Brickyard needs to deliver on Sunday, and so do the fans

If you ask true fans about the state of NASCAR you’ll get opinions that oscillate from one extreme to the other as if you were discussing the economy. Please note the verbiage when I mentioned “true fans” because we’re going to support the sport regardless of where or how we have to see the races, but it’s the passive fans that are the swing votes and what’s at stake is how much the sports attempts to change in order to accommodate them. Also as debatable is weather or not these changes are for the better, for example the double-file restarts that packed the leaders up front on restarts and removed lapped cars are a direct response to the “boys have at it” philosophy of 2010 due to lower TV ratings. Drivers Jeff Burton said recently that he “loves the history of the sport, but now it’s more exciting”. The driver feuds this year haven’t hurt it either with duels between Edwards and Keselowski, Harvick and Logano, may smack of an MMA or WWF match but it makes for good fodder to get the dialog going prior to the flags dropping. Theatrics aside, you can’t argue with numbers but you may interpret them differently. Attendance is down, in fact of the 19 races this season only 4 have surpassed the previous year’s total, but one can make the argument that almost every sport in America has also seen a decline due to a sluggish economy. What is a little more difficult to overlook are the TV ratings numbers as the races shown by FOX and TNT showed an overall decline in year-over-year viewership according to Sports Media Watch. For example, Fox’s Fontana race telecast suffered a 10% drop in viewership, while TNT’s Michigan race in June was down 16%. That you can’t attest to the economy because you might even see a bounce in TV ratings as fewer fans can make it out to the event. That is not a good harbinger in an age where sponsorships are the life blood and they need to know that their product will get just exposure and it’s worth paying the bills for that exposure. However regardless of what side of the discussion you’re on you’ve gotta’ admit going into the Brickyard 400 this Sunday we could use a good earnings report. Oh yea, and a good race. How do you feel about the state of NASCAR right now? Are the changes a good thing or catering to a select few? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.

Is “policing your own” the right direction for NASCAR and has the “code” gone too far?

Ok, now that everyone has had an opportunity to breathe, clear our heads, review the information, and down a brew, we can intelligently discuss the events at Atlanta last weekend. First the facts, it’s no secret that BK is known for ‘trading paint’ and perhaps a little more even going back to last season and is not the favorite of many drivers. If you WERE keeping score then perhaps he was 1-up on Edwards so Carl was in arrears. The drivers like the ‘police your own’ policy, which is no different than the Universities attempt to do in NCAA football, because once the NCAA committee steps in things get really messy, and lastly, both drivers understood that is what took place and no one seems to have a problem with the “titular” suspension than was handed down. With those as the premise, here’s our take. Firstly, people who don’t watch the sport are screaming because of how dangerous the retaliation was (and we’ll get to that) but this was the same type of reciprocity that takes place in EVERY sport. In hockey if you check Crosby into the boards I guarantee you that a defenseman is going to drop gloves with you at some point before you leave the ice. If you foul Kobe hard going to the hoop, you don’t think Ron Artest is going to put you on your back on your next layup opportunity? Damn, in the NFL they still have ‘bounties’ as an unwritten rule, so don’t come after the sport itself, that’s not where you have an argument. Where you may have grounds for a harsher sentence or perhaps intervention, was what happened as the result. Ok, indulge me for just a second, let’s say BK was killed, could you imagine the backlash??? I have read and heard that the action of the car was a “NASCAR issue” not the drivers, but put on your law caps for a second and use what’s call the “But For Test” … but not for Edwards intentionally hitting BK the accident wouldn’t have occurred, he would not be dead, and therefore the wreck was not due to negligence on the part of NASCAR. The outcry would have done more detriment than the sport could endure right now. Am I over reacting? I’m not being hypocritical but perhaps Edwards could have found a better opportunity that was less blatant. Just think back to 2000 and the Marty McSorley incident when he and Don Brashear had a score to settle, there wasn’t that perfect ‘check against the boards’ chance to drop gloves, so as time was expiring McSorely simply skated after him and tried to get his attention by raising his stick, and caught him on the neck, making him fall backwards, resulting in a massive head injury. As a result of the stick incident, McSorley was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the season and playoffs, found guilty in criminal court (got REAL probation) and his reputation was never restored. Ok, so Edwards escaped this time, and BK surely got the message but does this take the “code” to a new level? Is this really the direction or reputation sponsors want to portray? I realize to the purist this is just part of the game but if you want the sport to thrive and prosper, do they need to have more intervention? Let us know your thoughts here and in any of the quick links.
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Just how strong and long will the DP legacy last?

