TBK-Light.com

Good post.

I think the issues are simpler, though. Very simple: bad management.

During the CART/IRL split, NASCAR ratings soared. Instead of being good managers and realizing this fact, NASCAR took this as license to needlessly change/expand and then trumpet THOSE changes as the ultimate reason for their popularity. Management FAIL.

This "scorched Earth" policy had far reaching side effects that are becoming apparent now. Instead of REINFORCING the NASCAR brand, they tried to REINVENT it. Now we're left with a crappy series that no longer represents what American stock car racing is/was all about. Management FAIL.

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We are witnessing the pussification of America.

Well i just watched some of the testing today and i think the new cars look ok for cot's, the front looks better but hey still have those fugly aero bits on the driverside back window,as for the new points system i think it might be better than last year ,its a wait and see for that change.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/scarsurfing?feature=mhee

ARCA is an extremely underrated series IMO, and it definately deserves a bigger fanbase and more race coverage. If the officals would do more to fix the obvious flaws the series has been plagued with during the last decade then I think more people would start supporting it and its reputation in the stock car world would vastly improve. Whether or not this actually happens (and I highly doubt it ever will unless something terrible occurs) remains to be seen.


Excellent post Paul and I agree tremendously with the points you bring up. I will admit that my frustration with the sport's current state compared to the old days was the reason for my immature behavior in the 2009 Speedweeks thread. It wasn't that I deliberately wanted to see accidents, but rather a return of the excitement, variation, and unpredictibility that most of today's races (with a few exceptions) seem to lack.

For example; Before there was no racing back to the caution flag, if the yellow came out with only three or two laps left you were still guaranteed a good finish because all the drivers were now fighting to get back to the line since they knew there was no more green flag racing and the race was practically over. The 1998 Daytona 500 is a great example of this. Nowadays, a lot of potentially amazing finishes are ruined because the caution comes out for debris in turn-3 or a three car accident in the middle or rear of the pack. Unless there's a a bad accident near the start/finish or another legitimate reason for freezing the field, I say let them race to the line.

Another thing that hurts the racing is the yellow line. Before it came into effect the racing was unbelieveably tense as cars would move all over the track and even into the grass on occasion. Hardly any major accidents, save for perhaps one or two, have occured as a result of someone going under the line at the wrong spot on the track. Just look at the final 10 laps of the 2000 fall Talladega race and see how all the drivers kept their cool when Dale Jr. went below the line and rejoined the pack without causing a wreck. A lot of the accidents and controversey (especially Regan Smith at Dega '08) today caused by the line rule would be nonexistant if it never got implemented.

I could go on about some other things (Loss of most grass at larger tracks, cautions for single car 360s, lousy TV coverage etc) but most of it has already been said. Most races today just seem boring or cliche when in the old days just about anything could happen at anytime and almost no two races were the same in terms of quality. I want to see more variation, more excitement, different drivers winning who deserve to win, and not just more of the same season after season. Unfortunately, none of my posts conveyed that message and instead made it seem like I was dead serious about wanting to see accidents and only accidents. I screwed up and pissed a bunch of people off, but I've long gotten over it, and hopefully others have as well.

If you don't agree with me that's fine, but I've said my peice, and I'm leaving it at that.

I buy that.

instead of complaining all the time...just stop watching nascar..problem fixed

That's the problem. Watching NASCAR implode into itself is like watching a train wreck.

No matter how hard you try, you just can't look away.

Well, after all it's the sport plenty of us have loved for years. It's not like you can just quit following it altogether.

Exactly.

Like, imagine a loved one becoming addicted to drugs and becoming homeless or something. They steal your money to get their next fix, and try to take advantage of you.

You hate them for what they've become, but deep down you still love them, and wish you could help them become the person they once were.

Pretty much sums up my feelings about it.

Easier said than done. I still love NASCAR, but I hate how it has become for the past 7 years.

