Nascar has grown from a fledgling race series started in the South to a nationwide sport in six decades. While merchandise and ticket sales are brisk, there are some clouds on the horizon - some venues are having trouble "selling out" their stands, costs are escalating, and fans appear to be turning off their TVs as ratings are down. Is the future a return to a regionalized series or is stock car racing malleable enough to garner worldwide acclaim?
A look to the future must first include a look to the past. Nascar is here today because of the things it has done "right," and it is a return and reaffirmation of those values that will continue its growth well into the future.
Races
In its first racing year, 1949, Nascar sanctioned seven races in its strickly stock class. All of those races were run on dirt tracks. In 1950, on Labor Day, Harold Brasington hosted a 500 mile race at a paved speedway he built after watching the Indy 500. The Southern 500 was born. And it proved to be the spark that lead to the building of paved speedways and the growth of the sport.
In contrast, last year, Nascar sanctioned a 36 race Nextel Cup series, a 35 race Busch series, and a 25 race Craftsman Truck series. All of those races were run on paved tracks. In addition, Nascar sponsors a Nascar East and a Nascar West series and other weekly series at local tracks around the country.
The willingness to take a chance in scheduling a race at an unproven, unraced track led to great growth in the sport. But how can Nascar continue this tradition today?
Scheduling races always draws controversy. The famed Darlington Speedway was stripped of its Labor Day race, "The Southern 500" when Nascar moved the race to California Speedway. The stated purpose was that Darlington had not been selling out, but the California market would. The change occurred in 2005, and to date the California race has yet to sell out, but Darlington has managed to sell-out its Mother's Day race.
Tracks located in the South have suffered the growing pains of Nascar the most. Track Closures at Rockingham and North Wilkesboro pop to mind. Those tracks lost dates due to purchase of the track and closure to move Cup dates, or because Nascar wanted to move races to other locales.
In the future, Nascar wants to expand its reach by locating tracks in Washington State and New York City. Venues, such as Las Vegas, who only have one race a year are looking to expand to two events. Young upstarts like Kentucky Speedway (who has sued to get a Cup date) and Iowa Speedway, who desperately wants any Nascar date, are hungrily stalking the ever elusive Nascar Scheduling Date. But growth means tracks that currently have two races who are not selling out, or have limited ticket selling/seat capacity, may lose one date, or close altogether. Those options lead to upset fans on one side, and ecstatic fans on the other.
A workable solution is a rotating schedule. Tracks can be guaranteed one date a year, and the possibility of two dates every other year or every third year. Fans would be appeased to some degree, new racing venues could open, and Nascar would expand its reach into untapped markets.
Iron Fist
Nascar has been governed from its inception by the France family. Beginning with William H.G. France (know as "Big Bill"), through his son, Bill, Jr. through Bill Jr's son, Brian, the France family has maintained a fisthold on the business. They've governed who gets races, who races in the races, and how the purse payout will be made.
The beauty of this system is that the power in the organization is everyone knows where the buck stops. If Big Bill or Bill Jr said that was the way it was, it was. Today, that power is welded by Brian France and Mike Helton, the President of Nascar. Other race sanctioning bodies have been plagued by ever-changing committee rule, but Nascar has presented a united front in governing its races.
The downside is that decisions are made in semi-secret, leading fans, competitors and sponsors to speculate to the reasoning behind decisions. Most recently, the tight fisted Nascar penalty machine has issued penalties that on the surface appear to be contrary - COT penalties on three cars are identical despite one crew chief's prior record of penalties; one competitor parked for a race after an in-race incident while another is given a fine for an incident on pit road involving a pit crew member.
To fix these problems, Nascar must re-examine its penalty book. Currently Nascar has Robin Pemberton who attempts to answer questions, but often is either inarticulate or unsure why something has been done.
All mainline sports have commissioners, referees, and open rule books. Nascar needs to follow suit. Appoint a penalty tsar, and let the same person make the decision for each penalty. The current appeal struction could be tweaked as well, so that it is not merely a rubber stamp on the issued penalty. Competitors and fans alike should know who the penalty tsar is, and that person must be able to articulate exactly why the penalty was issued. The current rulebook should be strengthened and the vagueness taken out. No more Rule 12-A-4 - "Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing" as the last rule standing to punish behavior.