Ok, two races into her season the jury is still out on exactly how long Danica Patrick will race in the Nationwide Series, and furthermore is she a good thing for it? Well, first and foremost, even the NASCAR fan is cognizant of the fact that sponsorship has dwindled and ratings have been down in three consecutive years. However during DP’s first two races events at Daytona and California, ESPN2's coverage is averaging a 2.5 rating -- an increase of 19 percent over last year's 2.1 average. Most of that can be attributed to the record 3.2 rating, an increase of 33 percent from 2009, at Daytona. The mere momentum of an increase in ratings equates to more ad revenue and that’s good for everyone involved, albeit in California TV ratings actually dropped from 1.9 to 1.7 but the Lakers were playing that day. She has also turned some people on to the sport that didn’t know it existed before and now at least have someone to cheer for or a reason to be involved. She recently appeared on "The Ellen Degeneres Show," "The Bonnie Hunt Show," "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and the "Ryan Seacrest Show." She made a guest appearance on "CSI: NY" and is a candidate to be on the cover of Self Magazine. Now I’m not putting her in the same universe as Tiger Woods, but consider how everything from fanship, to sponsors, to total tour revenue increased once he came on the scene. That brings us to the flipside of the coin, does she have the talent to remain a factor in the series other than a curious gimmick, and what happens if/when she leaves? Once again, only two races but she crashed and finished 35th at Daytona and was 31st at California. The two problems with the afore mentioned scenario is one, regardless of how great the novelty, sports fans like winners, (I can’t remember a more beloved quarterback than Doug Flutie and he even was on a Wheaties box, but they guy was know as a overachiever and nice guy but not a winner) and if she doesn’t win something then she could in up the AK lot, (Anna Kournikova, Ace King, etc) they look good but never win. Nascar is not like the other majors in this country and novelty acts don’t last and after a while you wont see many people wearing a “Go Daddy” hat if she can’t break the top 15. Which brings us to point number two, if she builds up the momentum, hype, and fan base then decides it’s not for her either because she isn’t winning or there simply is more money for her outside the sport where she doesn’t have to risk her life twice a month, how tough will it be to fill that pothole? I said I wouldn’t put her in that universe but how happy do you think the PGA will be to see Tiger on the sign-in sheet? Lastly, how do the other driver’s fell who make this sport their LIFE? I could imagine quite a few (and some have let their feelings be known) that there are several teams, drivers, and fans who felt they were doing just fine prior to the DP invasion and don’t believe she has paid the dues of others. Well one thing is for sure, it’s a phenomenon who’s fire has not peaked, but there will be no middle ground. When all is said and done, and when the last chapter of this book is written, either in one year, one decade, or something in between, she will have had an everlasting impact. Do you think DP is good or bad for the sport? Let us know here and in any of the NASCAR quick links.

Bump in the road causes NASCAR to pass on great opportunity

Every sport has a component that the enthusiast overlook as part of the nuance that a neutralist will recall as a point of contentment. Baseball can be too long and boring to some, while the die-hard will comment on “the game within the game”, football has too many stoppages in play to a soccer fan, if a basketball game has too many fouls it’s just a parade to the free-throw line, we won’t even start on golf or tennis. NASCAR has always been the target of the three majors because it is so different from “team sports”, even though what people outside the circle don’t get is that it is a racing TEAM that wins a race, not just the individual driver. The sophistication of the cars, the preparation that goes into completing a 300 lap race, seems only to be recognized by the true fans of the sport. Not to mention the physical requirements of the drivers themselves, often ignored by most spectators who think that the car does all of the work, and don’t characterize them as athletes to begin with, fail to understand the amount of condition necessary to handle an automobile at that speed multiplied by the G-Force generated. In any case the stage was set for the sport to gain a huge percentage of fans that have never been cognizant to its existence. Unfortunately the returns are in and the grade was below passing. Danica Patrick’s debut in the Nationwide Series at Daytona had accomplished its goal documented by the pure number of viewers (16% drop in ratings to 7.7% year over year) that tuned in to start the race (renamed “The Danica 300’’ because of all the attention), but half way through they were gone and then some due to the stoppages, and the fact that Patrick was knocked out of the race on Lap 69 after getting swept up in a 12-car crash near the front stretch of the 2 1/2-mile tri-oval. The latter is simply part of the sport and is come to be expected. However the poor quality of the actual track itself there is no excuse for. A literal crater in the track (the hole was at least 4 inches deep and more than 2 feet wide in all directions) caused the two extensive red flag stoppages (the first one lasted 100 minutes 45 seconds and the second 44minutes 35 seconds) ruined the flow of the race and drew criticism from the participants as well as the fans. In a sport where sponsorship as dropped off as a byproduct of the economic climate change, it can’t afford to ‘break a leg’ on it’s biggest stage in front of it’s largest audience. Let’s get it together, make the necessary repairs and get it in shape for July as if we’re lucky to get a reprieve then perhaps we can get some of the fans back in the seats and back in front of the telecast that the sponsors want to see before they step back on track. Did the delays dampen your enjoyment of the 300? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.