I’ll admit I’m a bit of a lurker. I like to hang around on Twitter, Facebook, and some forums to see what the fans are talking about. It really helps when searching for new topics to write about for TNI. Something I’ve seen a bit recently that I wanted to address has to do with comments about pit crews. When things don’t appear to go well during pit stops, some are quick to jump all over the guys doing the service. And while mistakes do happen, spots lost on pit road are not always the fault of the pit crew.
With the tires that Goodyear has been bringing to the track this year, we’ve seen crew chiefs playing a lot with tire strategies. At any point in the race, we’re seeing no tires, two tires, and four tire stops. This is the first place to look when you’re favorite driver makes big jumps up and down the leaderboard following a round of stops. If driver X takes four tires, and everyone else takes two, it’s impossible to hang on to any track position. No crew on pit road is good enough to beat teams out when they’re getting two more tires.
Another place to look when your driver loses ground on pit road is adjustments. Small changes like air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments can be done without losing much time. But when bigger changes are needed, the crews will need more time. Doing things like pushing in or pulling out spring rubbers, pulling out or putting in front end shims, and putting clicks in shocks can result in lost track position.
The last way that a team can lose track position on pit road that I wanted to mention is damage repair. Not all damage that the cars suffer results in a caution, or is shown on television. Things like wrinkled fenders and damage to noses must be addressed, especially at the big tracks. And while often not major, repairs sometimes can’t be completed in 13 seconds.
So, while mistakes do occur and pit crews are sometimes to blame, it isn’t always our fault. We are often tasked to do things that just can’t be completed during the course of a normal pit stop. At that point, it’s more important that we get things right than it is that we have a quick stop.
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There has been a lot of anger and outrage over the horrible traffic experienced by so many over the course of the Kentucky weekend. Horror stories of fans sitting on the interstate for hours and than getting turned away are prevalent. And nobody understands the frustration over the traffic better than the crew guys who worked in the garage and on pit road all weekend. In and among the throngs of cars filled with eager race fans trying to make their way into and out of Sparta were the rental cars and vans of the race teams. For many crew guys, the 45 minute drive from the track to CVG Airport turned into a several hour ordeal.
Anybody who’s ever been to a Cup race knows that traffic is just a part of the game. Some combat it by camping at the race track all weekend, and others wait the traffic out by continuing their tailgate after the race. But the crews don’t have those options. At the end of any race it’s a mad dash to get equipment and race cars packed up and get to the airport as quick as possible. Everybody wants to get home and middle seats on the airplane suck.
On Saturday night at Kentucky, the crews were given special egress passes. This happens at a few tracks on the circuit, and the passes are supposed to help the teams get out of the infield and onto the streets quicker. But the egress passes created more traffic than they alleviated. Two police cars checking passes in the infield turned four lanes of traffic into one trying to get through the tunnels. Just one example of the madness that everyone at the track dealt with.
It’s a shame that the only thing the inaugural Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway will be remembered for is the horrible traffic. And it’s also a shame that as of this post being written, the speedway has yet to release anything resembling an apology for the situation. They are already neck deep in a PR nightmare, why can’t they just admit they screwed up and apologize?
There was an interesting piece today from the Daytona Beach News Journal about how hotels in the Daytona area are working harder to get fans to come and stay for the 500. The article mentioned that average hotel prices are down significantly since 2008, and that ticket prices for the 500 have also come down. Obviously the price drops are a symptom of the falling attendance that NASCAR has experienced over the last couple of years, but while it’s good to see the cost of attending a race is falling, we need more and quicker.
A sidebar to the News Journal article shows the average nightly rate for Daytona area hotels in February since 2001. It’s interesting to note that between 2001 and 2008, the average rate rose $47.26. But from that high in 2008, rates are only back down $26.73 on average. I understand that other factors like inflation are in play here, but simple supply-and-demand says prices should be lower.
Tracks have also gotten into the act, with most dropping seat prices and allowing for greater flexibility with payment and package options. Many have also experimented with adding different seating and camping areas, and other entertainment options like pre and post-race concerts. But again, with so many empty seats, it would seem that more could be done to get fans back to the track.
