NASCAR - Chasin’ the racin’ or race chase or what??
It seems that NASCAR has created itself a situation that it struggling with to correct. The fiddling around with the point system was one thing, however, the concept of the “chase to the race” or the race chase, or whatever the catch phrase is has become a yawner. I, for one, never was able to grasp the “chase” concept as it related to the races themselves or the teams and drivers. However, if you look at it from a marketing standpoint in that it was trying to sell itself as a sort of “play off” situation to dress itself in the suit of a major sporting event, then well, maybe it is like that effort. Then, yes, in a mistaken belief that in all things, “if you build it, they will come,” someone got NASCAR to believe that the chase concept would generate more revenue and appeal to a larger audience. Translated, that means more money, TV ad time, associated licensing agreements for NASCAR labeled endorsement deals and labeling of all things sold with NASCAR on it. The 2004 chase was interesting because it was like everyone trying to sort it all out, while managing the point system, which is a left over from the Winston program that got NASCAR from it’s county fair racing roots to the big time of the Daytona, Talledaga race tracks, knocking out much of any race on dirt or less than 200 miles. I can’t blame NASCAR in wanting to create some excitement for itself. The old time concept of rooting for your favorite driver because he is driving your favorite make of car has long gone by the wayside. Without a program you can’t tell one NASCAR race car from another. Even the commentators don’t identify the cars by brand any more. It is the “Tide” car or the “Lowe’s” car or the “Home Depot” car. The newest item, by the way, “The Car Of Tomorrow” is also ginning itself up as the answer to a lot of things that, really, no one has been asking. In actuality, the COTY is little more than a “formula” vehicle that NASCAR has been quietly, but resolutely pushing for many years. In the past, they sold the idea off as “parity.” If it wasn’t for the participation of the various manufacturers, NASCAR could just as well as had it’s formula vehicle a few years back. Certainly, when it consistently wrote rules barring Chrysler from participation in a form of punishment for Chrysler’s 1965 boycott, it shows that “formula” is akin to “parity” only when it pertains to what NASCAR says it is. For many years after Chrysler stopped it’s racing program, leaving Richard Petty out in the cold, NASCAR wrote rules to allow the “KING” to continue to race his older model Charger. When the 1978 model Mirada failed to be a good racer, Chrysler was gone. Efforts at getting back to racing witht he LeBaron car were consistently barred by NASCAR, even in the face of a decent ARCA model that did well. It took a lot of money to get Dodge back on the track, much going to NASCAR for licensing amoung many other items. So now, NASCAR in an effort to out do major sporting events, such as the World Series or the Super Bowl, invented the Chase. Ho Hum. Last year wasn’t that big a deal, with Champion Tony Stewart leading the points, and he should have won anyway. This year, it is a bit more exciting only because the concept of being in the “chase” has been torn up by the same Tony Stewart, blowing the chasers away with his wins, from a position whereby he can’t get the championship this year because he didn’t make the points for the last 10 races. Go figure. However, it is the TV networks that are reporting the situation now within the chase concept. It has been like a fad, and is fading, leveling off, in fact, losing market share. Could be compared to the Texas Hold’em thing. Currently, the nine 2006 chase races has garnered about a 4.1 share, which is significantly lower than the 4.7 share in 2005. That was a little bit higher than the 4.6 share in the first year of the chase in 2004. Which BTW is lower than the last 10 races of the 2003 season when there was no chase. Currently, the big Networks are reporting a drop from 8.6 share to a 5.3 share. OUCH! While the cable networks down 15% at 4.1. What does it all mean? Just that, perhaps, the chase was meant to raise excitement like the buildup to the playoffs in the NFL, but, it isn’t the NFL. Even the Super Bowl doesn’t do all that well for those folks whose team ins’t playing. Trying to make NASCAR seem like a major sporting event just doesn’t raise to the occasion in some way, where you could compare it to the World Series. It just isn’t. So, unless NASCAR can come up with some way to spread the “parity” deal across the point system, making everyone equal in competition even unto the last race of the season, like it sort of used to do, the chase is a yawn, and the NFL has nothing to worry about.
I dunno, I’ve never really “gotten” the whole NASCAR thing. I mean, as a kid the roar of the engines was cool and it was fun watching the cars go round and round and round, and they did look quite a bit like their street going companions. They were, after all, V8 powered rear wheel drive coupes. The more they started moving away from that, the more the drivers started just being corporate and NASCAR mouthpieces, the more the cars all looked the same….the less I cared.
They know how to suck money out of people though; even Toyota’s bought into it. I wonder how expensive it is to actually go to a race.
The professional wrestling of racing.
They need to go back to stock body cars, full roll cage, no spoilers, engines/drivetrains as offered to the public
Just take Toyota out and make a new division only for Jap Cars and things will be fine.
Why? Why not let Toyota waste a few million for a change?
