How is the NASCAR Season Structured?
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Now that the Daytona 500 is over it is time for teams to focus on the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Every race on the schedule is worth the same number of points but not all races are truly equal in terms of payoff, hype and prestige. A Daytona 500 is more memorable than winning this weekend in California but both races are worth the same number of points.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup season has three distinct segments. Each has its own personality, focus and signature events. Here are the segments and their impact on the Chase for the Sprint Cup?
Comments
Looking at these three segments is interesting, but I think that the media has hyped the three segments to the point where it wears on you a little bit.
It appears to be a marketing push to keep the fans interested in the entire season. Nascar will tell you that the top 12 in points “Chase for the Cup” was designed to keep one person from running away with the season. In reality it was designed to keep a majority of the fans from switching over to NFL games in the fall. Funny how the “Chase for the Cup” starts about the same time NFL season starts isn’t it?
I admit, once NFL starts, the viewing of NASCAR is moved to the lower right corner of my TV screen (PIP).
Yes the chase is to keep the fans interested.But with all the changes in drivers and colors of the cars it is getting really hard to keep up and NASCAR Should address this.If more and more fans keep turning the races off or just watching the end than this will make the sponcer harded to get.Let me say once again NASCAR needs to address the Nationwide series I did watch it all the time but since you only have the sprint cup guys raceing up front the back guys never get any tv time always a sprint cup guys wins. Just tell me how is NASCAR going to keep the rateing up when these guys move up nobody will know them.they can change the name to “OUR NASCAR”but it was people like me that took their kids to the track that made my kids race fans.Now they are grown and have kids but they say the same thing I have said above.NASCAR need to change more than the car and it’s name
Bill, you are spot on.
You bring up two good points. I would like to expand on those if you do not mind. Sorry Steve, looks like we are hijacking this thread.
First, your point regarding driver changes and color changes. You are right. It is very hard to keep up with it. Remember when the medium blue #43 came around the corner, we knew it was Richard, or the black #3, yep, it was Dale. Today, who knows who it is this year, or even this week. Some teams have different drivers each week. What do you think that does for merchandise sales? I have a closet full of red Bud merchandise with Dale’s name on it. It is a small investment hanging in that closet. Now it will end up as a shop rag. I have a freind that works for a large Nascar merchandising company. They lost millions last year. I predict he will loose even more this year. Changing drivers and sponsors and colors will begin to hit these teams in the pocketbook very soon when fans begin to stop buying the t-shirts, hats and jackets because they do not know what colors the driver will be running next week or who they will be driving for.
Your next point regarding Sprint Cup Series (SCS) drivers racing in the Nationwide Series (NWS) has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. NWS is suppose to be a support division for SCS, a division that drivers can gain experience and prepare to move up to the SCS. How many smaller NWS teams are turned away because starting positions are taken away by SCS drivers? How much money goes into the pockets of SCS teams and drivers that is really needed by the NWS drivers. And this is not just in the NWS. It also happens in the Craftsman Truck Series as well. I heard Little Busch say one time he races in the CTS to have fun. Well, his position and purse money he takes, is a position and purse money taken away from a small start up team that is trying to make their mark in racing. I do not buy into the statement that these SCS drivers pack the stands more when racing in one of the lower divisions. I could care less. I would rather see a new upcoming driver on the track in place of a SCS driver.
Bottom line, it is driven by NASCAR siding with wherever their wallets will become the fattest the quickest. They are not looking long term for the fan, just short term for themselves.
Guess you could say NASCAR is trying to keep its ratings/prices up at the cost of the sport!
As far as what tracks offer prestige/payouts, it is totally based on how much profit there willing to give out and up.
NASCAR pays none of the purse, its the track owners that bear the burden!
So as far as the points being the same, that has to happen. As far as the houpla, its a track by track show!
Saddest part of this is Dale Jr’s new ride scheme, it gets lost in the pack and can’t be picked out. I would have never opted to let a nobody online gammer friend design my car with all that sponser money!!
But when your ontop of your sport you get to make some bad calls, just like NASCAR!
I Hope it all works out as I love the SPORT!
1969RS and Hot Rod I like both your comments I watched the race Sunday and I am not a Dale Jr. fan but would have really like to have seen him win for the good of the sport and like Hot Rod I could never pick his car out most of the time.
What I think need to happen in the sport is that the TV people need to talk to the fans and ask them what they like about nascar and I am sure they would tell them they like to watch the cars not the bumper cams not the feet working the peddles or the gropher cam we just like to see the cars and know which driver is in the car each week.I really think TV did a poor job of letting the public know about all the cars and their paint colors before and during the race sunday.Only if you got to watch quiflying did you see most of the cars.There is a Fan at each race for one of the 43 cars running and I think TV and the announcers have lost touch with this fact.They look at everything as a owner,driver,crew chief, not as a fan.
Nascar just needs to focus on the race and slow down the hype..People want to want to watch the race not all the added junk.Things like Robbie Gordon getting fines $100,000 and 100 points because he had an un-approved nose is stupid..all they had to do is say you cannot run this nose..This is one of the reasons Nascar has people shutting off the TV….Let em Race and settle there own problems.
Bruce,I total agree with you.Robbie didn’t even race with the new nose on his car.He was given the wrong nose peice by another race team.Just another way to say we don’t want you racing in our house.Leave the racing to the big boys.just another black eye for NASCAR.You know common sense should come in to play on some of their thinking.