NASCAR Cup Series Archives

A New NASCAR Sponsor Isn’t Wanted

November 21, 2016 by Shane Walters

2017 NASCAR Sponsor Isn’t Wanted by Fans and It Isn’t Needed For the Sports Success

Placing a corporation randomly into the name of your sport is gross and tacky. Changing the name of your sport is the ultimate form of selling out. That doesn’t do the sport any favors in it’s appeal to newer fans.

NASCAR is in search of yet another title sponsor. Essentially, right now the deal with Sprint expires. If NASCAR executives can sign a sponsor by February. Then, yet again, the name of the sport is set to change.

The $100 million/year price tag might be very enticing but it comes with a costly side effect. Changing the name of your sport every 10 years means you also have to start from scratch every 10 years from a marketing standpoint.

I come across many motorsports fans, regularly. When I mention the ‘NASCAR Xfinity Series’ half the time I’m instantly hit with a question, “What’s that?” They know what it is, they just don’t know the series by it’s current name. They know the series as the NASCAR Nationwide Series or perhaps even the NASCAR Busch Series.

That’s a problem. These are fans who watch some form of racing on a weekly basis. While they might not watch NASCAR all the time, they do watch it. A constant name change directly effects attendance from the casual fan. They aren’t going to click on something in the TV guide or travel to the racetrack if they don’t know what it is they are watching. This massive marketing issue is all due to a regular name change of the sport itself.

2017 NASCAR Sponsor Isn't Wanted - Daytona 500 Marketing

The Daytona 500 is extremely well marketed and as a result it’s the most watched race in America. By far. It attracts the casual fan and every year it’s also the biggest chance to grow the fan base. That’s mostly because it’s a fantastic race. However, I think there’s an underlining secret to the success of the 500 mile race…

It hasn’t changed it’s name since it’s inception in 1959. For nearly 60 years, people have had the branding of the “Daytona 500” placed in front of their face. It doesn’t need a new marketing campaign, starting from zero every 10 years.

For 60 years, Non-racing fans have seen news regarding the Daytona 500 come across their television screens every year in February. Even if they don’t pay attention, they still pick up on what it is. Each news story is a billboard. As a result, people who aren’t even a racing fan know what the “Daytona 500” is. This very approach should be taken to the label of the sport itself.

Name it, then don’t touch it. We don’t need a 2017 NASCAR sponsor. It’s a backwards concept to change the name of your sport, catering to a new sponsor every 10 years. That’s the silliest thing you could possibly do. Could you imagine the Major League Sprint Baseball, National Sprint Basketball Association or the National Hockey Sprint League. That’s a completely ludicrous concept and it’s equally ridiculous in NASCAR. Yet, NASCAR hasn’t figured that out just yet.

Beyond the general marketing flaw. Older fans are far more accepting of this mass over-sponsorship, in every aspect of NASCAR. After all, if it hasn’t bothered them before why would it bother them now? But the older fans aren’t the only people that matter. The sport we all love so much happens to be in the middle of a demographic crisis.

There’s a new generation that NASCAR needs to attract in order to grow the sport. That new generation doesn’t even feel the need for a driver’s license, after all, they have Uber. This very same generation piled up like an ant colony in support of a socialist. Bernie Sanders, the anti-corporation, eco-friendly, free college for everyone, democrat.

I’m not trying to be political. I’m simply stating that never before has a known Socialist had so much traction in primaries leading up to an election. That fact alone tells you a lot about the demographic NASCAR needs to target. Sanders nearly won the democratic nomination, mostly due to his large following of college kids, the very people NASCAR needs as ‘new’ fans to secure the future of the sport.

As you read that, many of you are saying “We don’t want them!” But you’re so wrong and you don’t get it.

Taking that approach will create certain death of the sport as we know it. Older fans won’t be alive forever. If NASCAR can’t appeal to a new generation, the sport doesn’t grow. Instead, it will continue its pattern of a shrinking fan base.

A shrinking fan base has a mass of negative effects over time. That means, niche tracks close it’s doors and transform into housing developments. Teams begin closing up shop and suddenly the sport takes a very different and drastic direction in the wrong path. NASCAR will survive, but the little guy in terms of both teams and tracks, will not survive a diminishing fan base.