Nascar is the last true American thing we have left…especially us rednecks. If Toyota wants to waste money spend it on the Indy.
Well, JW, you could say it is truly American, however, Dodge is not American owned anymore, so why not let Toyota race as well. With the Car Of Tomorrow monster coming, you won’t be able to tell the differences anyway, unless they have billborad sized lettering on both ends of the car to tell you what model it is supposed to be. No doubt Indy could use the help, however, I would sooner see American companies spending development money on getting Indy back to what it used to be. However, NASCAR needed the money too, so Toyota in an effort to be a better American company than what the ones here are doing, just decided to throw in with the “good ol’ boys.” Looks like it’s working.
Toyota certainly has tons of money to waste on racing. I don’t follow NASCAR that much anymore but I am a huge Formula 1 fan. Toyota has been in F1 since 2002. Their annual budget in F1 has averaged around $380 million PER YEAR. Yet they have not won a race yet. They haven’t finished in the top half constructors championship yet.
I have a feeling that they will come into NASCAR and eventually do very good. They started out in the truck series only 3 years ago I think and won the championship easily this year. I also think Dodge will be forced to drop out of NASCAR due to budget constraints within the next two years or so.
If NASCAR is the last true American thing you see, we’re all in trouble. A bunch of people racing around in circles with nearly identical, exotic cars you can’t buy, pretending to be stock, with the rules frequently changed to make sure Bill France can pick the winners? If that’s all America can show for itself, I’d be moving … fortunately there are a LOT of other things we can still be proud of. The Constitution, for example. Electric light even if we don’t still make ‘em here (at least, American companies don’t, TO MY KNOWLEDGE). McIntosh stereo equipment…
Dave, you are so right. Too much stuff not made here anymore, and I am sure that it is NOT a good thing. Yet, it can be done here, and done better. We have proven that over and over. Too much greed and chasing the total bottom line going on to make sense. Unfortunately, while the Constitution IS something we can all point to with the pride, the way that we have let the method to govern ourselves lapse is not. Government, like NASCAR is not accountable. And just so we know what we mean, when did the United States become a “democracy?” That is a label, and not the form of government that we have. The lack of Social Studies, history, and Constitutional studies in our education system allows the government, like NASCAR to pick and choose what it wants the public to know. But, before I digress, the last race for the 2006 season is tomorrow. Which will leave about 3 months of football to rule.
Nascar needs to get back to the way it was back in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Have cars that look like the ones we bought at the dealerships. Remember the slogan “Race on Sunday, sell on Monday?” You can bearly tell what is what now. Making fake 2 doors out of 4 doors. And don’t even get me started on the cars of Japan, I don’t care if we are owned by the Germans—Nascar is about America, apple pie, and the good ole boys!!! Let the Japs start their own racing league! Nascar is about the old mighty dollar now instead of the good of the sport! I hope everyone boycotts Nascar when the Japs invade and the good ole boys tell them to shove it! Thank You all for letting me vent—MOPAR TO YA!!!!
I have no problem with Toyota in NASCAR any more than I have a problem with Vipers beating everyone in European races. If NASCAR was about anything other than money, they’d be racing stock cars and Toyota wouldn’t have a chance.
I’m agree with Robert, they should go back to stock body cars. In Australia the V8 Supercar series still use them.
And speaking of Nascar, there a French article at http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/11/lalms-se-porte-bien-merci.html mentionning then Nascar losted a bit of popularity while the ALMS (American LeMans series) gains some popularity
there another good French text to read “Nascar-F1, same fight” (Nascar-F1, même combat) http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/11/nascar-f1-meme-combat.html
Wasn’t once a Jaguar who raced in Nascar in the early 1950s?
Well, in any event the whoopla and whoopie cushions for 2006 was over today with the final race held in Miami. A lot of the main names in the circuit got to run up front for awhile, but all faded for whatever reason. The NASCAR call had already gone to Jimmie Johnson and the Richard Childress team for the 2006 season. And uh, I am not owned by the Germans. However, believe me, I would give a real whole lot if I were, because I resent the concept. NASCAR was never about America, it was ALWAYS about Bill France, and the money he could make. He was not a ultruistic person in any event. He saw an opportunity to make a lot of money, and never looked back. Mom and apple pie? Only because it was here in America. The original concept was a fine and good thing, but the money, when it started pouring in, made up for any feelings about the “good ole boys.” Actually, NASCAR should go back to STOCK cars. Of course, with the appropriate safety features. A 150 mile an hour race that covers 300 miles is just as viable for entertainment as a 190 mile an hour show with cars that are more well known by the sponsor than by the make.
They sure try to market it as just a bunch o’regular folks though….
So true rich. That is what sells the soap. Toyota figured it out, spent a bunch of money and won the manufacturers trophy in only their third year. Wow! What happened to Dodge who was last year’s champ? Couldn’t buy a race if they wanted. Ford better look out as well. Toyota could well become the “official” truck of NASCAR. Just a bunch of “good ole boys.” Ah diversity.
