It's crazy how reliant nascar was on the middle class. My dad worked on a paving crew and could afford a family trip to Redsox or Disney back in the 90s while I could maybe afford it for just one person
It doesn't cost that much more to go as a family. Up to five people can squeeze into a car, and the gas expense is basically the same. A hotel room for one is often the same price as a room with two double beds, capable of sleeping four adults.
@@MrSilverfish12 Inflation is absolutely something normal and a law of economic nature. What isn't normal is stagnant wages and the ridiculously high inflation that we're going through.
I love that "watch common ppl do uncommon things". I'm a bigger fan of historic nascar for this reason. Current nascar doesn't feel like that. Feels like if you aren't a legacy driver or rich, your just out of luck.
@@silvy3047 pretty much ... its really sad because now kids can't dream of that greatness and its probably why motorsports are declining in general ... not many people just want to watch rich kids play with their toys.
@@jessicalacasse6205 it seems to me, particularly in NASCAR, that the old guard is still in charge while the rest of the world moved on. The old guard just don't want to do these new fangled things like social media and youtube and such which sees them miss out on the younger audience. Me personally, I haven't had broadcast TV in my house for over 10 years. Got sick of it. Prefer streaming services with no ads. Does make it hard to find races to watch and thankfully NASCAR seems to be catching up there, especially for international audiences sake, but it still feels like a bunch of grandpas trying to figure out a computer are running the sport.
JGR has over 500 employees and a budget of millions and millions, in the 80s a team might have a dozen to 2 dozen people and barely a $1mil budget. You need DEEP pockets these days.
In regards to the lack of ticket sales, I think there’s something to be said for the quality of televisions and race day coverage. Watching a race on TV you get to see and hear it all, and in crystal clear definition, with cheaper and closer concessions.
The best thing about heyday NASCAR was the fan interaction. If you went to a race a cheap $10 pit pass for the weekend gave you a ton of access and things to see and people to meet. That was something you couldn't get sitting at home watching on the TV. More than any other pro sport fan interaction was a huge draw. This is a golden opportunity to get back to that now that crowds are not huge and it is at least conceivable to give everyone that attends a unique personal experience. Make less money at the track but sell the brand and earn loyalty. There is a whole generation of people who do not know how much fun a day at the track can be.
There is probably a lot to that. I find it hard to keep track of what's going on when I go to a race. Went to see the truck race at Kansas in June and it was hard to really keep track of things, even with listening to the radio broadcast on my scanner. And that was even sitting about as high up as you can where everything was visible. Was tempted to go do the Xfinity and Cup race there in September but probably deciding against it. Partly because I'm the only one in my family who is actually interested. My 9yo girl says she interested but quickly grows bored because she has even less of a clue what's going on. I'd be more likely to keep her interested on a televised race. Other things to watching on TV: Air conditioning, your choice of food/drink, clean bathroom, pause/rewind, no sunburn, watching when you feel like it (Only time I watch live is Daytona 500 and last race weekend of the year), comfy chair vs bleachers
@@rwaitt14153 Don't worry, Richmond only wants an extra $75 to go in a closed off section of the garage and a space near the pits now! Good think they added that right before they removed practice and teams stop using the garage all weekend.
Not to mention you can likely pause it if you need to leave the screen. They aren't throwing a red flag because I have to go to the bathroom and the greasy burger I paid $15 for isn't agreeing with me.
One track that no one is talking about is Iowa speedway, it’s a .875 mile track in the middle of the Midwest. It’s close to the Minneapolis, Chicago, and Des Moines markets and it already hosts xfinity so there’s no need for huge renovations
Iowa still hosts Indycar even (coming up later this month in fact), so surely moving up a notch and hosting a full on NASCAR event isn't too big a stretch.
We used to love supporting our local short track, the only one within 100 miles in any direction, but that all ended years ago when the houses came along and the owners said "it's too loud". Same thing happened to quite a few of our motocross tracks here in WA State. Ridiculous.
With attendance down, I say take 2 or 3 races a year and rotate them across the country. Hit local short tracks, add temporary seats like Portland Speedway did for the Trucks in the 90's. Boost local tracks, and people will go to local races more, and become bigger fans. As there fandom grows they will go to more National races.
Evergreen Speedway would love for something outside of ARCA West. It was a staple of the first six years of the Truck Series and David Pearson named it "The Super Speedway of the West". Bill Elliott and other big name drivers used to race here. What the hell happened? Why is it now only reserved for weekly racing and drifting, now with the most prominent events being ARCA West and Formula Drift? I'm not knocking those series, I love FD, but when I have to travel a state or two away for a National series race, I crave for more at Evergreen. The only two ational series that race in Washington are the NHRA and World of Outlaws, with WoO being three hours from Seattle. PNW has been burned for so long. Portland only recently got big racing back with IndyCar and NASCAR. We want more.
I think the Truck Series could do this. And maybe the Xfinity Series once in a blue moon, but I don't support the Cup Series going to small local tracks. Kind of a lazy analogy but the NFL doesn't play at your local high school. The Cup Series needs to be at the "big time" tracks.
@@trizlet I disagree, they need to expand to the north and northwest. The only two answers to that is road courses or local short tracks, like Evergreen Speedway in Washington that has a 5/8s mile. Portland International Raceway would pull 100,000 for a Cup race easily. They pushed 60,000 in horrible weather for an Xfinity race. I would put money on it that it was the highest standalone event for Xfinity this year.
I was just about to say the same thing! I'll never be able to get down to where the short tracks are currently, but I will sure as hell go a race at my local track if they got one. And we know it will fill the place, just look at the attendance SRX is getting. The only problem I see with it is that some of these tracks don't have a pit road that would work for NASCAR, but honestly at this point I wouldn't care if we lost competitive pit stops for ONLY those races.
You nailed Big Guy that is a great Idea! I would be tempted to travel all over the country to see a local driver discovered when the Series Swings into Town. Andrew Johnson you could literally save NASCAR by simply listening to You! This is coming from a former NASCAR Licensed driver I was not gonna make it the Big Show, but at age 22 when i started kept me out of trouble. I am now 53 yrs miss the heck out of racing
Came for the Nascar, stayed for an economics lesson, really felt something watching this vid, love how your content seems to get more descriptive, keep it up!
Another huge issue is TV ratings. Unfortunately the general trend since the mid 2000s is that less people watch short track races on TV, whether that be on cable or broadcast TV. If they can't get more to watch consistently on TV there will be no way that short tracks get added long term as the broadcast companies will not allow less bang for their buck.
This is a phenomenon I tend to notice on short tracks, they're spectacular in person but always fail to impress on film. Viewed from a remote distance through a camera, short-track racing of all kinds tends to look much slower than it really is, and often it's hard to keep viewers' interest without a lot of beating and banging, which drives up costs for teams.
And add to the fact of people cutting cable to save money. Without a viable way to watch it online the only people watchig it, are those that still have cable. Unfortunately there isn't anything we can do because there is so much money wrapped up in the tv deal, however I'm sure more people would be inclined to watch it if they found it on UA-cam or a similar service.
The Clash in LA was interesting concept but not a long term solution as you said. However, they may have inadvertently stumbled upon the SRX style solution. Take local short tracks with huge events (ie. Slinger Speedway ~ Slinger Nationals & the Five Flags Speedway ~ Snowball Derby) & use these locations on a rotating basis to run All Star Race style events. Bring the best of NASCAR to the local tracks & put Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson up against the best the region has to offer. For example...last week NASCAR was in Road America, just up the highway from Slinger. How hard would it be to promote & run a Saturday night televised dash for cash (the day before the Cup race at the road course) w/NASCAR's biggest & brightest vs local heroes like Majeski, Sauter, Kraus...even bring in Kenseth! This adds a HUGE event for the area, the track & local fans who can't make Sunday's race...brings in $$$ for business in the area...promotes all the drivers involved and invites drivers/owners to have fun and could even lead to finding new talent for the series.
NASCAR has been needing an alternating schedule for years. Seeing the same tracks EVERY YEAR is BORING. keep Daytona and alternate the rest. and theres no sense in going to a track TWICE that way you can lower the race count to 24 or 25 races. almost 40 races a year is OVERKILL. less races also means if a race does get rained out they can just go back later and you won't have to finish a race at 1 am because you have to go 3000 miles out west in 3 days........
I would say next year will truly tell us if having the Clash at the Coliseum wasn’t just a one off great idea. I do think it should be a rotating event that they hold at various locations. Especially in areas that NASCAR doesn’t normally race at.
Not at all what I expected when I clicked. Great video. I'm 29 with similar experiences as you. Growing up, my middle class parents took us to races, qualifying, NFL games, MLB playoffs like it was nothing. Looking back, it's incredible what we got to experience then compared to what we'd get to experience today. Now, myself, modern middle class, can hardly afford to take myself to any of those things. Nascar really has reflected the destruction of the middle class.
I hear you on that. As a kid, I used to attend games for the Detroit Vipers (International Hockey League, both are now defunct), Detroit Neon/Safari Continental Indoor Soccer League, also both defunct), and the Pistons when they all played at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I was actually there in person when the Vipers won the 1997 Turner Cup Trophy, which was the IHL equivalent of the Stanley Cup. Nowadays, even if the first two of those teams and leagues were still around, I doubt that would be possible because of how much the middle class has gotten squeezed financially. Greedy, rich assholes have ruined being able to have fun for everyone else.
Another reason why all of those tracks were built to be 1½ or 2 mile ovals: Open-wheel racing. They wanted tracks that could also run Indycar races. The complete and total destruction of open-wheel racing at the hands of Tony George hadn't reached its peak yet, so it was still seen as financially beneficial to build tracks that could host stock car AND open-wheel races.
Unfortunately, by the time most of the tracks were completed, the AOWR Civil War had already begun. (Coincidentally Tony George was at the time leaning towards ovals in AOWR.)
which, as an open wheeled fan, is a crazy line of thinking the track designers went with. IC's entire history up until the split was a mile track series thats biggest race was a superspeedway. outside of fontana, the only other track that tracked the pattern of IC history was iowa. shit, they're still racing at iowa now and have left milwaukee and loudon (IC type ovals) by the wayside.
@@FMecha This honestly might be an even bigger factor than we all realize. Yeah, we usually view each series as an island, but motorsport is usually viewed as one entity by the outside world. A high tide lifts all ships, but a low tide can cause many to run aground, too. As S1ap himself mentioned in his video on IndyCar's history, before the AOWR Civil War, IndyCar was the most watched motorsport in America and one of the most well-known sports in the country outright, and always had been. This was a series that had literally been around since the infancy of the automobile, existed at the cutting edge of technology (right up there with top-flight sportscars and F1), and was the home of the single biggest auto race on the entire PLANET for quite some time. IndyCar, while eclipsed by NASCAR in the late stages of the 20th century, was always an engine of growth for motorsport in America as a whole. Its very existence pulled a ton of people down the motorsport rabbit hole. Its dramatic fall from grace was a big blow to America's entire motorsports ecosystem. It's not just that fewer people are buying NASCAR tickets - fewer people are buying _motorsport_ tickets.
and NASCAR has completely ruined these tracks with that stupid chemical crap they sprayed on the track because the cars couldn't pass and the racing was BORING. so lets add yet another gimmick.
@@mitchell-wallisforce7859 This is very true. F1 is realizing the lack of motorsports in America and understand that the interest is there but no one is delivering to the fans. It's not a coincidence that F1 added another American track to their calendar as IC and NASCAR continue to decline. F1is looking to take over the American motorsports market. At least they can be trusted to provide good races.
I'm 70 years old, and grew up in Dayton, Ohio, home of the "fastest 1/2 mile track in the world!" I use to go almost every Sunday with my dad in the 1960's-1970's. I remember seeing A.J.FOYT , JOHNNY RUTHERFORD race there in the USAC cars. Sad today the track is gone. Folks lost interest, I guess. And I see the same thing happening for NASCAR. We live in a totally different time today. Peoples priorities have changed!!! Now days, the common man struggles to feed, clothe, and have a roof over his families head!!! And what I believe to be the big kicker, is TV. Why spend all that money, when you can watch it on TV!! Just my opinion.
