NASCAR: Double File Restart

[Bill Bess]

Hey..how about this idea, make them develop "stock cars" like the Mustang, Comaro and Challenger. Require that all the cars start out as a production stock cars...wow what fun.


Bill

[Ron61]

Bill,

That was how it begin and then they ruined it with special made cars that had nothing stock about them. Now it is just a show like wrestling and every car has to be the same. I wish they would go back to letting the car owners and their people fix the cars themselves and whoever can get the most out of the car has the best chance of winning. I do like the double file restart and putting the lap down cars in the back where they belong.
But since I am a big road race fan I like that type racing more to start with so my opinions are biased. I just don't think it is racing when half the race is under a yellow flag and the other half the only way a car can pass is if someone ahead of them messes up. And you can almost bet that when it gets close to a pit stop they will have one of their phony cautions so they can get the commercials all in. I think the trucks have the best racing of any of the series and they really do get out there and go at it. Also year after year, their points battle for the championship seems to be really close.

Ron

[Don]

With the concerns mentioned in the Business Week article , would seem to be reasonable that NASCAR will have to be more aggressive in making changes ( double file restart, yellow flags, etc., etc., ) to support an increase in track attendance, competition and TV viewers. Also, any differences the TNT/ESPN announcers will have, rather than the FOX announcers.

BUSINESS OF SPORTS June 4, 2009, 3:11PM EST
GM: NASCAR's Latest Problem
GM's bankruptcy is only the latest problem plaguing NASCAR, whose major sponsors and target audience have been badly hurt by the dire economy

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

NASCAR: Revving in Support of Chevy, and the Rest of GM
Less than a week after NASCAR called a mandatory state-of-the-circuit meeting for all Sprint cup drivers and team owners to discuss the dire economy, General Motors filed for the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history. While the U.S. government will pump an estimated $50 billion into the failed company, ensuring at least its short-term survival, there was no word earlier this week as to what the bankruptcy might mean for GM's motorsports sponsorship programs, putting their estimated $125 million annual NASCAR investment into question.

NASCAR has likely been hurt more than any other sport as a result of the current economic climate. Attendance is down because of the high cost of traveling to races, while TV ratings are off due to a perceived lack of exciting ones. Every telecast on FOX has seen a drop in ratings from the respective 2008 broadcast, with total ratings on the network down 13% from last year. And only an estimated 100,000 people attended the NASCAR Sprint Cup Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway, well off the approximate 140,000 in years past.

Among possible solutions discussed by NASCAR execs—including Brian France and Lesa France Kennedy, grandchildren of founder Bill France Sr.—at the recent summit were how to bring back fans who may have left the sport, NASCAR's image, and the circuit's new car. Broadcast partners are solid, with TNT and ESPN splitting broadcasting rights through the remainder of the regular season, and ABC airing the Chase for the Sprint Cup when it starts in September. What's more, Danica Patrick's IRL contract runs out at the end of this season, and NASCAR undoubtedly will make a push for her to switch over.

In Dover, GM was able to at least celebrate some success on the track. Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson won the race, with Tony Stewart, another Chevy driver, taking second. In all, 21 NASCAR racers drive Chevrolets, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Johnson, and Stewart; Chevrolet has won the last six Manufacturers' Championships, and 10 of the last 14.

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick plans on staying the course with Chevrolet, which cut NASCAR spending by 30% at the start of the season but has changed little since the announcement. "I have a lot of faith in GM, especially Chevrolet," he was quoted as saying. "I've been with them for a long, long time. Our business is good, the products are good…we're going to be O.K."