The sport is still thriving off the mass appeal and quick growth of the 90-00’s. However, we are fast approaching a large problem. If NASCAR can’t attract the new generation of fans in a much bigger way, our sport is in trouble. They need a consistent marketing campaign aimed at people throughout their entire lives.

The over-sponsored selling out is part of the on-going joke of the sport, as seen from outsiders. Nothing gives that joke more merit than putting a corporation in the name of the sport itself. It makes us look like idiots.

Self-control from NASCAR executives can go a long way, paying dividends for years. Saying no, stopping yourself from completely selling out to corporations would be a big step in attracting the much needed younger fan base.

Author: Shane Walters

Photos: Chris Trotman/Jared C. Tilton/Matt Sullivan/Robert Laberge/Jeff Curry/NASCAR via Getty Images

I Hated Jeff Gordon until…

I used to Hate Jeff Gordon until - Jeff Gordon Leading Bristol

October 30, 2016 by Shane Walters

After Visiting My First NASCAR race in 1995 I Learned to Hate Jeff Gordon and So Did You

I hated Jeff Gordon. In 1995, I remember tossing a Jeff Gordon die-cast off a 3 story roof. Why? I thought a Jeff Gordon car looked best when it had a bit of damage.

I visited my first NASCAR race in 1995 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon was the young California kid who came into the sport in 1992. When it came to short tracks he was a mix of fast and aggressive. The very things that make short track kings. The same thing that makes fans hate you.

Related: Jeff Gordon’s Last Race – Today at Martinsville Speedway

Jeff Gordon bumps Rusty Wallace at Bristol

He wasn’t at all afraid to move a driver out of the way and take the win. It didn’t matter if you were a rookie or a NASCAR legend. All the same driving characteristics of Dale Earnhardt. He had all the things that put on a great show, bring fans to the stands and provide entertaining racing.

Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace battled nearly every year at Bristol. The #2 vs the #24 resulted in a lot of bump and runs. The classic battles might have even resulted in the invention that bump-and-run phrase.

However, in the mid 90’s, the face of NASCAR was just beginning to change. The old Southern boys, sporting a mustache were on their way out. Jeff Gordon was one of the first to come through the door. But, Jeff Gordon knocked the door off it’s hinges. He won his first race in his debut season and didn’t take long to pick up his first title. In 1995, Jeff Gordon won his first of four NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships.

I used to Hate Jeff Gordon until - Bristol Motor Speedway 2005

He and other young drivers would soon become the new face of NASCAR. If there’s anything I’ve gathered being a NASCAR fan for 20+ years it’s that NASCAR fans don’t like change, of any kind.

Boo’s of Jeff Gordon ensued. Parade laps, pace laps any laps resulted in booing of Jeff Gordon. If he was highlighted on the jumbotron, you’d hear boo’s over the sounds of the engines. And this was at Bristol, where cars are on the extra side of loud bouncing of the surrounding aluminum seating.

Some fans took it up a notch. They were strong willed to hate Jeff Gordon more than the next guy. If he won, you can bet a beer can would be lifted over the Bristol fence, taking aim at the #24 car. Which was amazingly stupid by the way.

Related: Best Jeff Gordon Paint Schemes

The only time you witnessed cheers for Jeff Gordon was when he was in the wall. One year I remember seeing Jeff hit the wall in turn 3. Fans jumped out of their seats, spilt all their beer and nachos, just to cheer for a crash. I was 10 years old. 120,000 people (Bristol was smaller then) cheering against Jeff Gordon influenced me to do the same.

My hatred for Jeff Gordon lasted until 2005. That’s around the time I realized all the the old guys were gone. The edge of the drivers had been grounded off. The new driver personalities were robotic. The strong edgy characters of the drivers in the sport were gone.

With the exception of Jeff Gordon who was in the sport just early enough to pick up a bit of the old style. Once the young California kid, was now the only driver left with ties to the good ol’ days. I had an epiphany realization that I had actually come full circle. I was now a fan of Jeff Gordon.

Right now, Jeff Gordon is running his final NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race as we speak. His 805th start will end his career at the short track of Martinsville Speedway. I hope he picks up 94th career in his final NASCAR race.

