regarding Clint Bowyer’s car being deemed illegal at Loudon, Johnson’s team kept its focus – and it showed on the track.

Hamlin was vocal with his position on Bowyer being penalized, saying that RCR and the No. 33 team got what they deserved for their car being illegal. After Bowyer’s “win” last week, he was second in the standings but the 150-point penalty relegated him to 12th, last in the Chase.

Johnson and his team weren’t bothered.

"Everything that's possible to be done in the sport from a negative and a positive, we've unfortunately been involved in,” said Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus. “So we don't really pay a lot of attention to what goes on outside of our four walls. We worry about our race car, our tool box, and try to make it right."

They delivered.

The only two cars that were even close to matching Johnson’s on Sunday were Kyle Busch and A.J. Allmendinger.

Busch came home sixth after fading late in the race and Allmendinger rebounded from mid-race problems to finish 10th.

Johnson had a much easier time of it this weekend at Dover, where he has won three of the past four races. The victory was his sixth at Dover and the sixth of the season.

Things went from bad to worse for Bowyer, who fell a couple laps down early and could never recover. He finished 25th and is now 235 points behind leader, Hamlin.

Hamlin retained his points lead (35 over Johnson) but had an extremely quiet day, never leading or posing a threat for the win, coming home 9th.

Chasers filled up six of the top 10 positions with Jeff Gordon, who is winless this season, finishing 11th.

The Bothersome New Bristol

There used to be three certainties in life.

Death, taxes and the low line being the best line at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Watching Kasey Kahne slide down the frontstretch wall during Friday night’s Food City 250 Nationwide Series race at Bristol, I couldn’t help but notice the real cause of Kahne’s misfortunes.

It was the progressive banking.

Kahne, who started 37th was on his way through the pack when he made a daring move to the high side of Justin Allgaier and took it three wide. Trevor Bayne was underneath Allgaier and something had to give.

Kahne didn’t. And neither did the wall.

The toughest ticket in NASCAR (up until this year) was repaved and “revamped” in 2007 in order to give the drivers some extra racing room and another groove on which to race.

Lots of room to race and two grooves was not what drew fans to Bristol for so many years. But that is what forced Kahne to the high line, and that, coupled with a bit of bad judgment, was what sent him for a ride.

Pre-2007, there’s no way a car could, or would have been rim-riding to pass cars at Bristol. But now, with a distinctive high line to race, it allows cars on the high side to hold their own and eliminates a lot of bumping and banging that made Bristol so special.

I’m not sure what the powers that be were thinking when they reconfigured the track that used to have by far the most personality of any track any of NASCAR’s three top series visit each year.

Watching the Nationwide race, it pained me to see how much cars on the bottom side were struggling to make a pass. Even if a driver was faster than the one in front of him, there wasn’t much he could do.

The battle for the lead between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch was a prime example of my point.

Busch’s car was clearly superior to Keselowski’s but because Busch was forced to race the bottom. It took Busch nearly 10 laps to clear Keselowski on the bottom. When Busch finally did get by, he slid in front of Keselowski who nudged Busch and got back by.

Displeased, Busch dumped Keselowski in the next corner and went on to win the race.

“I tried and tried and tried to clear him,” Busch said in Victory Lane.

Let’s ignore the aftermath and focus on the battle. Had Busch been racing at the old Bristol and had the superior car, he would’ve either gotten a run and gotten by on the bottom, or use a little bump and went on his way.

This configuration completely eliminates the hard-nosed type of racing that fans have been coming in droves to see at Bristol for years. It reminds me more of a high-banked New Hampshire than anything else.

Another thing the new banking does is handcuff drivers in odd-numbered positions on restarts. When the leader chooses the outside line at other tracks, there is minimal disadvantage to those on the inside. Double-file restarts Friday night at Bristol were a different story and downright unfair.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s situation at the end of the race was a prime example.

After battling through the field and into second place, Earnhardt was forced to restart on the inside on the last two restarts and because the high side is that much superior, ended up losing positions on both restarts. And, of course, his shot at victory.

“To restart on the inside there was really tough," Earnhardt said.

Who would’ve thought anyone would ever be saying that about Bristol Motor Speedway?

Harvick more than happy with first Michigan win

Kevin Harvick keeps proving that his season of resurgence is no fluke.

Harvick, who had a strong car all race long used some late-race muscle to pass Denny Hamlin coming to 10 laps to go then pull away to win the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

A caution on lap 167 set up a final round of pit stops and Harvick, along with leader Tony Stewart elected to stay out. When the green flag waved with 23 to go, Hamlin got by Harvick.10 laps later Hamlin had the lead.

Harvick would pursue Hamlin until finally passing him on the outside – a line he used to his advantage all day long.

“The top is what made it happen for us today,” Harvick said.

The driver nicknamed “Happy” hadn’t had much to smile about on non-restrictor plate tracks coming into this weekend. Prior to Michigan’s win, Harvick hadn’t won on a track other than Daytona and Talladega since his 2006 victory at Phoenix.