I think you totally nailed this one! I’m a “lower middle class” guy with a family of five who would love to be able to take his kids to a race, but simply can’t afford it. I make pretty good money and got a near two dollar raise in January, but gas prices and inflation nullified that. I actually have less money to have fun than I did before. Actually, I’m looking for anything I can get rid of and live without so I can save. This video echoed how I feel from start to finish!
I disagree. The NFL/MLB/NBA don't have NASCAR's problems in this same economy. I don't think the root issue here is personal economics. It is changing spending habits. People spend loads of money on recreation activities and entertainment and other baubles (I see that car in your avatar. That yours? Looks spendy.). Consumers are simply spending their money elsewhere. The field has gotten a lot more crowded in the last 30 years and the successful have become much more elaborate and expensive. NASCAR (and stock car racing in general) was just one of the products left standing when the music stopped. If I had to point to a specific reason why that happened I would point to the decline of car culture. People don't interact with their cars the same way they used to. When stock cars became boring they-all-look-the-same blobs of metal that you need an ASE certification to open the hood on interest in stock car racing declined. A new Toyota Camry is a lot less interesting of a vehicle than an old Ford Thunderbird. The owners of said vehicles have similar relative interests in things like NASCAR.
@@rwaitt14153 It's not just car culture declining, manufacturers simply aren't interested in providing that kind of product any more. Much like the housing market, auto manufacturers have focused their attention on upper-middle classes that are buying pricier cars more often than the middle and lower classes that just need a reliable grocery-getter. You notice that almost every car seems to be a luxury car these days? Even things like base-model pickups are full of unnecessary features, cheesy gimmicks, and carry price tags starting somewhere around the average person's entire annual income. These aren't intended for the masses, these are for the McMansionites looking to one-up their neighbor's new Mercedes.
@@smittywjmj What are you talking about? They still make cheapo shitboxes for the masses. Loads of them. Look at Kia's entire product line. It's that you can't so much as hang an aftermarket air freshener in a new car without a $3000 Snap-on scan tool. A OBD-2 reader isn't good enough anymore. Everything is non-owner serviceable with a large barrier to entry to wrenching on them. You buy it, you drive it, you take it to the dealership for service, and you throw it away when it gets 10 years old. That's not how it was. That's what changed. Making mutant fun cars out of cheap run-out pieces of crap you bought secondhand is what drove the whole thing. That's what hot rodding was. That's what got young people hooked. The 16 year old of today (if they even have a driver's license) isn't going to be taking part in that because his car is a Toyota Yaris. If you put gas into it wrong it'll throw on the check engine light and go into limp mode. He ain't got the time/money/equipment to even begin messing around with it. The barrier to entry into car culture became too high.
@@rwaitt14153 Of course there are still econoboxes, the point is that there's no longer anything in between. You have the entry-level cars for people that just need something better than a bicycle, and then a wide range of overpriced feature-bloated cars.
@@smittywjmj You haven't actually looked this up, have you? Nissan Altima, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy, and Hyundai Sonata. All mid-size family cars available for about $25k as bare bones base models. For perspective the original MSRP of a 1992 Ford Taurus L (base model mid-size family car) was $16k. About $33k now.
This was a great video, I didn’t realize that you were going to do a whole video about how poor socioeconomic conditions have effected NASCAR and I’m here for it.
Two big things stuck out to me: At 32 years old, you have a mindset and knowledge of a person MUCH older and wiser. Absolutely fantastic scripting of these videos Secondly, you spoke on what is killing NASCAR and somehow also explained what is killing the country the last 30 years. Instead of asking if we could, we didnt bother to ask if we should. This is true for NASCAR and our government as a whole. Fantastic job. Keep it up
It's not "government as a whole' at the root, it's the same as the NASCAR side: corporate greed. NAFTA didn't make any corporation send jobs overseas, corporate greed did, they just lobbied the government to allow them to do it but at the end of the day it's the rich causing the issues.
said " Secondly, you spoke on what is killing NASCAR and somehow also explained what is killing the country the last 30 years. " A big part of this is the " middle class " shopping at Walmart for low low prices of goods that come from overseas . Workers at a US based factory can't expect to buy non US products rather than what the factory down the street makes and not have jobs go away. Also, some unions got too greedy with wage demands making the situation worse.
Hey, greetings from Spain! I just wanted to say that you make some amazing videos, man, even to the point where some people who have never been Nascar fans can see that this is an interesting sport. Many Europeans think quite poorly of Nascar because it's so different from what we're used to (especially F1), but thanks to you and Emplemon, I now see that just because it's different, it doesn't mean it's bad. Nascar might be struggling (quite the opposite to F1, which is killing it right now), but I think it deserves more love and attention. Of course, that wouldn't be enough to solve any problems, but it would be nice.
F1 is killing it? I stopped following it 15 years ago. I thought all sports were struggling these days. With the internet around, people have far more options for entertainment than just watching whatever happens to be on TV.
If it was quality entertainment it would be worth it. It would be like a three act opera. The activity I follow, I go three weeks in a row driving a few hours and $45 tickets each time. It's just as hot loud crowded time consuming and expensive, but worth it all for the show.
@@paulblichmann2791 I can do 2 in a row, I can't do all 3. Bristol weekend tickets to the seats we get around around $200 each, Richmond weekend are like $125, and Martinsville can be had for under $100. Then add in camping for about $150 at each track and you are looking at a very expensive month.
@@sgtpepper6379 I go to local short tracks and get to see a lot of good racing for cheaper. Richmond is my closest track and they repeatedly refuse to do much of any non nascar racing in standalone events. They have done a few recently, but thats about it. Plus we lost Indy, again.
North Wilkesboro packed the grandstands last Wednesday night for the Window World 125 with Dale Earnhardt joining in and finishing 3rd. They held races Tuesday & Wednesday nights with affordable ticket prices.
Yes, Problem is the rising cost of everything caused people to move companies manufacturing overseas. Not to mention overseas items quality went up on even there own products on the higher end.
A big part of this is the " middle class " shopping at Walmart for low low prices of goods that come from overseas . Workers at a US based factory can't expect to buy non US products rather than what the factory down the street makes and not have jobs go away. Also, some unions got too greedy with wage demands making the situation worse.
@@caseysmith544 That's not true quality has went down stuff is thrown away after just a couple year when it was made in America you used it for 20 or 30 years!
One small correction: The most recent short track added to the schedule was not Albany-Saratoga, it was Meyer Speedway in Houston, a half-mile track that had one race in 1971. It also was the last Cup race to have less than 15 cars show up to race, which explains why they never came back.
I think that you hit the nail right on the head. I am a design engineer with an automation company and I live in northern Michigan. I was promised that I would be making loads of money by this point in my life, right now I can't afford a house. A condemned house on a few acres just around the corner from where I live was just listed for $300,000. The sad reality is that everyday people have to prioritize necessity over luxury. Going to races, even locally, is a luxury. For too many people life right now is putting food on your table, gas in your tank, and squirrel money away for a recession. Honestly I think that Nascar shouldn't be focused on the gimmicks and shakeups to gain interest. Get Nascar back to its roots, big horsepower V8 monsters that are exciting to even watch qualify. Short track, elbows out, good old fashioned racing. We want to see the driver's wheel these cars because they are hard to drive, not because they have been made harder to drive. I truly believe that people do not relate to a lot of the current drivers, that's why some of the interest is down. This also falls on the broadcast, instead of idiotic skits and gag segments how about do what SRX does by featuring drivers and their everyday lives. There are so many layers to Nascar's decline in interest. Not everyone cares about it and that's ok, take care of the ones who do is how I feel about it.
Truthfully the only fix I see for this problem is having only one race at each track. Not considering the Fairgrounds or Wilkesboro at the moment, but have Richmond in the spring, Bristol night race in the summer, and Martinsville in the fall. Besides short tracks I think a lot of tracks need to lose a second date even if it means a few less races overall.
I know how North Wilkesboro feels exactly. My hometown of Pennsboro WV had the same problems during that same time period. Both the textile factory and the glass manufacturing plant shut down in the late 90’s along with our own racetrack, the Legendary Pennsboro Speedway, in 2002. The town’s been on a slow decline ever since.
Here I just fixed nascar 1. Get rid of stage racing 2. Get rid of the playoffs 3. Make the cars less aero dependent and more dependent on mechanical grip 4. Add more short tracks 5. Have nascar stop manipulating racing for "drama" and "excitement" A race used to be so interesting. There were so many story lines. You had the history of the sport being sprinkled in by the commentators. You had pit stragedy, you had people lap down, behind the wall trying to come back, people out of the race. You had racing spread out all through the field. Now, its just the camera focused on the leaders with the commentators obsession over the playoffs or the potential caution looming.
Great video. Like the fact that you went into depth on the affordability aspect of the problem. The middle class isn't what it used to be. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Sad. My dad went to races at tracks like Bristol and Martinsville with his friends many times in the 90s and early 2000s. But after the pulp/paper mill where he worked since he was 18 closed down, he had to take a lesser paying construction job to put food on the table and support us during my childhood. Me and him are going to be at the Michigan race this August. It will be his first race since Martinsville of 2003, and my first race in-person ever.
North Wilkesboro and Nashville are the perfect tracks to start the rebirth of short tracks. Get rid of one of the dates of Texas and Kansas and put them in. And maybe, you could head up to Canada to race at Delaware Speedway for an exhibition race and turn it into a weekend with the Nascar Pinty’s Series. Yes, it has 10,000 seats but you can put temporary seating there and the location where the track is at is great because it’s situated close to the states of Michigan and New York. Pricing can be fixed for those in the province of Ontario by giving discounts to people who show an address for a home in the province.
PREACH! Search up Pinty's races at Delaware and you'll have your mind BLOWN. Due to rain cancelling races Autodrome Chaudiere during the 2021 season, the track was given a three-race finale (yes, THREE RACES in a row) and it was INCREDIBLE. Putting a top national series with Pinty's would also help the Canadian series with LOTS of publicity. Hell, it doesn't have to be Cup. Preferrably yes, but Xfinity and/or Trucks could definitely work with certain circumstances. How about a north-of-the-border Clash? Bold, but it's an idea.
8 races in a cluster of 3 states isn't something anyone is gonna show up to. Take a date from Richmond or Martinsville, I'm willing to let Bristol keep the night race and the dirt race, they're at least different. I'm a fan of one dater per track, but that requires adding tracks and I do think adding Delaware would be excellent. I have doubts about a discount for locals though, why would they do that, they already don't have to spend money on hotels and travel to get there, they have more money to be squeezed from them. Do other tracks do that?
Buying Jukasa would have worked too but alas the bulldozers and developers are coming for it. Delaware would be a great fit and with money invested could do it....but not as it sits now...it needs a lot to come up to a Cup standard
@@Wozrop No one shows up to anything, the whole fans in the stands or you lose a date is bullshit anyway, proof of Slap's NWS video, the whole coivd races, tracks like Pocono who get great attendance lost a race while tracks like Vegas got an extra race when tens of thousands of grandstands have been removed. Stop with the well attendance BS.
@@marklittle8805 jukasa is getting dozed eh? Seems like everywhere in southern Ontario is. I grew at Cayuga Speedway in the 70s and they would pack the place. Never saw a race there since they rebuilt it as Jukasa but the Oshwekan dirt track is a beauty.
Well, all I can say after this is that I’m glad my local track (South Boston Speedway) has been doing well this year, stands were packed for the SRX event and the Va. Triple Crown. you can see that in my videos. Overall turnout hasn’t been bad all year either. Although I do think South Boston would be a bit hard to run a Cup Race at considering how narrow it is and the possibility of a pileup like last week.
I went to every Daytona Atlanta and Talladega race from 1967 to 2000 and I will never go to another one we used to go camp in the infield at Daytona there was a big field back by the airport that they let us Park in until they open the gates on on race day last time down there they wouldn't let us park there they just chased us all around town all night long from one parking lot to another didn't get any sleep at all once we got in there they treat you like a like s*** I was not enough bathrooms facilities there's not enough food places there's there's no place to hook up your sewage for your camper I just turned into something way different than what it began it was fun and exciting and then it turned into a twisted kind of Disney World too expensive to sterile to disconnected
@@markrowley6111 just wondering, what point are you trying to make relating to my comment. Not trying to be rude but I genuinely don’t know how it relates to South Boston.