According to the experts, one big area where viewership is down, is with the younger demographic. NASCAR’s main audience has skewed older, and is now the highest of any major sport. I believe one way in which this could be combated is with lower prices. They want younger fans to come to the track and watch on television, so make it more affordable for those younger fans to experience NASCAR.
My whole point here is that NASCAR and the tracks should be working towards a new pricing model. They’ve obviously seen that the sport isn’t strong enough to continue charging high prices in a bad economy. So instead, why not go in a different direction? Why not make NASCAR the best value in sports? Price the tickets for races so low that fans have no other choice but to come out.
Something I’ve never understood about sports, is that when attendance is suffering, why venues don’t do more with ticket prices. Isn’t it better to have the place full with lower prices and maybe more free tickets, than to have an arena 50% full at full price? The more fans in attendance, the more consumers you have to sell food, beverages, and merchandise too. You are also able to build a relationship with that fan that could spawn loyalty and future purchases. This is what NASCAR is missing right now.
It appears that creating a fantastic product on the track hasn’t done much in the way to coax people back to the track. While we have had the same champion for the past five seasons, the racing has never been closer in the history of the sport. So if the product is good, and people still aren’t showing, what’s left to do? Lower those prices. Make it more affordable for those blue collar families to come and enjoy racing, and you’ll get that younger demographic back. Families will bring the kids that will be ticket buyers in the future, and younger people will come out to have a good time because it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
The sport as a whole is experiencing a correction because of the bad economy. We are seeing it with everything from sponsorships to ticket prices. Everyone wants more value for the dollars they are spending. For the fans, I say leave the product as it is, and add value by bringing down the prices. If you drop them (the prices), they will come.
I really didn’t want to have to write this post. I figured that everyone was smart enough to really see things clearly and think logically, but I’ve been proven horribly wrong. After Jenna Fryer’s AP story about NASCAR “secretly” fining drivers that appeared this week, there has been a ton of discussion about the topic. I can respect people’s opinions on both sides of an argument, as everyone is entitled to what they think, but in this case some out there have completely lost it.
Before I even say what I want to say, I’m going to do you a favor. What I’m about to write will probably make some of you angry, and I’m cool with that. So before you call me a “NASCAR homer” in the comment section, stop. I’m going to side with NASCAR on this one, and I already know where this is leading. So save your energy.
Now, as everyone seems to know, NASCAR is currently in a tough spot. Attendance has been falling at tracks across the board and TV ratings continue to slump. NASCAR has made a ton of changes to try and fix what they believe the problems to be, and more changes are coming. NASCAR hopes these changes will bring people back to the track and get more people watching on TV, which in turn will hopefully bring sponsors back to racing that left, and also attract some new ones.
As NASCAR attempts to get back what they lost, what they really don’t need is a ton of bad press. And what do drivers do that continually bad mouth the sanctioning body and its decisions to the public? Create bad press.
ESPN has reported that they know who the drivers are that were fined by NASCAR, but to me, it doesn’t matter. What all of the drivers need to realize is that the media and the fans listen to what they have to say. If people didn’t care what they had to say, nobody would interview them. And don’t even try to tell me that fans don’t need to listen to the drivers to see how bad things are with NASCAR. If Dale Jr. can convince JR Nation to go out and buy Amp to the point that Amp’s sales go up 70% in the first year of the sponsorship, and Amp’s market share jumps from sixth in the category to fourth, this guy and all the other drivers can affect fans’ opinions.
Right now, it seems that fan frustration is pretty high. We read comments and emails from folks all the time about how they are close to quitting all together, and more from people that have given up. By criticizing NASCAR to the media, the drivers are just adding to the fan frustration and helping drive more of them away. And when fans leave, so do sponsorship dollars. So really, these drivers are really just hurting themselves, because with less sponsorship, there will be less rides for them to occupy, and less money available to pay them big salaries.