I mean, I'd still watch, but I have now resorted to other alternates, such as IndyCar.

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Ducks Angels Sounders Spurs

ARCA would have a bigger fanbase if Speed would cover their races at Salem as well as their dirt races at Springfield and DuQuoin. But oh wait that's another ace Nascar has the hole...Speed Channel. They can filter out more interesting series that fans could also enjoy that rivals their own (especially other stock car series like ARCA which includes a diverse and interesting schedule)... and instead replacing that stuff with crappy Nascar and reality shows because Speed is the unofficial Nascar channel. Pretty clever how they never actually called it that because its like they're trying to fool you into thinking its really a diverse motorsports channel like a Motors TV or something.

Lets not forget guys like Jim Liberatore who were fired on the grounds of suggesting that the channel cut back on Nascar junk. Thank god I live close to Salem so I can see those races in person. What a great track that is...kicks the shit of Bristol especially ever since its reconfiguration.

I bet if Speedvision was around and showed other series you guys wouldn't be so quick to say "oh I hate Nascar but I can't stop watching". Of course you can't because cool stuff like WoO and ALMS for example are run on huge tape delays and its hard to get into watching something that isn't broadcasted live or easy to follow.

NASCAR's problem can't be solved by listening to the fans more. I think the fact they have to constantly hold press conferences reminding us how much they're listening to the fans shows how lost they are. Most sports at their peak stay ahead of the curve because they don't have to listen to the fans; they're lead by good ideas (and the conviction to stick to them) that are in sync with what a lot of people want to see, usually before those people know it themselves. No matter how NASCAR reacts now, if it gives everyone here what they want, rewinds the rules 20 years or proceeds down the same shitty path, the sport has lost its connection to the zeitgeist. It won't come back to relevance until it regains that.

I know Liberatore tried to start up a new racing channel, no idea what ever happened to that. I know ARCA has a contract with Speed for a minimum of 10 races each year, I wish they'd do more but like anything else these days, it takes money to buy airtime. Speed is definitely missing the point with ARCA's diversity,though thankfully the 1.5 milers have almost vanished from ARCA's schedule.(Kansas and Chicago are left).

Salem is awesome. Winchester will be good this year. Looking forward to IRP and both Toledo events, and you oughta check out DuQuoin or Springfield, you won't regret it. Dan Belcher and I had a helluva time for three weekends back last September (DuQuoin,Toledo,Salem back-to-back).

NASCAR could be fixed if Wood Brothers won half of the races they entered again.

Awesome thread. Kind of sums up how I've felt about F1 over the last 10 years or so as well.

The Kimmels invited me to go to DuQuoin but there was a conflict with work which at the time I just started. But now since Kimmel is paying me too, if Staples tries to get me out of watching another race I could tell him to find another person to cover for me since I don't need their money as much as I did before. I WILL go to at least one ARCA dirt race this year I really hate not seeing it before. Speaking of Salem I'm also going to the USAC and winged asphault sprints (Must See Racing I think its called...I know Davey Hamilton is fielding a few cars too) this year...first time doing so.

And I know its a money deal with ARCA and Speed but they need to consider trading in boring races like Michigan and sending cameras back to Salem and such. I bet they'd get more ratings/interest if they did.

Yeah, that's the problem with their current ARCA TV deal. Pretty much the only races they have on Speed are companion events with NASCAR or IndyCar where they already have a TV broadcast setup ready to go. Unfortunately, those are almost always the least interesting races. The DuQuoin, Toledo, and Salem races Jeff and I have been to the past couple years have been way more interesting than all of the Michigan, Pocono, Nashville, Texas, Kansas, and Chicagoland races combined.

I bet that if ARCA brought in a new TV partner like Versus or HDNet they would do those short track races that Speed doesn't cover.

You can say the same about a number of championships.

At least Indycars seems to have found the right track again. Hopefully other series can do the same.

I wish. Maybe someday soon.