You can't grow a venue like Iowa when the cities and counties surrounding it weren't willing to build amenities and activities around it in the first place. The track was doomed as long as economic development was never in the cards, and that's also what killed Nashville Superspeedway the first time around before SMI eventually bought it. The simple fact is that people now want things to do around a race weekend that aren't centered around being at the track 24/7 unless there's additional entertainment and amenities immediately available. One of the reasons the Nashville Street Course was a success for IndyCar was because there was so much to do around the venue and the race ended up being a massive spectacle. I'd love to see Texas get converted to a short track because at least it would save the track from falling further into mediocrity and it would give people around the region the novelty that they don't get with the current layout anymore, which would also fix the declining attendance for both series.
i think the best solution would to stop Doubling races at tracks. the only tracks that should have 2 are Daytona & Talladega, and Charlotte & Bristol with a race on their alternate tracks also, space out the short tracks, like Dirt Bristol in early March, richmond in early may, Nashville in late june or early july, bristol in mud august, wilkesboro in mid-late september, and Martinsville in october or november
When it comes to fixing this issue, there are two things to consider: location and cost. When it comes to locations, we need more short tracks in different markets. Building new ones would be the the best option without backlash from fans. Converting mile and a halves would tick off fans that prefer those tracks as well as Indycar fans. Modernizing a local short track would tick off local fan bases. When it comes to the economy, we the people need to elect leaders that will work for the middle class which NASCAR caters to no matter the party. Also, tracks need to bring their prices down because of the lower demand. Remember, it’s the economy stupid.
As much as I agree with the cost thing at tracks, you gotta remember that they are also probably paying out their ass for a lot of expenses as well which is why the prices are high to begin with. Our inflated economy is 90% of the problem.
While it’s nice of you to think of us Indycar fans, it’s worth mentioning that the only mile and a half that we have touched in the past 5 years is Texas. And Pocono is gone for the moment now too. Indycar doesn’t wanna deal with ISC/SMI and as such only deal with the one intermediate super oval that has been favorable to them over the years: Texas. I’d love to eventually go back to Fontana or Michigan but I don’t know what Penske’s end goal is for ovals considering how people bitch for ovals in Indycar and then never show up to them; not unlike NASCARs current short track predicament.
I disagree with the IndyCar comment. Majority of fans are done with days of IRL pack racing. Most of us don't even really want Texas back on the schedule because of how Mickey Mouse it's become. IndyCar puts on great racing at Iowa, and had a 3 year contract with Richmond, which didn't go through because of the WuFlu canceling everything. Some of the best IndyCar racing happens on tracks a mile and smaller.
Indycar fans have learned that Indycar has a near-zero interest in expanding to new ovals. Tear up whatever you want. Just don't touch Michigan--a guy's gotta dream.
YOU'RE 32? Holy crap. In all seriousness, excellent video and a very important message. It all sucks because short tracks are a major factor to the historical growth of NASCAR, but then the 1990s and the modern & eventually current economy happened. Hopefully fixes are done, but patience is key. Can't happen with a snap of the finger unfortunately. As a Canadian, this is why I wish tracks up here (like the proposal of Canadian Motor Speedway, but rip) could be given a chance. Doesn't have to be Cup, but it could be considered.
In all seriousness, I assume the biggest reason NASCAR doesnt go to Canada at this point is money (its why NASCAR does anything). The CAD is weak compared to the USD - and has been for a number of years - and they probably "cant justify the cost", just like building something new right now.
The photo of the ruby tuesday being torn down is actually where I live in Battle Creek mi. There is now a chick fil a that is at that location and is doing great!
I'm glad he said it though. Too many people don't actually see what years of over-regulating, over-legislating, and selling out our country to foreign interests have actually done to our country.
10:24 There's is Pikes Peak International Raceway, a one mile oval near Colorado Springs. If they were to add some seats and touch the place up, I think it'd make a good venue.
@@NotSteveCookI also heard that Pikes Peak also has its own organization owning the track before that ISC owned it from 2005 to 2008... I'm trying to figure out... WHAT HAPPENED ISC?!
I've been to Dover, love it to death but the perfect example of the issue. There are plently of fans in the area, but the ticket price is so high nobody shows up
I've been to two races at Dover and they were a good time, but it was expensive and the closest hotel we were able to find that was both available and reasonably priced was in Newark, which is basically on the other side of the state
Thats the problem cost plus you cant even bring a oddamn cooler with you. They want you to pay 10 dollars for a drink. But more than that nascar has ruint theirselves with all their crazy rules. If they would go back to 2 laps qualifying on speed stop lucky dog and stage racing etc. Also the sport has went woke. Somebody said go woke go broke. It will never be what it was when allisons yarbrough baker parsons waltrip the silver fox or the king Richard Petty. Sadly those days are gone forever
As an Indiana guy born and raised we have one of the best short tracks in America. Raceway park right here in Indianapolis but they probably won't race there with cup as long as they keep going back to the brickyard
This video took a turn and dude, I am here for it. I couldn't agree with your statements about the socioeconomics behind the rise and fall of the middle class more - I understand that's not your expertise, but I wish people understood that it's not one political side or the other - it's just big money versus the people. The same corporations that are blaming people for not showing up and not caring are the same ones that moved for open global trade and killed the manufacturing that sustained so many communities. Short-sighted chasing of quick dollars without a thought to long term sustainability.
I think you put it best in your video about North Wilksboro Speedway. Considering that tracks like Texas Motor Speedway were aimed at casual fans at the time, it depended on whether they would continue to show up year after year. That didn't happen. Whereas Wilksboro had annually roughly 60,000 fans attending every Cup Series race. Having said that, that would still only add North Carolina to the few states that run Cup Series races on Short tracks (if North Wilksboro was to make a return to the Cup Series). I reckon another contributing factor in the drop in attendance even at short tracks is the cost of living crisis. Nobody is going to do much when their pay check only goes so far with inflation rising
Honestly with all this in mind, I'm surprised Nascar hasn't done what F1 has done, and basically broadcast there races on a dedicated streaming service
Completely agree on the inflation/economy issue. Me and my family used to go to the races when I was younger than 14 since below that age gets u in for free and an average ticket wasn't bad at all. Nowadays, u gotta sacrifice a limb to go to the races with family. It's an political and nascar issue that's hard to fix. A lot of risks for small tracks to take with risks of little to no profit to get. Love ur videos slapshoes. My fav content creator out there!
Still think we could make do with Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. They're hosting the Friday night doubleheader for ARCA/Trucks this year. I always thought it was ironic that the 3 short tracks only occupy 1.5 states.
I once asked my father-in-law, native of the coalfields in SW Virginia, where he was when the moon landing occured. Turns out he was at Bristol for a race. He was a regular at Bristol for a long time (about an hour away). My family used to go to Martinsville for their fix, or South Boston for the Busch Series. I don't know the last time a relative of mine or myself made it to a race. Probably the late 90s. All those towns along the Virginia border, Bristol, Martinsville, SoBo, Danville, are all absolutely gutted. People act like the rust belt is the only place that got hollowed out and then they blame unions. Well, my grandad worked for Burlington Industries in north-central NC. Nonunion textile manufacturing. Guess where Burlington Industries has all its plants now? Sure as hell isn't Reidsville, NC or Danville, VA. Union or not, Americans can't compete with Vietnamese near-slave wages. Imagine that. You come home from fighting in Vietnam, being told you are fighting for freedom and the American Way and prosperity, and then 20 years later your fucking job goes to Vietnam. Insanity. The hypothesis here is self-evident: short track country got kicked in the balls in the 90s. No one can afford the same prices as the rest of the country when the only solid job prospects are Wal Mart (even all that gig economy garbage like Doordash doesn't exist in a lot of rural areas), so they're not going to show up. Simple as that.
You must be from my neck of the woods (Rockingham County) and let me tell you on one Hand I’m gutted and miss the area and on the other that’s why I stayed away after I got out of the army. I tell folks what you’re seeing in Kentucky and West Virginia with coal is what we’ve been living since the start of the 2000’s without textiles
Too costly to go to NASCAR tracks to watch snot-nosed kids sons of X drivers grandsons of car owners silver spoon kids they need to put building a cars back in the hands of the teams or innovation or he let them find things take away the fuel injection and all the stuff that's controlled by NASCAR the bodies the chassis NASCAR owns everything nobody likes spec racing they never have put Grassroots racers in there that deserve to be in there get ticket prices where they need to be let the teams build their cars with stock bodies you know that's where the term stock car came from show me one stock item on a NASCAR there isn't any not one the last thing was the Transmissions and the 9-inch Ford rear ends
@@parkerwalsh3340 no it wouldn't actually because if the car rolls nothing from the car would be salvageable in fact one of the main reasons it in there is to hold SH/T in the car that traditionally would get damaged and flung all over the place alot of the that coke 600 car was salvageable for parts not to mention it when combines with the front splitter is actually essentially 1 piece and by getting rid off it in addition to what i posted would actually because of aero issue would make the car worse than COT and later Gen6
My 2 cents? Keep the underbody aero. It isn't anywhere near as sensitive to dirty air as anything else, and really leaning on it and using it to replace topside aero devices would actually help even more. I do agree that they need more power, though. The basic architecture of these engines hasn't changed for decades, they're still built to the same tolerances, open the damn things up and let them push 750+ horsepower. That alone would not only make the cars less dependent on drafting and aero for speed, but dramatically change the balance of the cars.
Something I want to state, at least about the track closest to me, the vast majority of tickets at the Richmond Raceway are still $90 While there are a few tickets that are slightly cheaper, that's actually gone down from where it was back in 2006, the last time I actually went to a Cup race there. Tickets then for seats all the way on the top row were $95 a ticket renewal for a family that had been going to the track since the mid-80s. This is all for a track that isn't all that impressive in terms of facilities and produces quite lackluster racing. While it would have been nice to have an IndyCar race there after they had announced returning there in 2020, I personally wasn't upset to see it gone despite it being in my back yard. The same thing continues to Bristol. Bristol to this day is still one of the most expensive and sought after tickets in Nascar, at least for the night race. I tried looking into getting tickets to go there this year, and due to a few circumstances that were out of my control that may be jeopardy, but decent tickets for a family 4 would have netted about $440. For just tickets alone. Getting things like food, gas, potentially a place to stay and for a lot of people that can be something they can't do
I went to the Richmond race to see Tony Stewart's first win. That was $85, and that was in in the early 2000s! Then you have to factor in the price of beers, hotdogs, race manuals, and t-shirts. It really adds up! So it's best to just watch it from home!
@@Deicidal776 Yeah it got to the point where it became cheaper to drive 1400 miles round trip to go to Talladega. You'd get a better race, free campgrounds, could actually be there at the track for multiple days, and just make more of a vacation out of the race
My problem with the prices is that you don't get a full bang for your buck. I paid $85 each for 2 seats at Auto Club this year, and I paid $70 for 2 pit passes each, so we could go into the pit area pre-race. Those pit passes made it worth it, because there was nothing interesting outside the track. You'd just show up and watch a race, and not get any experience without the passes. Phoenix was way better, as the tickets I got last November for the Xfinity Series championship race was $35 each, but that included the Arca West, Xfinity Qualifying, & Cup Qualifying. Good deal. It was also $35 each for Infield passes, which was an exceptional experience. All around it was $70 total each for an amazing experience for myself, and 2 family members. That is a far superior experience for a good price of $210. If tracks are gonna gouge our wallets, I expect a lot of great experiences. I'm very disappointed that tracks aren't providing this and are coasting on TV money
90 bucks a ticket for an AUGUST race in the Virginia humidity yeah thats a HARD PASS. NASCAR wants to know why no one shows up to Richmond anymore THIS is why first of april and mid August in the DAY. this crap almost Sank Richmond before the reconfiguration in the late 80s.......
Well even short track racing is taking a hit especially in the past few months. Went to a 5k super late model show a local dirt tack and usually there are around 25 maybe 30 cars. This time there were maybe 20. Everyone is getting crunched for cash.
@@dennyhamlinnascar6346 yeah I mostly run lms in middle Tennessee and all over there has been lower car counts. Some short tracks from what I have heard have shut down for the time being.