With all of this said, NASCAR must do all they can right now to protect their brand. They cannot afford to lose any more of the race fans. NASCAR wants the fans to be happy, because happy fans buy race tickets and merchandise, and watch on TV. So when a driver becomes overly critical of the sport, action must be taken. In this case, NASCAR decided fines were necessary to show not only the offending drivers, but everyone else that this would not be tolerated. What’s interesting to note here, is that according to spokesman Ramsey Poston, NASCAR warned all the drivers about the possibility of fines months ago.
For those of you who claim these fines violate free speech, try again. NASCAR did not fine these drivers because they had an opinion. They fined them because they chose the wrong forum in which to express that opinion. If the competitors really have a problem with the way things are being run, they need to take those opinions directly to Mike Helton, John Darby, Joe Balash, and Wayne Auton. Complaining to the media and fans won’t get them anywhere.
Moving on to this idea of “secret” fines, at what point did anyone say these fines were secret? There is a big difference between “secret” and not making something public knowledge. The original AP story has quotes from Poston in which he acknowledges that action was taken. He didn’t deny it, nor were these drivers told to keep the fines a secret. NASCAR is allowed to deal with problems internally, and not everything warrants a press release. The last time you were written up at work for being late 47 days in a row, something tells me your HR manager didn’t send out a press release to the local paper.
I also want to point out here that if NASCAR wanted something to be secret, it would remain secret. The community is extremely small, and if you think there aren’t things you don’t know about, then you are sadly confused.
With all of this being said, I’m not the enemy here. I agree with you that the drivers need to have their own personalities, and be able to speak their minds. Showing emotion is what makes us love and hate these guys. But drivers can show emotion without bashing NASCAR every five minutes in their post race press conferences. There is already way too much negativity in the press, the drivers don’t need to help.
I’m siding with NASCAR on this one because they were right to do what they did. Myself and thousands of other people depend on this sport and the jobs provided by it to pay our bills and feed our families. Fans not showing up and sponsors pulling out affects me and a lot of other people I know personally. I’m lucky to still have a spot in racing, but I know a ton of guys who don’t.
So the next time a driver wants to bitch and moan in an interview about what they perceive to be phony debris cautions, maybe they should think a little more about the ramifications of their words. It just might turn out that they unknowingly killed their own career.
As the #48 Lowe’s Chevy was dragged back to the garage area on Saturday night behind the wrecker, a loud roar of approval could be heard all the way to Charlotte. After a “wrong place, wrong time” incident that involved AJ Allmendinger losing his brakes and crashing hard into Jimmie Johnson, a large part of the crowd in attendance at Darlington Raceway made it known that they were glad to the see the 48 retired from the event. The reaction got me thinking, is Jimmie Johnson the new driver the fans love to hate?
Think back over your own time as a NASCAR fan. Who have been the sport’s most hated drivers? Names come to mind like Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, and the Busch brothers. What’s interesting to note about all of these guys, is just how polarizing they were and are. They would beat the brakes off the competition, wreck people, or get wrecked, and then get out of the car and whine, talk smack, or antagonize. Their attitudes and styles appealed to many, but were hated by others. We had Ironhead, Jaws, and Rusty the Whiner.
Flash forward to today, and instead of focusing their hate towards extreme personalities, fans now hate vanilla. Johnson has flat dominated NASCAR competition over the last four years, and yet he hasn’t done so much as ruffle one feather of a competitor on the track. He kicks ass, thanks his sponsors and crew, and moves on to the next track. There is no media bashing, interview flake outs, whining, or trash talk.
Besides the domination and his very moderate style, Jimmie has also come to represent to NASCAR fans all that is wrong with the sport today. Instead of the Allison’s and Cale Yarborough fighting on the back stretch at Daytona, we have drivers (like Jimmie) who are very corporate and choose their words and actions carefully. Fighting and on track clashes are entertaining, endless sponsor shout outs and boring interviews are not.
So far this season, it appears that all the Jimmie/Chad voodoo dolls might finally be working. Through eleven races, the team has already tripled it’s number of DNFs from all of 2009. Two of those having come within the last three weeks. And after some heated exchanges on the radio during Saturday night’s race, the team may be showing there are cracks in the armor.