Author: Shane Walters

Jeff Gordon Photo Album

Photo: Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Nick Laham/Getty Images

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Worth Canoy/VPS

Imaginary NASCAR Debris Cautions Are A Problem

November 30, 2015 by Shane Walters

Imaginary NASCAR debris cautions are a problem and the phantom debris caution chart below shows it’s a new problem

NASCAR debris cautions have spiked since 2005, more than tripled. It’s no secret that a lot of the imaginary NASCAR debris cautions have been used to manipulate the race. It’s purely a poor attempt to make the races more exciting via phantom debris that only the NASCAR officials can see. So, let’s fix it.

In 2000, the number of debris cautions thrown was .4 per race. Basically one debris caution every two races. 2015 is a much different picture. The average NASCAR debris cautions per race in 2015 was 2.0. That’s a massive increase to 2 debris cautions per race. So what’s changed?

In 2003, Brian France took over as chairman and CEO of NASCAR. Since that time debris cautions have more than tripled. As you can see from the NASCAR Debris Cautions chart posted below the caution numbers tell a story. There’s a certain shift in the chart right at the point Brian France took over.

Part of the increase in NASCAR caution flags for debris is simply a safety mechanism. All forms of motorsports have been pressured to make the sport safer. F1 driver Felipe Massa hit a 2 lbs spring in Budapest a few years ago. That put him in the hospital for quiet awhile. That was an open cockpit situation and NASCAR has enclosed cockpits.

Even with enclosed cockpits, debris on the track certainly isn’t safe. Especially a piece of actual physical debris. I understand that and I don’t really dispute it. The only exception being a yellow flag for a paper napkin or 200mph tape, which we see often.

However, what I do dispute is a consistent number of these cautions for debris coming toward the end of the NASCAR event. If the same piece of debris is laying on the track for half the race why are we waiting until 10 laps to go to remove it?

It’s simply an excuse for throwing a caution to bunch the field up. They want to create a short track shootout scenario. NASCAR Executives want to make the races more exciting. That’s fair enough but this isn’t the way to go about it. If there’s really debris on the track, remove it. Don’t wait until 10 laps to go to remove it.

Sometimes the plan for an exciting finish backfires entirely. Such as the case during the NASCAR finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Larson had been running inches from the wall, banging the right side against the wall.

Larson was faster and desperately hunting down Brad Keselowski for the lead and his first career NASCAR win. He had just passed Kyle Busch for 2nd, he was coming. It was going to get very exciting. Yes! This is what we all hope for, a great race at the finish… Caution for debris.

The certainty of a great finish was thrown out the window. The debris wasn’t anywhere close to the racing line either. So why? The answer is simply NASCAR wanted something different at the front of the field.

Kyle Larson was only fast on old tires, when the high grove was in it’s prime. With that caution the fast cars would transition back to Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. I’m not going to speculate on who NASCAR wanted to win that race but it wasn’t Kyle Larson.

This isn’t the right way to go about making the races more exciting. NASCAR shouldn’t be the one to dictate who runs up front via imaginary debris or debris way off the racing line. Days of practice and who tuned their car the best should be what determines who runs up front.

If that’s what they really want NASCAR officials have other options. I’m not just here to complain about the sanctioning body and point out the irritating and blatant race manipulation. I’m also here to offer a better solution.

The first solution… is to cut the races in half. A lot of fans will strongly disagree with cutting the race distance in half. They would be outraged, as they are now just reading the idea. Another NASCAR boycott wouldn’t help short term.

However, I could argue that by making the races much shorter we’d have a larger fan base in the future. Shorter races would strongly increase the chances of the younger audience giving their time to watch the event, becoming a fan. The future of the sport is under the thumb of NASCAR ability to grab the attention of a new generation.

These races are too long and people don’t have the attention span for 4 hour races anymore. The first 1/2 of these races the goal of drivers is simply to survive. We hear often, “It’s too early to be racing him that hard.” What? Why exactly aren’t we racing hard every lap. That sure sounds like things could certainly be improved to make the race as a whole more exciting.

The other problem with the first solution of shorter NASCAR races is TV advertisements. Networks will have less time to air the precious commercials that we fast forward through, like really fast.