This is a great video. I'll add that there is even more to this problem. That is that short tracks themselves are disappearing. This is the place where the working man spent his weekends just having fun and local talent was developed. Those top tier local guys would make their way on up into NASCAR modified's and onto ARCA or even the national modified scene. I don't even know how young drivers make it into NASCAR these days. They must come from the heart of the south where short track racing will thrive forever, or rich kids whose parents sponsored them all the way from go karts through expensive driving schools and then payed for their way into modified series.
Wasn't expecting Halo music in a NASCAR video. I might be biased here, but NASCAR does own a short track in my home state that is just sitting empty most of the racing season, save for ARCA and an IndyCar doubleheader in a few weeks.
You forgot about Dover too, it’s surprising close to Richmond, as someone who’s stationed in Norfolk VA, Richmond and Dover are the tracks I go to , and yes they are super expensive. Especially for a family of 4 and even when I don’t have to camp out. 2-3 hour drive for either one. But still kinda pricey. And if I’m gonna go , it’s gonna be Richmond Playoff race.
Youngstown, OH would be a great place for a short track. Central Ohio, western PA, and Northern WV have plenty of racing fans; all within 4 hours travel.
Oh 100%. As a Columbus native, this city is growing reasonably quickly. Slap a short track here! Hell, the Columbus Crew no longer uses the old soccer stadium near the fairgrounds for the Ohio State Fair. Maybe turn that stadium into a short track permanently. Also, I would say Columbus is more sunny than Youngstown is given Youngstown's proximity to Lake Erie.
@@elijahjp2158 I'm biased towards Youngstown because that's home, but I'd drive 2 and a half hours to Columbus. Also, Columbus is centrally located in Ohio.
@@elijahjp2158 Columbus has too much stuff already; and it sprawls out too far to get cheap land. Plus you've got Mid-Ohio fairly nearby; and Youngstown is a good place to catch 3 states' worth of race fans.
I'm 41, HAD NO IDEA you were only 32! Not that thats so young, but you have a lot of forged wisdom and polish about you. Your voice gives me the mental picture of Marty Smith! Thanks for the good work!
Being from Greenville,SC myself I'd love to see NASCAR come back to Greenville-Pickens but it'll fall into two of the problem categories you mentioned; track and surrounding area can't accommodate a NASCAR crowd and it'll be fighting for the same crowd the other 3 short tracks have. I really don't know how to solve the short track issue because even if North Wilkesboro and Nashville gets added back, they'll still be in the same general area as the other 3. It's just a hard puzzle to solve at this moment
Holy Shit David I must have been reading your mind!! I just commented basically the same thing then scrolled down and saw Greenville Pickens and you are right the race track conundrum is puzzling! They shut down the tracks I raced at (Asheville,Smoky Mtn at Cherokee) The pull to Hickory is to much for a poor fellow. I seriously miss Racing, I loved being on either side of the fence!
Me, a european racing fan, clicked on a slap video to learn more about short tracks and got a lecture about the downfall of the American middle class due to systematic economical errors as a bonus. Thank you. Though I also wager that a waning interest in cars, racing and car culture as a whole is also to blame for a diminishing interest to some extent. One of the reasons F1 is booming now is because it has turned itself more into entertainment and reality TV and less about the cars, in my opinion.
Stock-car racing has always revolved around dealerships selling cars, even though modern NASCAR has absolutely nothing to do with what's on a showroom floor. Still, you can at least go buy a Camaro that looks vaguely like your favorite driver's car. You can't go walk into a Mercedes dealer and buy a W12 or anything even close to it. But the problem is that, much like the housing market, manufacturers aren't catering to middle classes any more. There's much greater profit in the upper classes that buy new cars regularly for features and prestige instead of long-term reliability or practicality. Middle classes have driven traditional American car culture, but since brands are no longer offering cars for them, there can't be any car culture, and no car culture means no interest in stock-car racing.
@@smittywjmj All sound and true. I believe that for it to be a car culture there need to be cars that look cool, drive well and at the same time average joe need to be able to tinker with it, as well as actually afford it. I feel absolutely nothing about today's generic small SUVs and crossovers that every maker produces in vast quantities and I cannot fathom there ever growing any (sizeable) car culture at all around them like it did for the everyman pony cars, sedans and muscle cars back in the day.
While I agree that we need more short tracks on the schedule, I also agree with the problem that NASCAR has faced. The only way to bring more short tracks on the schedule is either go back to older short tracks that NASCAR has raced in the past or to reconfigure current tracks into short tracks, sort of like what Auto Club is doing.
So Slap, I want to ask you a question the Iceberg gave his 2 cents on a while back. Do you think Iowa Speedway should be added to the cup schedule? As an Iowan myself I'd hate to see this track die. Only Indy and ARCA are left keeping this little place going. I know it's a popular track with the drivers and there are some big time racing fans out here. Maybe it could be worth one try.
For the love of god they need to go to Slinger. That’s probably my favorite short track in the country and SRX proves they can put on amazing racing there in bigger stock cars than late models. I’m not even near Wisconsin but that is a dream track for nascar to go too
I mean we all saw how incredibly well the field of dreams game did for MLB even if only 5,000 fans could show up to the game, why can’t nascar do something similar at a rotating short track?
Well that was depressing, thanks for reminding me that my life won't be as good as my parents or grandparents, in all seriousness great video as always
Honestly? I really wish when we built Rockingham Motor Speedway here in the UK in the early 2000s, that it was designed as a short track. It was built as a big, wide, flat 1.5 mile track, like a Kansas clone - they saw the same dollar signs as a lot of the newer tracks in America. But to add to all the issues you touched on in the video, this track being in the UK meant it was fighting to attract major US racing like NASCAR to come on a massive overseas tour to come visit. They got CART to come over twice, but that was it. But conversely it being so big and fast meant it was too big for most club level racing series in the UK - and even more than that, ITS BASED IN THE UK. Even in the height of summer, rain was always a risk. People weren't prepared to risk travelling all the way there only to see no racing. At least a half mile or 3/4 mile track could have better amenities, maybe even a retractable roof to protect against weather, would be slower and safer for smaller series to race on but still exciting to watch? Itd be interesting.
I never really got the Rockingham oval. Building a huge track for the ASCAR series that was expensive to enter and not particular popular compared to the typical Brisca oval type formulas and Btcc. That's without even considering that high speed oval racing and rain don't mix too well! Having Cart in the UK was cool but probably when Cart was at its least relevant due to the Indy split.
This is exactly why I desperately want every track to have just ONE date with exception to the superspeedways cuz there are only a couple of them. That way you can circle a track on the calendar, save up some money for that race and enjoy it. Having the same group of people go out to Bristol or Martinsville twice a year is a tall task when tickets are $200. Add in Iowa, add in 2 or even 3 more short tracks from across the country that can hold 30-50,000 people or build in more grandstands for the race.
When it comes to the current state of our economy, the US is falling out of the superpower spot to countries like Brazil, Idia, and China. And if anyone says they know what's going to happen in the future is selling you something. The issue is unfortunately bigger than any sport. It's the Rich's world we're just living in it
It's definitely an interesting subject, for sure. Like you said, the attendance at most sporting events is down for regular season events and it's not like the playoff games of every series sells out either. It's also important to remember that Nascar, MLB, NBA, NLF, etc don't make their money off of attendance. They only truly care about the TV deals. When looking at the economic side of things, there is definitely a squeeze on the middle class. But, there are also more things vying for people's money than there ever has been. Besides the net cost of housing being less, healthcare costing less, and effective wages being higher, my parents didn't have the option/necessity to carry recurring costs like internet, multiple streaming services, family cell phone plans, and others. Are those a choice? Sure, probably to a degree, depending on how you look at it. The competition for our money and attention has never been higher. I honestly think this is where the argument for Nascar not going to a single place more than once a year makes sense (with certain exceptions, of course).
Honestly I could ramble on all day about potential fixes and strategies, but when it comes down to it, I and many others don't have a single real fix to the mess and problems we have right now. It's all fucked and we just got to wade though the bog until we find the grass on the other side.
I saw a nascar truck race and arca race at Milwaukee Mile this summer. $40 ticket, minimal charge to park. I live only an hour away. For a grand total investment of around $70 I had a wonderful time.
My uncle was friends with an old owner of Atlanta motor speedway, years ago they thought of putting a bustop like the charlotte roval or something just for the heck of it, not even a roadcoarse just an oval with a bus stop in it
I was just about to say, they have these massive facilities, somewhere like Bristol, if you halved the ticket price, or maybe even 1/4-1/3 then you'd fill the stadium and you have twice as many if not more people buying beer, concessions, souvenirs, etc. It's the Walmart approach, where everything is cheap, but you make your money on lots of small transactions rather than one big one.
I think the idea of “more short tracks” is fine, but I think there needs to be a balance. Not too many, probably no more than 5 different ones in a season.
@@tonystewartfan2014 I think with road courses, there's a good balance at the moment. 6 or 7 is fine, but there shouldn't be any more than 7. It's a fine amount and rewards drivers who are not only good on ovals but can do business turning left AND right.
No more road courses. They should cut back on the road courses. Everyone one of them is as boring as the cookie cutter mile and half's. Exciting endings do not make a race a good.
@@chadjustice8560 I totally agree. Look at what happened to Indycar. They shifted away from ovals gradually, and now we have all these boring street courses with no passing zones. Nascar is on the same trend they were for 10 years. It has to stop now, or the same will happen.
There's two things I think need to happen to fix NASCAR's short track problem: 1. Lower the prices of tickets and amenities at the tracks. I know NASCAR will be reluctant to do this because it'll take a hit on profits, especially as the economy is showing signs of recession, but like you said people can't afford to go to sporting events anymore. I think I paid $125 for a seat in the Allison section at Bristol last year and then had to pay a marked up price for a hotel room. NASCAR could try to work with hotel chains near their tracks to lower prices of hotel rooms as well as NASCAR ticket prices, though I'm not sure how that would actually work. 2. NASCAR needs to stop trying to race at SMI exclusive tracks and branch out to independent tracks like Oswego, Slinger, I-55, and other tracks like that. NASCAR was built on tracks being largely independent up until around the 90s when Bruton Smith began buying everything in sight, and with one company basically having a monopoly on NASCAR tracks they don't have to worry about a reconfiguration making racing at one track bad because nobody is going to compete with them in that market for NASCAR and if revenue for that track falls the other tracks can make up for it.
I Honestly Get why Nascar Never looks at Adding short tracks. It’s because Most Short tracks around America can not Hold A Nascar Cup series Size Crowd and they wouldn’t make as much Money,Which is a Fair Excuse. But We Do Need More Short Tracks but Sadly there’s no Quick Fix for it it’s not as easy as people say it is when people complain about having no short tracks. But I think In the long run adding more short tracks is a necessity instead of chasing big markets like Chicago for a street race but Nascar looks at it for the Money.
NASCAR can't even sell out the "big tracks" so the whole notion that if a track doesn't have 100K seats it won't make money is laughable. hell Richmond use to be an automatic sell out and had almost 100K seats at its peak can barely sell 20K NOW and thats when they had a night race. August in Richmond in the DAY they will be lucky to get 10K. I honestly wished Richmond would scrap the D oval configuration and go back to the 1/2 mile Strawberry Hill bullring layout. and give them back their May/September dates.
F1 commentators treat the race with the seriousness it deserves (looking at you Fox). Also the races are easy to watch as your normal race is just under 2 hours.
It’s inherently political, but he’s right, both parties are complicit. although I’d argue “Reaganomics” aka “trickle down economics” started the trend. Still waiting for something to trickle down
@@yommishYep, that’s what started the whole mess. Some have handled the economy and the budget better than others, but like you, I’m also still waiting for something good to trickle down.
Id be fine with nascar buying kern country raceway. All they need to do is put safer-barrier and theyd be good. Tracks big and has had 30-35 arca and super late races. And theres not any local racing out there much. So “Nascar” running it would make people come from all over west to run it.