As the season progresses, expect the cheers to get louder if Jimmie has bad luck, and the boo birds to be even more vicious if their luck is good. JJ has officially become the most hated driver in NASCAR.
I don’t know what it is about Martinsville, but I feel like it rains every time the NASCAR train stops in town. Some level of racing always happens, but it seems that it’s very rare for the both the Trucks and Cup cars to get the whole weekend in without incident. Now, we are heading back in the morning to try and get the Cup race in (12PM EST), but according to Brian Neudorff (the unofficial Twitter NASCAR weatherman @NASCAR_WXMAN) the forecast for Monday doesn’t look good. And as we stare straight in the face of a possible second postponement, I want you to know that it doesn’t just suck for the fans.
As the crews walk out of the track after a postponed race, it’s hard not to feel really bad for the fans we pass by. They’ve usually been in the stands for hours, usually in the cold and wet, waiting and hoping for something to happen. And now, many won’t be able to return to the track on Monday, because the real world comes calling. For those that do get to stay, it means more money must be spent on food, lodging, parking, and all the other expenses associated with coming to a race. I just want you to know, we feel for you.
For the teams, besides trying to find ways to deal with the boredom while the track is being dried (I actually wrote a post about this a few years ago), rain delays can be detrimental to shop scheduling and car prep. The Cup teams have another big west coast swing coming up, and cars must be prepared for both trips. Even with an off weekend ahead, being at the track on Monday instead of being in the shop means crews are now behind. Any extra off days or small vacations will now probably not happen, as the teams will be scrambling to catch back up.
For the TV folks, the postponement now means ratings will stink. With most people who would normally be watching the race now probably at work on Monday afternoon, the number of folks who tune in will be drastically smaller. This will certainly be bad for those all important advertising dollars.
The rain also means lost revenue for the track itself. The crowd at the track today was no doubt smaller because of the threat of rain, and the stands certainly won’t be full tomorrow. This reduction in the crowd size will result in lower ticket, food, and merchandise sales.
So the next time you are bummed on a Sunday afternoon because the race was washed out, know you aren’t alone. Rain delays suck for everyone. Here’s to hoping the rain holds off tomorrow…
Following NASCAR’s warning of Brad Keselowski last weekend at Kansas to take it easy around the Chase drivers, some fans have expressed their displeasure to us this week with NASCAR’s call. I even heard some angry calls into radio shows regarding the subject. A few in the media have also reacted to the situation, including SceneDaily.com’s Bob Pockrass. I personally think it’s ridiculous for NASCAR to expect non-Chase drivers to tip-toe around the Chasers.
I understand that NASCAR wants a fair fight among those twelve drivers battling for the Championship, and they should be allowed every opportunity (within the rules) to do well. But what being in the Chase shouldn’t get you, is more favor from the other drivers and from NASCAR.
When the teams hit the track each weekend, 43 drivers are vying for not only that Cup, but also the race. Once inside the Chase, just because only 12 drivers can win the Cup doesn’t change the fact that 43 could still win the race. Those other 31 drivers have just as much right to fight for every inch and race hard as those guys in the Chase. By expecting drivers to take it easy around the Chasers, NASCAR is hurting the integrity of the competition and showing disrespect to the fans of those non-Chase drivers.
For those teams outside the Chase, running well in those final ten races and possibly picking up a win could go a long way towards success in the future. For somebody like a Jamie McMurray it could mean a solid ride for 2010 and possible sponsorship. Or for somebody struggling like Dale Earnhardt Jr., it could be the start of returning to Championship form.
As I mentioned on Twitter earlier in the week, you don’t see the NFL asking the non-playoff teams to take it easy on the playoff teams in week 17 of the regular season. The thought being that those non-playoff teams could adversely affect the the chances for those in the playoffs. Those teams would laugh in the NFL’s face, and the fans would be outraged.
So please NASCAR, does us a favor and just let them race.