“This had been a very bad track for us,” Harvick said of Michigan. “It says a lot about where we are at RCR as a team and what we can do the last 10 races of the season.”

With his first-ever victory at Michigan, Harvick gave Richard Childress his first win at the track since 1990 with Dale Earnhardt and extended his point lead to 293 points over Jeff Gordon. He also secured a place in the Chase.

“It’s been a great year for us,” Harvick said. “To win the Shootout and then three more races and one at a downforce track is big. At the end of the year we’ve got to make it happen the last 10 weeks and that’s what we’re trying to prepare ourselves for.”

Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

In his first race back to the track since his July 28 plane crash, Jack Roush witnessed three of his cars finish in the top 10 and his fourth driver, David Ragan, came home 11th.

It was the same old story for Jeff Gordon who was consistently the fastest car lap after lap during the middle portion of the race. The No. 24 car started 36th but quickly made his way through the field to as high as third place.

But two laps after a restart on lap 152, Gordon cut a tire and could never recover as further tire problems relegated him to 27th at the finish.

The battle for 12th place in the standings took a turn as Mark Martin, who came into the weekend 10 points ahead of Clint Bowyer sustained damage early on and limped to a 28th-place finish.

Bowyer came home 13th and now has a 35-point edge on Martin with just three races remaining until the Chase begins at New Hampshire.

Temperatures in Brooklyn, MI reached into the high 80s during the day but tempers flared a little higher after the race.

Joey Logano got loose and caught Ryan Newman’s left rear bumper, spinning Newman with 53 laps remaining and after the race, the two exchanged words in the garage area about the incident.

Newman shoved Logano and afterward Logano questioned why Newman was racing him so hard with just over a fourth of the race remaining. Logano finished 10th while Newman soldiered home 23rd.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chase chances are all but finished. Earnhardt came home 19th and he and his team haven’t shown any ability to put together runs that would get them back into contention. Asked about his situation after the event, Earnhardt was none too happy.

“I don’t give a (expletive)…I’m going home.” Earnhardt said.

1994 Michigan 400 -- A Forgotten Classic

On Father’s Day 1994, Rusty Wallace had to overcome a lot to win the Michigan 400.

With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s and a tricky surface in turn 3 and 4 to deal with, Wallace was the class of the field.

But in a race marred by caution flags, the final yellow gave Wallace one last challenge to navigate through.

With Wallace leading by four seconds, and green flag pit stops looming, Bobby Hillin, Jr. spun with 24 laps remaining. Wallace was forced to stay out one lap longer than he wanted under caution before the field pitted. His car rolled down pit road, silent, out of gas.

As his pit crew went to work, Wallace desperately tried to refire the engine as crew chief Buddy Parrott sprayed ether into the engine. Parrott and the crew pushed the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford down pit road and as the engine finally came to life, Parrott tumbled down pit road.

“I hurt my leg a little bit, but I’ll be alright,” Parrott said, trying to catch his breath. “We just ran her a little tight on gas. What happens is, this whole place is kind of a turn and we fed the fuel to the inside of the car. We were coming in that lap and we would’ve been okay, but then the caution came out.”

After dominating the majority of the race, Wallace was forced to restart 11th.

With just 19 laps remaining, Wallace started behind 21 other cars including the lapped cars inside of the leaders.

As the green flag waved, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt battled for the lead and Wallace mounted his charge.

Wallace knifed through the pack, picking up position after position, including a 3-wide pass on the outside that took him from 7th to 3rd in one lap. And after passing Ricky Rudd for 2nd with nine laps to go, he set his sights on Earnhardt.

Coming to three to go, Wallace got a run on Earnhardt and passed him going into turn 3 and proceeded to pull away for his 36th career Winston Cup victory and third in a row.

It was the second time in consecutive weeks that Wallace outdueled Earnhardt. After dominating a week earlier at Pocono, Wallace found himself behind The Intimidator after a late-race caution sent the field to pit road. Earnhardt took two tires to Wallace’s four and the two restarted 1-2 with one lap to go. The green flag flew and Wallace drove under Earnhardt into turn 1 and on to victory.

Wallace led 83 of 200 laps at Michigan, but his performance was overshadowed by the condition of the track. A new patch of asphalt in turns 3 and 4 was unable to set properly because of the heat and was coming apart throughout the race.

The surface caused problems for no less than eight drivers including spins from Robby Gordon, Tim Steele and point leader Ernie Irvan.

One driver said that the patch was like driving off asphalt onto a gravel road. The patch, coupled with the heat made conditions troublesome for drivers all day.

Second-year driver Jeff Gordon led 62 laps during the middle part of the race after a timely caution fell, leaving him in the lead and a lot of cars a lap down. However, an oil leak relegated him to 12th place at race’s end.

Two weeks later, Wallace’s drive for four wins in a row would fall short in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona as he would finish 26th, a lap down.