A 3rd point worth bringing up about why the 3 short track's attendance have dropped is because NASCAR has made every attempt in it's power to turn it's back on it's core fan: the lower middle class Southerner. I used to work at a local airport around BMS, so obviously race weeks were our biggest of the year. Our airport manager ran an advertising agency for the better part of 25 years before coming to the FBO. And every race week, without fail, he'd religiously bring up the same point with us. He'd say "NASCAR had the most rabid, loyal fan base in all of American professional sports. You'd have housewife's that, since the 80's, have ONLY used Tide to do their laundry, because their husbands were DW fans. You have multiple generations of families that ONLY purchases Chevrolets, because they were raised Earnhardt fans. And somehow, someway, NASCAR found a way to completely alienate that fan base in only a decade. It makes absolutely no sense."
You know, I never actually noticed that all 3 Short Tracks are right next to eachother until you pointed it out...hell I could probably hit all 3 tracks in a day if I tried. In fact I should do a video about that... Also, Bristol has had pretty bad luck with rain lately.
Slap, Best video you've put out in a little while now (well since your last one). Very valid point on the short tracks being placed back to back to back. One thing you forgot to mention, in the 80's & 90's. Nascar had TV blackouts with-in 1-2hrs driving distance from the track hosting the races that week. It forced it's diehard local fans to attend the races in person; And that was feasible back then since the ticket, concessions, souvenirs, amementies and travel cost were significantly lower than they are today even with out inflation. Nascar isn't asking it's fans on how to put butts in seats at tracks because they don't care about the fans nor track attendance (that's the tracks problem in there eyes). They care about their TV deals & TV raitings which is where they make their money. If tracks lowered ticket prices, concessions, souvenirs & amenities at the tracks then they might see a increase in attendance, but they won't & Nascar wouldn't force them to do it anyway. So until then, they'll keep suffering.
Another thoughtful, well-reasoned video from S1apSh0es. I don't have a silver bullet, but there is a short track in Newton Iowa, built by Rusty Wallace's team, and I think it used to host Xfinity races. Now it hosts ARCA. 25,000 seats would not be enough for a Cup race. . .maybe it could be expanded. Your assessment of the core economic problem is insightful.
Your comments about the economics of going to NASCAR races really hold true for most pro sports in America in general. Live sports are just too expensive for most working class people.
There’s an Idea that I thought but I highly doubt it that it will happen and NASCAR will except it. 1. Make the tickets cheaper BY SOMEHOW 2. go to a state that they never raced in and either 1. Short track 2. Long track or 3. Middle track. And make the track somewhere that’s famous or at a big city or a small but famous city. 3. New drivers and see what they do. That’s all I got
What you said at ~8:30 is so true, people fight with each other over ideas and issues created by the people that are supposed to be working for the them as those same people dismantle us from the inside getting rich while everyone else suffers... the sooner people realize this and stop fighting each other the sooner things can get better.
"NASCAR has always relied on a thriving middle class" There is the problem. There is no middle class no more. At least not a thriving one. Aaaaaaand you immediately started to talk about it..
This is the way I look at it. I live in Ohio, and the 3 closest tracks to me a Michigan, Indy, and Bristol, all about 3-4 hours away from where I live. -So I spend $55-100 on a ticket -I drive for 3-4 hours maybe 350 miles round trip, thats about $150 worth of fuel post Biden -The races would end around 7pm-9pm or later, meaning realistically you would want a hotel so you could return home the next day. that's another $300-500 -Now add $150-300 for food and Souvenirs. Congratulations, you just spent upwards of a Grand attending a single Nascar race. I make $12 a hour, and spend $70 a week on fuel alone just to go to work. it isn't possible, it isn't reasonable, and that's why I don't go anymore.
Nascar turned it's back on a giant chunk of the fanbase over the last few years because of its fear of social media outrage. As someone that lives and works in Mooresville, deals daily with several teams and knows countless ex-fans, the stark difference between now and 8 years ago when I transferred to the area is incredible.
It's crazy how reliant nascar was on the middle class. My dad worked on a paving crew and could afford a family trip to Redsox or Disney back in the 90s while I could maybe afford it for just one person
The problem is people just accept inflation as something normal, its not!
It doesn't cost that much more to go as a family. Up to five people can squeeze into a car, and the gas expense is basically the same. A hotel room for one is often the same price as a room with two double beds, capable of sleeping four adults.
@@MrSilverfish12 Inflation is absolutely something normal and a law of economic nature. What isn't normal is stagnant wages and the ridiculously high inflation that we're going through.
@@kai325d3 inflation is intentional same production cost ,lower wages, prices increase. All are decisions being actively made.
Everything relies on the middle class because that's supposed to be the biggest demographic. Unfortunately, it's rapidly shrinking
I love that "watch common ppl do uncommon things". I'm a bigger fan of historic nascar for this reason. Current nascar doesn't feel like that. Feels like if you aren't a legacy driver or rich, your just out of luck.
That's the story of all motorsport today outside grassroots Saturday night stuff
@@silvy3047 pretty much ... its really sad because now kids can't dream of that greatness and its probably why motorsports are declining in general ... not many people just want to watch rich kids play with their toys.
plus dumb rules and things that are so far from a car being raced...
@@jessicalacasse6205 it seems to me, particularly in NASCAR, that the old guard is still in charge while the rest of the world moved on. The old guard just don't want to do these new fangled things like social media and youtube and such which sees them miss out on the younger audience. Me personally, I haven't had broadcast TV in my house for over 10 years. Got sick of it. Prefer streaming services with no ads. Does make it hard to find races to watch and thankfully NASCAR seems to be catching up there, especially for international audiences sake, but it still feels like a bunch of grandpas trying to figure out a computer are running the sport.
JGR has over 500 employees and a budget of millions and millions, in the 80s a team might have a dozen to 2 dozen people and barely a $1mil budget. You need DEEP pockets these days.
In regards to the lack of ticket sales, I think there’s something to be said for the quality of televisions and race day coverage. Watching a race on TV you get to see and hear it all, and in crystal clear definition, with cheaper and closer concessions.
The best thing about heyday NASCAR was the fan interaction. If you went to a race a cheap $10 pit pass for the weekend gave you a ton of access and things to see and people to meet. That was something you couldn't get sitting at home watching on the TV. More than any other pro sport fan interaction was a huge draw. This is a golden opportunity to get back to that now that crowds are not huge and it is at least conceivable to give everyone that attends a unique personal experience. Make less money at the track but sell the brand and earn loyalty. There is a whole generation of people who do not know how much fun a day at the track can be.
@@rwaitt14153 Agreed.
There is probably a lot to that.
I find it hard to keep track of what's going on when I go to a race. Went to see the truck race at Kansas in June and it was hard to really keep track of things, even with listening to the radio broadcast on my scanner. And that was even sitting about as high up as you can where everything was visible.
Was tempted to go do the Xfinity and Cup race there in September but probably deciding against it. Partly because I'm the only one in my family who is actually interested. My 9yo girl says she interested but quickly grows bored because she has even less of a clue what's going on. I'd be more likely to keep her interested on a televised race.
Other things to watching on TV:
Air conditioning, your choice of food/drink, clean bathroom, pause/rewind, no sunburn, watching when you feel like it (Only time I watch live is Daytona 500 and last race weekend of the year), comfy chair vs bleachers
@@rwaitt14153 Don't worry, Richmond only wants an extra $75 to go in a closed off section of the garage and a space near the pits now! Good think they added that right before they removed practice and teams stop using the garage all weekend.
Not to mention you can likely pause it if you need to leave the screen. They aren't throwing a red flag because I have to go to the bathroom and the greasy burger I paid $15 for isn't agreeing with me.
One track that no one is talking about is Iowa speedway, it’s a .875 mile track in the middle of the Midwest. It’s close to the Minneapolis, Chicago, and Des Moines markets and it already hosts xfinity so there’s no need for huge renovations
Iowa still hosts Indycar even (coming up later this month in fact), so surely moving up a notch and hosting a full on NASCAR event isn't too big a stretch.
I've got tickets for the Iowa IndyCar race next weekend. My first time heading out there and I'm really looking forward to it.
@@The52car yo maybe I’ll see you there!
the one in newton?
i think its bc they dont have enough pit boxes to host cup guys
NASCAR'S short track problem is that we haven't turned Texas Motor Speedway into one.
That escalated quickly
@Kuntryboy can't go back now. That would be another few million dollars just to reconfigure
@Kuntryboy So you're saying build a whole ass new track on top of Texas. And put 6 tracks in the existing 3 state short track cluster.
@@Shay_Mendez More like few hundred million.
@Kuntryboy 38 degree banking would be wild
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHORT TRACK! Dirt or asphalt, grassroots racing is the best!
This^ I don't get why people want to force nascar to do it if you want to see this sort of racing go and support your local tracks
@@lucarioaustin13 I want to see the cup drivers beat each other up at martisnville
@@silvy3047 They usually get cut off before anything or one person doesn't want to fight due to how nascar is.
We used to love supporting our local short track, the only one within 100 miles in any direction, but that all ended years ago when the houses came along and the owners said "it's too loud". Same thing happened to quite a few of our motocross tracks here in WA State. Ridiculous.
@JustLucky825 That really sucks and hate the Karen's that cause that sort of bs to happen
With attendance down, I say take 2 or 3 races a year and rotate them across the country. Hit local short tracks, add temporary seats like Portland Speedway did for the Trucks in the 90's. Boost local tracks, and people will go to local races more, and become bigger fans. As there fandom grows they will go to more National races.
Evergreen Speedway would love for something outside of ARCA West. It was a staple of the first six years of the Truck Series and David Pearson named it "The Super Speedway of the West". Bill Elliott and other big name drivers used to race here. What the hell happened? Why is it now only reserved for weekly racing and drifting, now with the most prominent events being ARCA West and Formula Drift? I'm not knocking those series, I love FD, but when I have to travel a state or two away for a National series race, I crave for more at Evergreen.
The only two ational series that race in Washington are the NHRA and World of Outlaws, with WoO being three hours from Seattle. PNW has been burned for so long. Portland only recently got big racing back with IndyCar and NASCAR. We want more.
I think the Truck Series could do this. And maybe the Xfinity Series once in a blue moon, but I don't support the Cup Series going to small local tracks. Kind of a lazy analogy but the NFL doesn't play at your local high school. The Cup Series needs to be at the "big time" tracks.
@@trizlet I disagree, they need to expand to the north and northwest. The only two answers to that is road courses or local short tracks, like Evergreen Speedway in Washington that has a 5/8s mile. Portland International Raceway would pull 100,000 for a Cup race easily. They pushed 60,000 in horrible weather for an Xfinity race. I would put money on it that it was the highest standalone event for Xfinity this year.
I was just about to say the same thing!
I'll never be able to get down to where the short tracks are currently, but I will sure as hell go a race at my local track if they got one. And we know it will fill the place, just look at the attendance SRX is getting.
The only problem I see with it is that some of these tracks don't have a pit road that would work for NASCAR, but honestly at this point I wouldn't care if we lost competitive pit stops for ONLY those races.
You nailed Big Guy that is a great Idea! I would be tempted to travel all over the country to see a local driver discovered when the Series Swings into Town. Andrew Johnson you could literally save NASCAR by simply listening to You! This is coming from a former NASCAR Licensed driver I was not gonna make it the Big Show, but at age 22 when i started kept me out of trouble. I am now 53 yrs miss the heck out of racing
Came for the Nascar, stayed for an economics lesson, really felt something watching this vid, love how your content seems to get more descriptive, keep it up!
death, taxes, NASCAR fans being the definition of absolute duality between wants and convenience
Couldn't have said it better
Probably your best comment ever. Well said.
Do you ever just die
Yup. Fanbases are just the worst...in all things. lol
That's some cold, hard truth right there
Another huge issue is TV ratings. Unfortunately the general trend since the mid 2000s is that less people watch short track races on TV, whether that be on cable or broadcast TV. If they can't get more to watch consistently on TV there will be no way that short tracks get added long term as the broadcast companies will not allow less bang for their buck.
This is a phenomenon I tend to notice on short tracks, they're spectacular in person but always fail to impress on film. Viewed from a remote distance through a camera, short-track racing of all kinds tends to look much slower than it really is, and often it's hard to keep viewers' interest without a lot of beating and banging, which drives up costs for teams.
And add to the fact of people cutting cable to save money. Without a viable way to watch it online the only people watchig it, are those that still have cable.