Access to Fans
Much of Nascar's fan base is there due to the open access Nascar allows to its drivers. In the early days, fans were allowed in the pits to speak with drivers and crew members. Richard Petty, the King, was crowned such because he always took time for the fans who came to races.
Today, corporate sponsors have purchased a lot of the drivers' and crews' time. Pit tours are limited to fans who have access through employment or familial relationships. The average fan who shows up at the track has little opportunity to rub shoulders with their favorite drivers.
Obviously, sponsors have the right to access to the teams they finance. Similarly, if Nascar wants to continue its explosive growth, it needs to maintain the "feel" of driver access. Tracks have taken steps to provide some access through fan zones in the infield, giving fans views of the garage. Drivers generate money through the sales of their merchandise, and many schedule signings at the track.
But Nascar needs to do more. The top ten drivers should be required to participate in an autograph session at the track the following year. Fans can be charged a nominal fee of $5, with the proceeds going to the Nascar Foundation. Ideally, a lottery system to issue the tickets would be utilized, with no exceptions.
Fans also want access to races through TV, radio, and the internet. While current TV ratings are generally down this year, some of that could be attributable to the "new" ways to view a race that have sprung up in the last year. Direct TV Hot Pass and Nascar Track Pass give fans the option to use their satellite TV or computer to "watch" a race. Fans using these technologies may not be watching races on traditional TV. Nascar must continue to lead the way in these technological raceviewing areas, while keeping costs down for the fans.
Sponsorship/ Teams
At each Nextel Cup race this year, several race teams have been sent home after failing to qualify. Years ago, Nascar set the field at 43 cars. And the current rule is that the top 35 teams in points are guaranteed a spot in the field. It is this rule that needs to be changed to continue the growth of the sport via more teams and sponsorships.
Ideally, the rule protects teams who race weekly from being sent home by a purse-snatcher who shows up and races select events, hoping to take home the big bucks, but has no intention of being at smaller purse races. However, the rule has reached its natural conclusion and needs to be modified.
There were 53 teams who showed up to race at Daytona this weekend. Ten of those teams were sent home. As rain prevented qualifying, most of those teams did not have the opportunity to qualify. On other weekends, teams have been fast enough, only to be bumped by a slower, but guaranteed team.
Nascar should modify the rule as follows: Teams in the top 12 in points after each race is guaranteed a spot in the race. All others race their way in. Will this shake things up? You bet. And it will make qualifying important again, unlike the current system. Nascar must then allow teams the opportunity to change from qualifying set ups to race set-ups, so the impound rule needs tweaking too.
Sponsors may take more risks with non-upper tier teams as they have a better chance of seeing their logo on TV each week than under the current system.
Personalities
Dale Earnhardt. Darrell Waltrip. Richard Petty. Cale Yarborough. Jeff Gordon. Tony Stewart. Each one conjurs up a reaction in Nascar fans.
What the sport needs now is a true villain.
The Busch brothers are leading candidates, but they clean up their act every so often. Tony Stewart is a perennial candidate and current leader in this area. And Juan Pablo Montoya's aggressiveness could earn him the spot.
But nothing stirs up a fan base like a run-in with a driver who they hate, and gosh darn it, who keeps winning despite their hexes.
Nascar is a fertile breeding ground for the milktoast mealymouthed driver. Sponsors frown on snappy comebacks and insults on other drivers. Owners don't want to read about their driver in the morning editorial. And of course, no driver wants to be booed week in and week out at introductions.
But aren't fans tired of the generic response to "What happened out there?" Or "Will you change how you race him next week?"
We don't need another Ms. Manners graduate in Nascar. We need a good villain.
A few rule changes, a few fan-friendly tweaks, and (at least) one good villain. That's all it will take to keep Nascar rolling into the next sixty years.
Information from Nascar.com, Jayski.com, The Unauthorized Nascar Fan Guide 2004 by Bill Fleischman and Al Pierce.