The problems don’t stop there with solution one. Another issue is the high priced sponsorship dollars put into these teams. The ROI with racing sponsorship is dependent on TV exposure. The NASCAR team sponsors will suddenly have their TV exposure cut in half, that’s an issue. Teams are already scrambling for sponsorship dollars, shorter races might mean a sharp decline in their rate cards.

Short term, shorter races would certainly hurt the sport. However, I believe shorter races would pay dividends 10 years down the road. Brian France has discussed the idea previously. While I think this is one solution it doesn’t exactly mean the end of the race will be exciting. What we want is the final ten laps to be nail biters, all the time.

The second solution… is to issue a mandatory caution with 10 or 20 laps to go. This idea I really like. It’s basically what NASCAR has been doing on a regular basis since 04-05 anyway. The difference is it’s not a caution for imaginary items on the race track. NASCAR also wouldn’t be giving one driver or another an unfair advantage. Every driver would know a caution is on the way, it’s fair.

It would create the exciting shootout scenario NASCAR is looking for. It would certainly make the end of the 4 hours races more exciting. It would also lift NASCAR criticism of phantom debris cautions. NASCAR officials could get back to throwing debris cautions for actual real life debris, as they should be.

Author: Shane Walters

Caution Data Source: PitRHO

BLOG: Worlds Collide As Formula One Returns To America

2012 Formula One Returns To America (Circuit Of The Americas) The Track

November 15, 2012 by Shane Walters

It’s been five long years since the premier form of motorsports has crossed the pond into the United States. Primarily dominated by oval racing fans, America’s corn fields and high rise buildings alike are filled coast to coast with rabid fans who follow the NASCAR circuit. However, this form of oval racing fails to reach the radar of anyone on the other side of the ocean. Wherever the destination, Formula One brings the world with it.

During the 2008 season, F1 had 600 million sets of eyes glued on the television tube (per race), nearly double the U.S. population. In comparison, this makes the NASCAR viewing audience appear a small sewing circle at just 5 million. Furthermore, the cumulative F1 television audience was calculated to be 54 billion during the 2001 season.

F1 is the undisputed polar opposite of what the general American expects to see when they enter a racing circuit. Bumpers are replaced by wings, roofs replaced by helmets. Full blown rocket ships on wheels will enter the Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, Texas this weekend making the oversized NASCAR stock cars look like small ill-handling trucks. While in 2012 their isn’t much of anything stock on a stock car, F1 is the future of everything automotive. For years, these formula teams have laid new technology groundwork while simultaneously paving it for auto manufactures worldwide.

The purest form of racing in the United States isn’t done on pavement. Here our tracks are carved in dirt then covered in late models or sprint cars who slide sideways and turn right to go left. While we have an equally strong base of asphalt tracks and fans, the same types of cars will be found on both with a few minor changes.

Europe on the other hand grows their motorsports fan base through the use of karts, similar in size but much different than your Target shopping carts. These are really really fast karts, topping 125 miles per hour on a regular basis with built in, yet unnatural, seat warmers as these buttox holders scrape along the racing circuit. Karting is the only form of racing machines capable of reaching g forces equal to F1 cars as they turn on dimes simultaneously hopping over the curbs, chasing the hundredth of a second advantage.

These two very different worlds of motorsport will again collide this weekend for the first time in five years. Tomorrow, practice 1, cars will be unleashed on the shiny new circuit for the first time. The first purpose built Formula One track ever constructed in the United States. Built around a state-of-the-art 3.4-mile circuit track with capacity for 120,000 fans and an elevation change of 133 feet, the facility is designed for any and all classes of racing – from motor power, to human power.

Previously, the United States Grand Prix took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that was 2007. Two years prior arguably the most controversial sighting in Formula One history, as over half the sporting teams refused to compete. These teams were obligated to use a set of tires that were faulty for the IMS banking and sure to cause disaster. Only a handful of cars using a different brand of tires crossed through turn 1. Following the event, tensions ran extraordinarily high between track owner Tony George and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone who was later quoted saying it did not matter to him whether or not there was a Grand Prix in America.

Most importantly, as an American I’m thrilled that for this weekend only it’s not required I stay up until 4AM just to watch a practice session.

Written By: Shane Walters

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