Unfortunately there isn't anything we can do because there is so much money wrapped up in the tv deal, however I'm sure more people would be inclined to watch it if they found it on UA-cam or a similar service.
why buy a 200 $ ticket to see cars not even getting to 100 kph we only had short track in canada and it sucked....
The Clash in LA was interesting concept but not a long term solution as you said. However, they may have inadvertently stumbled upon the SRX style solution. Take local short tracks with huge events (ie. Slinger Speedway ~ Slinger Nationals & the Five Flags Speedway ~ Snowball Derby) & use these locations on a rotating basis to run All Star Race style events. Bring the best of NASCAR to the local tracks & put Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson up against the best the region has to offer. For example...last week NASCAR was in Road America, just up the highway from Slinger. How hard would it be to promote & run a Saturday night televised dash for cash (the day before the Cup race at the road course) w/NASCAR's biggest & brightest vs local heroes like Majeski, Sauter, Kraus...even bring in Kenseth! This adds a HUGE event for the area, the track & local fans who can't make Sunday's race...brings in $$$ for business in the area...promotes all the drivers involved and invites drivers/owners to have fun and could even lead to finding new talent for the series.
NASCAR has been needing an alternating schedule for years. Seeing the same tracks EVERY YEAR is BORING. keep Daytona and alternate the rest. and theres no sense in going to a track TWICE that way you can lower the race count to 24 or 25 races. almost 40 races a year is OVERKILL. less races also means if a race does get rained out they can just go back later and you won't have to finish a race at 1 am because you have to go 3000 miles out west in 3 days........
I don't really have an idea, but these two folks seem to have a golden idea. I'm all for it.
I would say next year will truly tell us if having the Clash at the Coliseum wasn’t just a one off great idea. I do think it should be a rotating event that they hold at various locations. Especially in areas that NASCAR doesn’t normally race at.
@@americanbadass88 At least there's more variety than literally any other top level motorsport
The clash was just a gimmick to generate wrecks
Not at all what I expected when I clicked. Great video. I'm 29 with similar experiences as you. Growing up, my middle class parents took us to races, qualifying, NFL games, MLB playoffs like it was nothing. Looking back, it's incredible what we got to experience then compared to what we'd get to experience today. Now, myself, modern middle class, can hardly afford to take myself to any of those things. Nascar really has reflected the destruction of the middle class.
I hear you on that. As a kid, I used to attend games for the Detroit Vipers (International Hockey League, both are now defunct), Detroit Neon/Safari Continental Indoor Soccer League, also both defunct), and the Pistons when they all played at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I was actually there in person when the Vipers won the 1997 Turner Cup Trophy, which was the IHL equivalent of the Stanley Cup. Nowadays, even if the first two of those teams and leagues were still around, I doubt that would be possible because of how much the middle class has gotten squeezed financially. Greedy, rich assholes have ruined being able to have fun for everyone else.
Another reason why all of those tracks were built to be 1½ or 2 mile ovals: Open-wheel racing. They wanted tracks that could also run Indycar races. The complete and total destruction of open-wheel racing at the hands of Tony George hadn't reached its peak yet, so it was still seen as financially beneficial to build tracks that could host stock car AND open-wheel races.
Unfortunately, by the time most of the tracks were completed, the AOWR Civil War had already begun. (Coincidentally Tony George was at the time leaning towards ovals in AOWR.)
which, as an open wheeled fan, is a crazy line of thinking the track designers went with. IC's entire history up until the split was a mile track series thats biggest race was a superspeedway. outside of fontana, the only other track that tracked the pattern of IC history was iowa. shit, they're still racing at iowa now and have left milwaukee and loudon (IC type ovals) by the wayside.
@@FMecha This honestly might be an even bigger factor than we all realize. Yeah, we usually view each series as an island, but motorsport is usually viewed as one entity by the outside world. A high tide lifts all ships, but a low tide can cause many to run aground, too.
As S1ap himself mentioned in his video on IndyCar's history, before the AOWR Civil War, IndyCar was the most watched motorsport in America and one of the most well-known sports in the country outright, and always had been. This was a series that had literally been around since the infancy of the automobile, existed at the cutting edge of technology (right up there with top-flight sportscars and F1), and was the home of the single biggest auto race on the entire PLANET for quite some time.
IndyCar, while eclipsed by NASCAR in the late stages of the 20th century, was always an engine of growth for motorsport in America as a whole. Its very existence pulled a ton of people down the motorsport rabbit hole. Its dramatic fall from grace was a big blow to America's entire motorsports ecosystem. It's not just that fewer people are buying NASCAR tickets - fewer people are buying _motorsport_ tickets.
and NASCAR has completely ruined these tracks with that stupid chemical crap they sprayed on the track because the cars couldn't pass and the racing was BORING. so lets add yet another gimmick.
@@mitchell-wallisforce7859 This is very true. F1 is realizing the lack of motorsports in America and understand that the interest is there but no one is delivering to the fans. It's not a coincidence that F1 added another American track to their calendar as IC and NASCAR continue to decline. F1is looking to take over the American motorsports market. At least they can be trusted to provide good races.
I'm 70 years old, and grew up in Dayton, Ohio, home of the "fastest 1/2 mile track in the world!" I use to go almost every Sunday with my dad in the 1960's-1970's. I remember seeing A.J.FOYT , JOHNNY RUTHERFORD race there in the USAC cars. Sad today the track is gone. Folks lost interest, I guess. And I see the same thing happening for NASCAR. We live in a totally different time today. Peoples priorities have changed!!! Now days, the common man struggles to feed, clothe, and have a roof over his families head!!! And what I believe to be the big kicker, is TV. Why spend all that money, when you can watch it on TV!! Just my opinion.
I think you totally nailed this one! I’m a “lower middle class” guy with a family of five who would love to be able to take his kids to a race, but simply can’t afford it. I make pretty good money and got a near two dollar raise in January, but gas prices and inflation nullified that. I actually have less money to have fun than I did before. Actually, I’m looking for anything I can get rid of and live without so I can save. This video echoed how I feel from start to finish!
I disagree. The NFL/MLB/NBA don't have NASCAR's problems in this same economy. I don't think the root issue here is personal economics. It is changing spending habits. People spend loads of money on recreation activities and entertainment and other baubles (I see that car in your avatar. That yours? Looks spendy.). Consumers are simply spending their money elsewhere. The field has gotten a lot more crowded in the last 30 years and the successful have become much more elaborate and expensive. NASCAR (and stock car racing in general) was just one of the products left standing when the music stopped.
If I had to point to a specific reason why that happened I would point to the decline of car culture. People don't interact with their cars the same way they used to. When stock cars became boring they-all-look-the-same blobs of metal that you need an ASE certification to open the hood on interest in stock car racing declined. A new Toyota Camry is a lot less interesting of a vehicle than an old Ford Thunderbird. The owners of said vehicles have similar relative interests in things like NASCAR.
@@rwaitt14153 It's not just car culture declining, manufacturers simply aren't interested in providing that kind of product any more. Much like the housing market, auto manufacturers have focused their attention on upper-middle classes that are buying pricier cars more often than the middle and lower classes that just need a reliable grocery-getter. You notice that almost every car seems to be a luxury car these days? Even things like base-model pickups are full of unnecessary features, cheesy gimmicks, and carry price tags starting somewhere around the average person's entire annual income. These aren't intended for the masses, these are for the McMansionites looking to one-up their neighbor's new Mercedes.
@@smittywjmj What are you talking about? They still make cheapo shitboxes for the masses. Loads of them. Look at Kia's entire product line. It's that you can't so much as hang an aftermarket air freshener in a new car without a $3000 Snap-on scan tool. A OBD-2 reader isn't good enough anymore. Everything is non-owner serviceable with a large barrier to entry to wrenching on them. You buy it, you drive it, you take it to the dealership for service, and you throw it away when it gets 10 years old.
That's not how it was. That's what changed. Making mutant fun cars out of cheap run-out pieces of crap you bought secondhand is what drove the whole thing. That's what hot rodding was. That's what got young people hooked. The 16 year old of today (if they even have a driver's license) isn't going to be taking part in that because his car is a Toyota Yaris. If you put gas into it wrong it'll throw on the check engine light and go into limp mode. He ain't got the time/money/equipment to even begin messing around with it. The barrier to entry into car culture became too high.
@@rwaitt14153 Of course there are still econoboxes, the point is that there's no longer anything in between. You have the entry-level cars for people that just need something better than a bicycle, and then a wide range of overpriced feature-bloated cars.
@@smittywjmj You haven't actually looked this up, have you? Nissan Altima, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy, and Hyundai Sonata. All mid-size family cars available for about $25k as bare bones base models.
For perspective the original MSRP of a 1992 Ford Taurus L (base model mid-size family car) was $16k. About $33k now.
This was a great video, I didn’t realize that you were going to do a whole video about how poor socioeconomic conditions have effected NASCAR and I’m here for it.
Two big things stuck out to me:
At 32 years old, you have a mindset and knowledge of a person MUCH older and wiser. Absolutely fantastic scripting of these videos
Secondly, you spoke on what is killing NASCAR and somehow also explained what is killing the country the last 30 years. Instead of asking if we could, we didnt bother to ask if we should. This is true for NASCAR and our government as a whole.
Fantastic job. Keep it up
Underrated comment.
It's not "government as a whole' at the root, it's the same as the NASCAR side: corporate greed.
NAFTA didn't make any corporation send jobs overseas, corporate greed did, they just lobbied the government to allow them to do it but at the end of the day it's the rich causing the issues.
32 years old... bruh you're making me feel old
Big facts right here.
said " Secondly, you spoke on what is killing NASCAR and somehow also explained what is killing the country the last 30 years. "
A big part of this is the " middle class " shopping at Walmart for low low prices of goods that come from overseas . Workers at a US based factory can't expect to buy non US products rather than what the factory down the street makes and not have jobs go away. Also, some unions got too greedy with wage demands making the situation worse.
Hey, greetings from Spain! I just wanted to say that you make some amazing videos, man, even to the point where some people who have never been Nascar fans can see that this is an interesting sport. Many Europeans think quite poorly of Nascar because it's so different from what we're used to (especially F1), but thanks to you and Emplemon, I now see that just because it's different, it doesn't mean it's bad. Nascar might be struggling (quite the opposite to F1, which is killing it right now), but I think it deserves more love and attention. Of course, that wouldn't be enough to solve any problems, but it would be nice.
I have lately found crosskart racing, which appears to be big in Spain. Do you follow it?
@@RingerStudio Never heard of it
On the contrary, a sudden influx of international fans would be a HUGE welcomed boost for the sport
Hey. You should go to Valencia, they host a EuroNASCAR race every year. Tickets are pretty cheap for these events.
F1 is killing it? I stopped following it 15 years ago.
I thought all sports were struggling these days. With the internet around, people have far more options for entertainment than just watching whatever happens to be on TV.
I'm so glad someone else thinks its dumb how they run those 3 back to back. It's been very dumb
If it was quality entertainment it would be worth it. It would be like a three act opera. The activity I follow, I go three weeks in a row driving a few hours and $45 tickets each time. It's just as hot loud crowded time consuming and expensive, but worth it all for the show.
It probably has to do with easy logistics.
@@paulblichmann2791 I can do 2 in a row, I can't do all 3. Bristol weekend tickets to the seats we get around around $200 each, Richmond weekend are like $125, and Martinsville can be had for under $100. Then add in camping for about $150 at each track and you are looking at a very expensive month.
@@coreylawrence567 I go to ARCA races where the tickets are $20 and camping is $10. And the on track product is better.
@@sgtpepper6379 I go to local short tracks and get to see a lot of good racing for cheaper. Richmond is my closest track and they repeatedly refuse to do much of any non nascar racing in standalone events. They have done a few recently, but thats about it. Plus we lost Indy, again.
North Wilkesboro packed the grandstands last Wednesday night for the Window World 125 with Dale Earnhardt joining in and finishing 3rd. They held races Tuesday & Wednesday nights with affordable ticket prices.
100% spot on, the interested folks just can’t afford it.
Yes, Problem is the rising cost of everything caused people to move companies manufacturing overseas. Not to mention overseas items quality went up on even there own products on the higher end.
A big part of this is the " middle class " shopping at Walmart for low low prices of goods that come from overseas . Workers at a US based factory can't expect to buy non US products rather than what the factory down the street makes and not have jobs go away. Also, some unions got too greedy with wage demands making the situation worse.
