04/25/24
September 30, 2010
NASCAR Winners Asked to Be Less Boring: Facing declining ratings and attendance, NASCAR is pleading for its drivers to sound less like infomercials after they win a race, when they dutifully thank all sponsors but end up saying little about the race. "Just about every driver goes through media training," said driver David Ragan. "I not only learned how [sponsor] UPS worked, but a lot about the people who make it work. You become part of that family."
posted by rcade to auto racing at 11:40 AM - 15 comments
During a recent driver competition, Roush Fenway Racing put several drivers through a competition that included laps around the one-mile oval and a short track, as well as their ability to reflect a positive image for themselves and their sponsors.
That should have made that a reality show.
posted by bperk at 11:53 AM on September 30, 2010
Guess people are finally getting bored with the fact they only turn right at two races every year.
Go watch some REAL racing and not this silliness. (And by real racing I mean pretty much ANYTHING else. Two or four wheel.)
posted by Drood at 12:29 PM on September 30, 2010
Have Tony Stewart start fighting someone again. That would be less boring.
posted by Bonkers at 12:41 PM on September 30, 2010
I was once in a bowling league, took it pretty serious until one day at the alley I looked around and it occured to me that these are not my people. I think that's what happened here.
posted by smithnyiu at 12:54 PM on September 30, 2010
I don't entirely agree with Drood, but I think that NASCAR definitely had a bit of a popularity bubble, where the floating-interest crowd gave it a look. Seems they're off NASCAR this year and onto Pabst Blue Ribbon. Next year it'll be another equally shallow interest. You never get to keep those "fans" no matter what you do.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:23 PM on September 30, 2010
I think you're right about that, lbb.
I wouldn't argue the "real" racing vs. NASCAR because I'm sure a die-hard NASCAR fan would whoop me in terms of racing knowledge, but I think it's overall popularity is largely limited only because that's part of it's appeal to it's base.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:03 PM on September 30, 2010
NASCAR lost me as a serious fan when they went to the so-called "car of tomorrow". Having one-design cars that do not vary greatly from one another and do not really represent anything their supposed manufacturers might build, places all of the emphasis on the driver for interest. I long for the days when you actually had to race something you could buy from a showroom floor and were then free (within some rules) to make it go fast. This kept the fan interest on the manufacturers and the teams (who could turn out the best engine, best handling, etc.). The days when you saw recognizable Plymouth Road Runners, Dodge Chargers, Ford Galaxy 500s, Pontiac Bonnevilles, and the like were the best days of NASCAR. I suppose safety considerations had a lot to do with it, but it seems that NASCAR went in a wrong direction and is now paying for it.
posted by Howard_T at 06:26 PM on September 30, 2010
I think the drop in popularity also has to do with the sport's free agency-like team and sponsor shuffles. I quit watching for the most part, because I couldn't keep up with who's on what team any more...
posted by MeatSaber at 07:28 PM on September 30, 2010
The bubble had to burst at some point.
What amuses me is a few years ago when I still watched NASCAR there was this big ad campaign about how important the numbers were and drivers were known by their number, and how it was almost religious...
I tune out for a few years, come back, Tony is no longer number 20, Junior is no longer number 8 etc...
Oh yeah, REAL important.
You say "Red 5" to any long time F1 fan they know exactly who you mean. (And I don't mean Luke Skywalker...)
I watch damn near any motor racing. I'm not anti oval as I got hooked on the IRL this year.
NASCAR just leaves me cold.
posted by Drood at 08:44 PM on September 30, 2010
maybe they just have to teach the drivers what to do with their hands.
posted by dviking at 09:53 PM on September 30, 2010
I long for the days when you actually had to race something you could buy from a showroom floor
I'm with Howard. Whatever happened to stock car racing? Or at least something that you might truck moonshine across county lines in.
posted by yerfatma at 08:06 AM on October 01, 2010
Whatever happened to stock car racing?
I think there's a bit of rose-tinting there. However, I've always been more inclined to cast an eye on touring car races, and will definitely try to watch the Bathurst 1000 next Sunday -- I watched last year's on a not-quite kosher stream, and the chatroom had a whole load of American NASCAR fans who'd never watched it before, and were pretty impressed. The V8 Supercars have moved towards vehicle parity over the last decade, but Bathurst remains a true spectacle: run on public roads, with the endurance element of Le Mans, a dash of rally speed, and side-by-side competitiveness.
posted by etagloh at 03:23 PM on October 01, 2010
Bathurst is easily in my top 3 races of the year. (The others being the Le Mans 24 and the Monaco Grand Prix.) Bathurst is an amazing track.
V8 Supercar is my favourite racing series probably and if someone said "Would you rather watch live F1 or V8?" I'd choose V8.
Besides, you never get kangaroos on the track in NASCAR:)
posted by Drood at 05:46 PM on October 01, 2010
Somebody mentioned for Bathurst? Any excuse for the Glenn Seton getting caught out on slicks in a rainstorm video. That track is enough of a handful in the dry. No idea how he kept it away from the walls.
posted by deflated at 07:32 PM on October 01, 2010
From what little amount of post-race interviews I've seen, it seems that the only way that drivers know how to be interesting is to talk shit about the other drivers and/or start fights with them.