Talladega

[just a fan]

I thought both Talladega races were good this weekend. Very competitive and not marred by "the big one" either day. But then again Horneday or Dinger may think going over was big one enough. Saturdays attendance was not good and Sunday was down a lot too although the weather was a perfect fall day in Alabama.

One thing that did tick me off was NASCAR will not stop manipulating the races. At one point NASCAR oficials were discussing debris in turn 2. the questions were asked several times: is it in the groove, are the cars going to hit it, what is it, etc. Finally determined it was not metal but bare bond and should not cause an issue. I told a friend that was with me just to watch because that debris would be an issue later if the race stayed green. She is an average fan and couldn't believe NASCAR would intentionally alter the race. 15 laps later the caution comes out for that piece of bare bond that had actually blown below the yellow line. That set up the shoot out at the end. NASCAR knows nothing gets on Sports Center quicker than a 5 lap shootout at Dega and like it or not "the big one" sells tickets.

[Chris]

Amen brother...
After working on a NASCAR pit crew for a couple years, and seeing it first hand,.. I been trying to convince folks of the same thing.
Some fans have figured it out.. those are many that are leaving...
And with the economy still not showing any signed of recovery... I think the attendance, and even car counts for races will keep falling.
I said a few years ago we'd see NASCAR NOT have full fields in the future
SO far they have been able to buy enough part-time teams to come to the races and fill the fields ...
I see that coming to an end shortly..  With fewer cars showing up,.. that'll lead to fewer fans showing up; and the downhill spiral will continue .
Just like with our nations economy... NASCAR hadn't hit bottom yet... but it's coming

[20forLogano]

I hear ya Chris.  Manipulation is rampant in Nascar and those folks who choose not to believe it are purists.  But it has always been apart and always will be. 

[scott b]

Just like with our nations economy... NASCAR hadn't hit bottom yet... but it's coming

The wild card in the back of my mind is, will the eventually lead to the formation of a rival stock car series?

There are tracks like Gateway and Memphis that are capable of hosting a reasonable sized crowd, that have had to close their doors.

There are drivers, ones who in the past might have been full timers in the Nationwide series, left with little hope of finding a full time seat.

There are owners who are disgruntled at the cost of racing in Sprint Cup or Nationwide, and the constantly changing rules (supposed to be saving them money, but requiring them to build new cars... hows that work?) 

I'm not saying a spin-off series would have the same prize money and level of sponsorship as Sprint Cup, but it could put just as entertaining of a race on.  And if they land a deal with one of the cable networks, I'd probably watch.

If the economy starts to pick back up, and NASCAR still hasn't gotten their act together, keep an eye out for this.

[just a fan]

Several years ago Bruton Smith considered buying ARCA and using it a rival series. It is an interesting idea and in my opinion not good for the sport. Yes it would give other drivers a shot at racing and tracks a chance to host events, but the fact is the money would have to come from somewhere and reciepts from a race track will not be enough to keep a series going.
Not sure it would be easy to sell tickets to an event that doesn't include a favorite driver. Also I think it would be tough to get a rival tv deal so why would sponsors pay to have less people see the event? The cost of running a competitive car is still very expensive.
I think we will cycle through several declining years and NASCAR will get back to its roots (perhaps wishful thinking). The tracks they went to just for the exposure are the ones struggling the most and I think many will fall off of the schedule. But the biggest issue in my mind isnt the tracks they are going to, it is boring racing that NASCAR can't keep its hands out of. They need to give the teams a chance to be creative and build the best, fastest cars they can just like they did when the sport was growing.
But another series might be fun to watch.

[scott b]

I agree that a rival series would have a tough time sustaining iteself in the long run.  I do think in the short term if they put on a good show it could pressure NASCAR to get their act together.

Right now, the Truck series seems to be the only thing that NASCAR hasn't completely screwed up.