@@caseysmith544 That's not true quality has went down stuff is thrown away after just a couple year when it was made in America you used it for 20 or 30 years!
One small correction: The most recent short track added to the schedule was not Albany-Saratoga, it was Meyer Speedway in Houston, a half-mile track that had one race in 1971. It also was the last Cup race to have less than 15 cars show up to race, which explains why they never came back.
Saratoga was won by Petty tho
@@6Six6Six6Bruh Yep, both times.
I think that you hit the nail right on the head. I am a design engineer with an automation company and I live in northern Michigan. I was promised that I would be making loads of money by this point in my life, right now I can't afford a house. A condemned house on a few acres just around the corner from where I live was just listed for $300,000.
The sad reality is that everyday people have to prioritize necessity over luxury. Going to races, even locally, is a luxury. For too many people life right now is putting food on your table, gas in your tank, and squirrel money away for a recession.
Honestly I think that Nascar shouldn't be focused on the gimmicks and shakeups to gain interest. Get Nascar back to its roots, big horsepower V8 monsters that are exciting to even watch qualify. Short track, elbows out, good old fashioned racing. We want to see the driver's wheel these cars because they are hard to drive, not because they have been made harder to drive.
I truly believe that people do not relate to a lot of the current drivers, that's why some of the interest is down. This also falls on the broadcast, instead of idiotic skits and gag segments how about do what SRX does by featuring drivers and their everyday lives.
There are so many layers to Nascar's decline in interest. Not everyone cares about it and that's ok, take care of the ones who do is how I feel about it.
Stadium super trucks. :)
Truthfully the only fix I see for this problem is having only one race at each track. Not considering the Fairgrounds or Wilkesboro at the moment, but have Richmond in the spring, Bristol night race in the summer, and Martinsville in the fall. Besides short tracks I think a lot of tracks need to lose a second date even if it means a few less races overall.
I agree with this completely. I think having more locations and more diversity is great for the sport.
I know how North Wilkesboro feels exactly. My hometown of Pennsboro WV had the same problems during that same time period. Both the textile factory and the glass manufacturing plant shut down in the late 90’s along with our own racetrack, the Legendary Pennsboro Speedway, in 2002. The town’s been on a slow decline ever since.
Where I lived at in matoaka WV it was a small town and all of the businesses shut down and now it’s a ghost town.
This past fall, the Bristol night race was absolutely bumping. Most people i've seen in YEARS.
Here I just fixed nascar
1. Get rid of stage racing
2. Get rid of the playoffs
3. Make the cars less aero dependent and more dependent on mechanical grip
4. Add more short tracks
5. Have nascar stop manipulating racing for "drama" and "excitement"
A race used to be so interesting. There were so many story lines. You had the history of the sport being sprinkled in by the commentators. You had pit stragedy, you had people lap down, behind the wall trying to come back, people out of the race. You had racing spread out all through the field. Now, its just the camera focused on the leaders with the commentators obsession over the playoffs or the potential caution looming.
^^^^^
This right here.
6 Lower ticket prices
@@BeautifulAngelBlossom if you fix the first five things that takes care of itself
Great video. Like the fact that you went into depth on the affordability aspect of the problem. The middle class isn't what it used to be. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Sad. My dad went to races at tracks like Bristol and Martinsville with his friends many times in the 90s and early 2000s. But after the pulp/paper mill where he worked since he was 18 closed down, he had to take a lesser paying construction job to put food on the table and support us during my childhood. Me and him are going to be at the Michigan race this August. It will be his first race since Martinsville of 2003, and my first race in-person ever.
North Wilkesboro and Nashville are the perfect tracks to start the rebirth of short tracks. Get rid of one of the dates of Texas and Kansas and put them in. And maybe, you could head up to Canada to race at Delaware Speedway for an exhibition race and turn it into a weekend with the Nascar Pinty’s Series.
Yes, it has 10,000 seats but you can put temporary seating there and the location where the track is at is great because it’s situated close to the states of Michigan and New York. Pricing can be fixed for those in the province of Ontario by giving discounts to people who show an address for a home in the province.
PREACH!
Search up Pinty's races at Delaware and you'll have your mind BLOWN. Due to rain cancelling races Autodrome Chaudiere during the 2021 season, the track was given a three-race finale (yes, THREE RACES in a row) and it was INCREDIBLE. Putting a top national series with Pinty's would also help the Canadian series with LOTS of publicity.
Hell, it doesn't have to be Cup. Preferrably yes, but Xfinity and/or Trucks could definitely work with certain circumstances. How about a north-of-the-border Clash? Bold, but it's an idea.
8 races in a cluster of 3 states isn't something anyone is gonna show up to. Take a date from Richmond or Martinsville, I'm willing to let Bristol keep the night race and the dirt race, they're at least different. I'm a fan of one dater per track, but that requires adding tracks and I do think adding Delaware would be excellent. I have doubts about a discount for locals though, why would they do that, they already don't have to spend money on hotels and travel to get there, they have more money to be squeezed from them. Do other tracks do that?
Buying Jukasa would have worked too but alas the bulldozers and developers are coming for it. Delaware would be a great fit and with money invested could do it....but not as it sits now...it needs a lot to come up to a Cup standard
@@Wozrop No one shows up to anything, the whole fans in the stands or you lose a date is bullshit anyway, proof of Slap's NWS video, the whole coivd races, tracks like Pocono who get great attendance lost a race while tracks like Vegas got an extra race when tens of thousands of grandstands have been removed. Stop with the well attendance BS.
@@marklittle8805 jukasa is getting dozed eh? Seems like everywhere in southern Ontario is. I grew at Cayuga Speedway in the 70s and they would pack the place. Never saw a race there since they rebuilt it as Jukasa but the Oshwekan dirt track is a beauty.
Well, all I can say after this is that I’m glad my local track (South Boston Speedway) has been doing well this year, stands were packed for the SRX event and the Va. Triple Crown. you can see that in my videos. Overall turnout hasn’t been bad all year either. Although I do think South Boston would be a bit hard to run a Cup Race at considering how narrow it is and the possibility of a pileup like last week.
I went to every Daytona Atlanta and Talladega race from 1967 to 2000 and I will never go to another one we used to go camp in the infield at Daytona there was a big field back by the airport that they let us Park in until they open the gates on on race day last time down there they wouldn't let us park there they just chased us all around town all night long from one parking lot to another didn't get any sleep at all once we got in there they treat you like a like s*** I was not enough bathrooms facilities there's not enough food places there's there's no place to hook up your sewage for your camper I just turned into something way different than what it began it was fun and exciting and then it turned into a twisted kind of Disney World too expensive to sterile to disconnected
@@markrowley6111 just wondering, what point are you trying to make relating to my comment. Not trying to be rude but I genuinely don’t know how it relates to South Boston.
The Iowa speedway was a great solution. After NASCAR purchased the track it was clear they had no intention of trying to grow the facility.
Indycar in the other hand
@@calebBalls69 I've seen the updates for the double header and it looks amazing
@@racecraze it does
You can't grow a venue like Iowa when the cities and counties surrounding it weren't willing to build amenities and activities around it in the first place. The track was doomed as long as economic development was never in the cards, and that's also what killed Nashville Superspeedway the first time around before SMI eventually bought it. The simple fact is that people now want things to do around a race weekend that aren't centered around being at the track 24/7 unless there's additional entertainment and amenities immediately available.
One of the reasons the Nashville Street Course was a success for IndyCar was because there was so much to do around the venue and the race ended up being a massive spectacle. I'd love to see Texas get converted to a short track because at least it would save the track from falling further into mediocrity and it would give people around the region the novelty that they don't get with the current layout anymore, which would also fix the declining attendance for both series.
Never understood why Iowa wasn’t pushed harder. There’s many racing fans up there.
i think the best solution would to stop Doubling races at tracks. the only tracks that should have 2 are Daytona & Talladega, and Charlotte & Bristol with a race on their alternate tracks
also, space out the short tracks, like Dirt Bristol in early March, richmond in early may, Nashville in late june or early july, bristol in mud august, wilkesboro in mid-late september, and Martinsville in october or november
When it comes to fixing this issue, there are two things to consider: location and cost. When it comes to locations, we need more short tracks in different markets. Building new ones would be the the best option without backlash from fans. Converting mile and a halves would tick off fans that prefer those tracks as well as Indycar fans. Modernizing a local short track would tick off local fan bases. When it comes to the economy, we the people need to elect leaders that will work for the middle class which NASCAR caters to no matter the party. Also, tracks need to bring their prices down because of the lower demand. Remember, it’s the economy stupid.
As much as I agree with the cost thing at tracks, you gotta remember that they are also probably paying out their ass for a lot of expenses as well which is why the prices are high to begin with. Our inflated economy is 90% of the problem.
While it’s nice of you to think of us Indycar fans, it’s worth mentioning that the only mile and a half that we have touched in the past 5 years is Texas. And Pocono is gone for the moment now too. Indycar doesn’t wanna deal with ISC/SMI and as such only deal with the one intermediate super oval that has been favorable to them over the years: Texas.
I’d love to eventually go back to Fontana or Michigan but I don’t know what Penske’s end goal is for ovals considering how people bitch for ovals in Indycar and then never show up to them; not unlike NASCARs current short track predicament.
I disagree with the IndyCar comment. Majority of fans are done with days of IRL pack racing. Most of us don't even really want Texas back on the schedule because of how Mickey Mouse it's become.
IndyCar puts on great racing at Iowa, and had a 3 year contract with Richmond, which didn't go through because of the WuFlu canceling everything.
Some of the best IndyCar racing happens on tracks a mile and smaller.
@@iowadoyle93 I certainly want Chicago back for Indycar. Watching cars going 225 on a 1.5 mile track will never get old.
Indycar fans have learned that Indycar has a near-zero interest in expanding to new ovals. Tear up whatever you want. Just don't touch Michigan--a guy's gotta dream.
Man... Coming from a family that 1 dollar to us is like a saving grace, this video hit hard
YOU'RE 32? Holy crap.
In all seriousness, excellent video and a very important message. It all sucks because short tracks are a major factor to the historical growth of NASCAR, but then the 1990s and the modern & eventually current economy happened. Hopefully fixes are done, but patience is key. Can't happen with a snap of the finger unfortunately.
As a Canadian, this is why I wish tracks up here (like the proposal of Canadian Motor Speedway, but rip) could be given a chance. Doesn't have to be Cup, but it could be considered.
He looks like he’s in his mid-20s. Holy crap
I thought he was like 25 bruh 💀
30 year old Boomers are real, believe me.
You say that like 32 is old or something
In all seriousness, I assume the biggest reason NASCAR doesnt go to Canada at this point is money (its why NASCAR does anything). The CAD is weak compared to the USD - and has been for a number of years - and they probably "cant justify the cost", just like building something new right now.
The photo of the ruby tuesday being torn down is actually where I live in Battle Creek mi. There is now a chick fil a that is at that location and is doing great!
Never have I watched a S1apShoes video, and left feeling sad. At this point, we fans are just hoping for a miracle.
As fans and a country.
You missin out homie, Ol' Slappy is THE NASCAR UA-camr.
Watch the Darlington Video. Talk about an emotional roller coaster.
@@codypet2110 At least that one had a happy ending.
I'm glad he said it though. Too many people don't actually see what years of over-regulating, over-legislating, and selling out our country to foreign interests have actually done to our country.
10:24 There's is Pikes Peak International Raceway, a one mile oval near Colorado Springs. If they were to add some seats and touch the place up, I think it'd make a good venue.
ISC bought it, but stupidly won't allow events to be held there. Because reasons.
Indycar and the xfinity and truck series used to race there once upon a time...
@@NotSteveCookI also heard that Pikes Peak also has its own organization owning the track before that ISC owned it from 2005 to 2008... I'm trying to figure out... WHAT HAPPENED ISC?!
