Maybe you’ve been to Mount Panorama. Maybe you even camped for a few days. But in reality, nothing prepares you for NASCAR.
Every NASCAR race, the huge parking lots around the stadium transform into a small town of RVs – from small SUVs to huge three-bedroom homes on wheels, complete with their own satellite dishes and towing full-size SUVs.
Everyone grills meat. Everyone drinks. Everyone is happy. But it’s still early. The race is still six hours away, but at least some of these race fans will have dozed off by the time the engines start.
It’s a southern tradition. Actually, let’s be honest: a white, working-class Southern tradition. Proudly.
Just revel in the names of the sports greats: Ricky Rudd, Buck Baker, “Fireball” Roberts, LeeRoy Yarbrough.
It may not have national appeal, but NASCAR nonetheless remains one of the most popular sports in the country. There are more people than you’ll see at an NFL game. It attracts more viewers than NBA or baseball games.
But despite this, NASCAR is in trouble. Since its peak in the mid-2000s, its revenues have plummeted and sponsors have pulled out.
With television audiences cut in half from a decade ago, television networks are also losing interest.
This year, ESPN and Turner Broadcasting will end their long association with NASCAR. The two networks didn’t even bother to rebid for the rights.
And while the parking lots at Richmond International Raceway may be full, it’s not business as usual.
Racing fans fear prizes will be excluded
“Before, you had to get your tickets quickly or you’d miss a chance,” said Carl Snider, a racing fan who lives near the track.
“Look, today this place won’t even fill up.”
He’s right. The reason is quite simple.
“It costs too much,” says Norman Griffin. Racing fans like him attended about six events a year, sometimes traveling up to 300 miles to get there.
“You know, once the economy takes a hit, it’s just harder.”
Fans are willing to pay for official merchandise on top of the high price of race tickets.
A ticket for the race costs around $85. NASCAR’s strategy of trying to broaden its appeal to a middle-class Midwestern audience has alienated many of its former fans.
Calvin Wright Jr.’s family has been coming to the races for years and doesn’t understand why ticket prices are still so high.
“The sponsors pay for all the races. So why does it cost all the spectators and fans, (who) buy all the merchandise, to go to the race?”
Pete Daniel, fan and historian, says NASCAR is “too broad.”
“They thought the middle class would be attracted – which it was for a while – but after watching these cars go around in circles for three hours, some of them probably took a break and thought about playing golf again.”
When the recession hit, Richmond International Raceway reduced its seating capacity from about 115,000 to just over 80,000.
It’s still a very respectable crowd; more than any other sport in the country – with the possible exception of American football – if it is sold out.
The night I went to the race, there were some pretty uneven stands.
Spectators discouraged by constant rule changes
NASCAR can’t blame the Great Recession for all of its problems.
Even when it attracted new fans, it bored them – and older ones – with constant and confusing rule changes.
Another misstep was requiring all teams to use the Car Of Tomorrow; a uniform design that was safer, cheaper, and would allow closer competition.
But it was nothing like the Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota they claimed to be.
It was all a far cry from NASCAR’s roots – the wild days of stock car racing, with its own history dating back to the moonshine racers of the Prohibition era.
NASCAR is trying to resolve its problems. It went green, using ethanol as a fuel, and began giving automakers some influence back over the vehicles that wear their badge.
“I think the most important thing is to have good races,” says Austin Dillon, third-generation driver and grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Richard Childress.
“We had good results this year, and the cars are fast, they are more relevant to people, they look like what you see on the road today.”
He acknowledges that fans have been discouraged by some of the changes in the sport.
Fans and young drivers fuel hope for the future
“It’s about winning now. We’ve done a good job of making our sport more relevant to the fans. I feel like they can understand it instead of the points system we had before,” Mr. Dillon said.
“We have a very strong core fan base right now and I think there are a lot of young drivers starting out that people can get attached to.
Driver Marcos Ambrose says NASCAR is doing a good job attracting a younger fan base.
“We’re doing a good job of attracting a younger audience.
“I think we’re going to struggle here over the next few years.”
This is not a good start. Some of the first races of the year – including the famous Daytona 500 – were delayed by rain, pushing broadcast schedules into no-man’s land.
But even on a warm spring evening in Richmond, NASCAR drew the lowest number of viewers in 13 years. NASCAR is in trouble. But it’s at the end of the road.
He has a large and loyal fan base, who may not be able to attend as many races as before, but go when they can.
And they throw a big party when they do. Because it was never just about racing.