All part of Toyota’s plan for World Domination. So far, so good…..
Well, if we let them do it, they deserve it. If Americans are happy to fight over amendments to the Constitution to ban things nobody does (flag-burning) or that are illegal (or will be) in every state while they go to Wal-Mart for their Chinese-made clothing and electronics, if American executives keep sending as much work as they can to China despite the total lack of regard for human and intellectual rights, if Americans keep on voting in politicians who think God is telling them to give the national wealth to Cayman Islands companies and run up a massive debt held by China and other quasi-enemies/quasi-friends, if Americans keep on buying Japanese cars because they think American cars are unfashionable… then we deserve what we get, which at this point is shaping up to be a depression that makes 1930 look like happy days; because at least then we had an industrial base to fall back on and gold reserves that were still a substantial support for the dollar. Fortunately I HOPE that Americans are slowly learning that maybe it’s good to make things here; there’s a little backlash against Wal-Mart’s “buy Chinese” policies and maybe some companies are slowly deciding to keep some operations here. Unfortunately it does seem that the big players have decided they don’t care about Americans at all and are moving everything they can to China… Delphi for example.
An impressive list of things that can go wrong with a free society. And we are losing. Especially with government that acutally encourages moving manufacturing to out of country places….. like China! Of Wal-Mart, well it is China! They are building over 300 stores over there, along with 50 distribution centers. The debt situation is the scariest situation yet. China holds so much. If they decide to call it, we could end up in dire straits. Education needs to retrench and focus on Social Studies. Not socialism, but a good look at our country, society, and people to see what we can do for outselves, and stop asking the government to do everything for us. And for those companies that do move to China. Well, I say good-bye, good luck. Then no one here should buy one single item from them. Sell it in China bud.
Ah, much to agree with here. Nascar lost me years ago. Sometimes I watch it with my dad, and being colour-blind it’s a real strain figuring out the cars. I miss the Nascar of the 1960’s and 70’s when you could tell what the cars were and it was actually more exciting. Especially if the car that won looked like what you had in your driveway.
I’ve banned WalMart from my list of shopping places based on their poor treatment of employees and for all the Chinese poor treatment of their workers and intellectual property theft not to mention the junk they sell. So much for their everything made in the USA stance of times not so long past! I agree with Dave about the wholesale selling out of America. This country has very little industrial base compared to even twenty or thirty years ago. The debt situation Curtis Redgap alluded to is frightening. For myself, I have been working very hard to get out of my personal debt and then making sure I don’t get into any more. China doesn’t need nuclear weapons to destroy the United States, they’ve got WalMart. They call in our debt and it’s over.
Americans need to wake up! The education system needs to be overhauled to get back to teaching how the economy works, how government works, how finances work and why sending everything that made the USA self-reliant overseas is a bad idea. Time spent on the basic history of the whole planet wouldn’t hurt either. Less time wasted on stupid measurement tests, and more time on real education. (my teacher friends are frustrated with the time spent on passing the tests and not on real education) Ironically, an education like that would show what a crock Nascar has become with its race for the chase.
OK, like most of you I aggree with just about everything being said. I used to follow Nascar 110% if I couldn’t watch it I usually listened to it & recorded it to watch later.
I was told years ago the only factory part that had to be on the cars nowadays were the trunk lid. I think with the good old government saying the cars we buy need to get a certain gas mileage & Nascar trying to make the cars more aerodynamic & save gas & safer & slower Dodge,Ford,GM,Toyota or whoever should either build cars more like the Nascar cars OR make Nascar use the manufacterers sheet metal, then MAYBE we could say again “RACE ON SUNDAY, BUY ON MONDAY” and feel good about it.
Nascar isn’t any different moneywise, sure Bill France is making money, but so are others in every other SPORT. And no I can’t name names because I don’t follow football or baseball or hockey or even motorcycle racing, I’m a carnut & always have been, so I guess I just stick with going to carshows & cruises & enjoying the company of other car people talking & showing off what we’re proud of! CARS!
NASCAR is NASCAR. We can all complain but it falls on deaf ears. The only way to get them to do anything is to hit them in the pocketbook. I for one used to watch religously,I rooted for the make, then the driver. When Chrysler left NASCAR, I quit paying attention. When they came back, I was very excited to see my brand back. But the same old b.s. at NASCAR, plus the fact that they let in toyota, has really left a bad taste in my mouth.Maybe if the Frances’ get over their little annoyance from the 60’s, things could be different. But this is NASCAR’s little fiefdom,and if you don’t like it you don’t have to come. Give me the days of the horsepower wars, anyday! (P.S. I hope Mikey Waltrip chokes on his toyota’s)
I have been an avid nascar fan for 12 or 13 years.I no longer watch,who cares about watching jap cars race!The drivers dont care who they race for as long as they get paid.Their all overpaid crybabies.Dan