Certainly no one expected NASCAR to maintain the double-digit expansion that our sport saw during the 1990s but I didn't expect to see empty seats become so commonplace in Winston Cup racing.
Lack of Competition
This one is hard to make a case for. Admittedly Matt Kenseth is well on his way to running away with the Winston Cup Championship but the individual races have been extremely competitive. Almost every race this season has been decided in the last couple of laps, what more can race fans ask for? Also, we've seen wins by eleven different drivers in the first thirteen races of this season. NASCAR finally has created a level playing field and we've seen some great races.
NASCAR's massive growth spurt came when Jeff Gordon was winning ten races a year. Was that a better show to go see?
Economics
Without a doubt, the current economic climate has left many Americans with less disposable income. Unemployment is up, personal debt is way up and many race fans are tightening their belts to get over the hump. When you consider that a weekend at a NASCAR race for four people will run you well over $1,000 many Americans just aren't willing to spend that anymore.
Network TV
NASCAR is available now to millions of people who couldn't watch it on cable before. Are race fans choosing "Crank It Up" over the up-close and personal roar of the engines. Certainly fans feeling the money crunch now have easier access to NASCAR on television than a few years ago.
Is the availability of broadcast NASCAR reducing fans desire for the real thing? Is the quality of the broadcast itself failing to bring out the excitement of NASCAR and making people less interested in seeing it live?
Where do we go from here?
Maybe I'm imagining the slowdown in NASCAR's popularity or maybe increasing the television ratings is more important to NASCAR's survival than putting fans in the seats?
I don't have the answers, but walking up and buying a ticket on the morning of a NASCAR Winston Cup race would have seemed impossible just a couple of years ago. Now it's not all that uncommon. Something has changed and NASCAR needs to be concerned about it now or risk having it get worse.