I've been to Dover, love it to death but the perfect example of the issue. There are plently of fans in the area, but the ticket price is so high nobody shows up
I've been to two races at Dover and they were a good time, but it was expensive and the closest hotel we were able to find that was both available and reasonably priced was in Newark, which is basically on the other side of the state
Thats the problem cost plus you cant even bring a oddamn cooler with you. They want you to pay 10 dollars for a drink. But more than that nascar has ruint theirselves with all their crazy rules. If they would go back to 2 laps qualifying on speed stop lucky dog and stage racing etc. Also the sport has went woke. Somebody said go woke go broke. It will never be what it was when allisons yarbrough baker parsons waltrip the silver fox or the king Richard Petty. Sadly those days are gone forever
@@robtans5042 EXACTLY!
@@nascarfanFlatTire How long ago was that Nashville sppedway rules said no
@@nascarfanFlatTire ok didnt use to be an issue anywhere but things change
As an Indiana guy born and raised we have one of the best short tracks in America. Raceway park right here in Indianapolis but they probably won't race there with cup as long as they keep going back to the brickyard
This video took a turn and dude, I am here for it. I couldn't agree with your statements about the socioeconomics behind the rise and fall of the middle class more - I understand that's not your expertise, but I wish people understood that it's not one political side or the other - it's just big money versus the people. The same corporations that are blaming people for not showing up and not caring are the same ones that moved for open global trade and killed the manufacturing that sustained so many communities. Short-sighted chasing of quick dollars without a thought to long term sustainability.
Thank you so much for your videos, Slap. NASCAR fans like me really appreciate it!
I think you put it best in your video about North Wilksboro Speedway. Considering that tracks like Texas Motor Speedway were aimed at casual fans at the time, it depended on whether they would continue to show up year after year. That didn't happen.
Whereas Wilksboro had annually roughly 60,000 fans attending every Cup Series race.
Having said that, that would still only add North Carolina to the few states that run Cup Series races on Short tracks (if North Wilksboro was to make a return to the Cup Series). I reckon another contributing factor in the drop in attendance even at short tracks is the cost of living crisis. Nobody is going to do much when their pay check only goes so far with inflation rising
Honestly with all this in mind, I'm surprised Nascar hasn't done what F1 has done, and basically broadcast there races on a dedicated streaming service
Completely agree on the inflation/economy issue. Me and my family used to go to the races when I was younger than 14 since below that age gets u in for free and an average ticket wasn't bad at all. Nowadays, u gotta sacrifice a limb to go to the races with family. It's an political and nascar issue that's hard to fix. A lot of risks for small tracks to take with risks of little to no profit to get. Love ur videos slapshoes. My fav content creator out there!
Still think we could make do with Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. They're hosting the Friday night doubleheader for ARCA/Trucks this year. I always thought it was ironic that the 3 short tracks only occupy 1.5 states.
Slapshoes, you are such a good storyteller its nuts. I can easily see you writing and commentating for a 30 for 30 type program.
We need more sub 1.5 mile tracks. Gateway was a brilliant move. We can find more.
Milwaukee would be another.
Pikes Peak and consider Iowa both tracks that ISC doesn’t own....
I once asked my father-in-law, native of the coalfields in SW Virginia, where he was when the moon landing occured. Turns out he was at Bristol for a race. He was a regular at Bristol for a long time (about an hour away). My family used to go to Martinsville for their fix, or South Boston for the Busch Series. I don't know the last time a relative of mine or myself made it to a race. Probably the late 90s. All those towns along the Virginia border, Bristol, Martinsville, SoBo, Danville, are all absolutely gutted. People act like the rust belt is the only place that got hollowed out and then they blame unions. Well, my grandad worked for Burlington Industries in north-central NC. Nonunion textile manufacturing. Guess where Burlington Industries has all its plants now? Sure as hell isn't Reidsville, NC or Danville, VA. Union or not, Americans can't compete with Vietnamese near-slave wages. Imagine that. You come home from fighting in Vietnam, being told you are fighting for freedom and the American Way and prosperity, and then 20 years later your fucking job goes to Vietnam. Insanity.
The hypothesis here is self-evident: short track country got kicked in the balls in the 90s. No one can afford the same prices as the rest of the country when the only solid job prospects are Wal Mart (even all that gig economy garbage like Doordash doesn't exist in a lot of rural areas), so they're not going to show up. Simple as that.
You must be from my neck of the woods (Rockingham County) and let me tell you on one Hand I’m gutted and miss the area and on the other that’s why I stayed away after I got out of the army. I tell folks what you’re seeing in Kentucky and West Virginia with coal is what we’ve been living since the start of the 2000’s without textiles
@@jaywill5352 Close, Alamance.
Too costly to go to NASCAR tracks to watch snot-nosed kids sons of X drivers grandsons of car owners silver spoon kids they need to put building a cars back in the hands of the teams or innovation or he let them find things take away the fuel injection and all the stuff that's controlled by NASCAR the bodies the chassis NASCAR owns everything nobody likes spec racing they never have put Grassroots racers in there that deserve to be in there get ticket prices where they need to be let the teams build their cars with stock bodies you know that's where the term stock car came from show me one stock item on a NASCAR there isn't any not one the last thing was the Transmissions and the 9-inch Ford rear ends
The package we have at short tracks is kind of a problem too. I think we need to take the diffuser off and add more horsepower.
they can't take the diffuser off as it actually on the car not just for air flow reason but safety reasons
@@shawnschaitel838 the reason I say take it off is because they are like 75k a pop. It would save teams lots of money.
@@parkerwalsh3340 no it wouldn't actually because if the car rolls nothing from the car would be salvageable in fact one of the main reasons it in there is to hold SH/T in the car that traditionally would get damaged and flung all over the place alot of the that coke 600 car was salvageable for parts
not to mention it when combines with the front splitter is actually essentially 1 piece and by getting rid off it in addition to what i posted would actually because of aero issue would make the car worse than COT and later Gen6
Wider contact patch on tires, shifting, 80 less hp. That's the problem. More grip, less slip.
My 2 cents? Keep the underbody aero. It isn't anywhere near as sensitive to dirty air as anything else, and really leaning on it and using it to replace topside aero devices would actually help even more. I do agree that they need more power, though. The basic architecture of these engines hasn't changed for decades, they're still built to the same tolerances, open the damn things up and let them push 750+ horsepower. That alone would not only make the cars less dependent on drafting and aero for speed, but dramatically change the balance of the cars.
That’s why I have converted to IMSA. A general admission ticket gets you hot pit access and you can walk around and meet your favorite drivers
Something I want to state, at least about the track closest to me, the vast majority of tickets at the Richmond Raceway are still $90
While there are a few tickets that are slightly cheaper,
that's actually gone down from where it was back in 2006, the last time I actually went to a Cup race there. Tickets then for seats all the way on the top row were $95 a ticket renewal for a family that had been going to the track since the mid-80s.
This is all for a track that isn't all that impressive in terms of facilities and produces quite lackluster racing.
While it would have been nice to have an IndyCar race there after they had announced returning there in 2020, I personally wasn't upset to see it gone despite it being in my back yard.
The same thing continues to Bristol. Bristol to this day is still one of the most expensive and sought after tickets in Nascar, at least for the night race. I tried looking into getting tickets to go there this year, and due to a few circumstances that were out of my control that may be jeopardy, but decent tickets for a family 4 would have netted about $440. For just tickets alone. Getting things like food, gas, potentially a place to stay and for a lot of people that can be something they can't do
I went to the Richmond race to see Tony Stewart's first win. That was $85, and that was in in the early 2000s! Then you have to factor in the price of beers, hotdogs, race manuals, and t-shirts. It really adds up! So it's best to just watch it from home!
@@Deicidal776 Yeah it got to the point where it became cheaper to drive 1400 miles round trip to go to Talladega. You'd get a better race, free campgrounds, could actually be there at the track for multiple days, and just make more of a vacation out of the race
My problem with the prices is that you don't get a full bang for your buck. I paid $85 each for 2 seats at Auto Club this year, and I paid $70 for 2 pit passes each, so we could go into the pit area pre-race. Those pit passes made it worth it, because there was nothing interesting outside the track. You'd just show up and watch a race, and not get any experience without the passes. Phoenix was way better, as the tickets I got last November for the Xfinity Series championship race was $35 each, but that included the Arca West, Xfinity Qualifying, & Cup Qualifying. Good deal. It was also $35 each for Infield passes, which was an exceptional experience. All around it was $70 total each for an amazing experience for myself, and 2 family members. That is a far superior experience for a good price of $210. If tracks are gonna gouge our wallets, I expect a lot of great experiences. I'm very disappointed that tracks aren't providing this and are coasting on TV money
90 bucks a ticket for an AUGUST race in the Virginia humidity yeah thats a HARD PASS. NASCAR wants to know why no one shows up to Richmond anymore THIS is why first of april and mid August in the DAY. this crap almost Sank Richmond before the reconfiguration in the late 80s.......
@@americanbadass88 Should tell you about when they used to do Richmond in February
It doesn't help that the Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol spring races were all scheduled on back to back to back weekends in 2022.
Well even short track racing is taking a hit especially in the past few months. Went to a 5k super late model show a local dirt tack and usually there are around 25 maybe 30 cars. This time there were maybe 20. Everyone is getting crunched for cash.
i remember a SLM race at Salem that in years past would get 30 cars, in 2021 they only got 11 cars
@@dennyhamlinnascar6346 yeah I mostly run lms in middle Tennessee and all over there has been lower car counts. Some short tracks from what I have heard have shut down for the time being.
This is a great video. I'll add that there is even more to this problem. That is that short tracks themselves are disappearing. This is the place where the working man spent his weekends just having fun and local talent was developed. Those top tier local guys would make their way on up into NASCAR modified's and onto ARCA or even the national modified scene. I don't even know how young drivers make it into NASCAR these days. They must come from the heart of the south where short track racing will thrive forever, or rich kids whose parents sponsored them all the way from go karts through expensive driving schools and then payed for their way into modified series.
Hit everything right on the nail S1ap!!
I love ur vids!
Wasn't expecting Halo music in a NASCAR video.
I might be biased here, but NASCAR does own a short track in my home state that is just sitting empty most of the racing season, save for ARCA and an IndyCar doubleheader in a few weeks.
You forgot about Dover too, it’s surprising close to Richmond, as someone who’s stationed in Norfolk VA, Richmond and Dover are the tracks I go to , and yes they are super expensive. Especially for a family of 4 and even when I don’t have to camp out. 2-3 hour drive for either one. But still kinda pricey. And if I’m gonna go , it’s gonna be Richmond Playoff race.
Too bad they moved the fall Richmond race date. It's already hot enough in September, August is even worse.
@@crystaljon look at a map and try again
This video is right on point. I always wondered why all the short tracks on the NASCAR schedule were so close together. I hope Iowa does well.
Youngstown, OH would be a great place for a short track. Central Ohio, western PA, and Northern WV have plenty of racing fans; all within 4 hours travel.
I'd love to have a race here. Ohio and West Virginia have been left dry by NASCAR, with the exception of a Truck race at Mid-Ohio.
Oh 100%. As a Columbus native, this city is growing reasonably quickly. Slap a short track here! Hell, the Columbus Crew no longer uses the old soccer stadium near the fairgrounds for the Ohio State Fair. Maybe turn that stadium into a short track permanently. Also, I would say Columbus is more sunny than Youngstown is given Youngstown's proximity to Lake Erie.
@@elijahjp2158 I'm biased towards Youngstown because that's home, but I'd drive 2 and a half hours to Columbus. Also, Columbus is centrally located in Ohio.
@@elijahjp2158 Columbus has too much stuff already; and it sprawls out too far to get cheap land. Plus you've got Mid-Ohio fairly nearby; and Youngstown is a good place to catch 3 states' worth of race fans.
I'm 41, HAD NO IDEA you were only 32! Not that thats so young, but you have a lot of forged wisdom and polish about you. Your voice gives me the mental picture of Marty Smith!
Thanks for the good work!
Being from Greenville,SC myself I'd love to see NASCAR come back to Greenville-Pickens but it'll fall into two of the problem categories you mentioned; track and surrounding area can't accommodate a NASCAR crowd and it'll be fighting for the same crowd the other 3 short tracks have. I really don't know how to solve the short track issue because even if North Wilkesboro and Nashville gets added back, they'll still be in the same general area as the other 3. It's just a hard puzzle to solve at this moment
Holy Shit David I must have been reading your mind!! I just commented basically the same thing then scrolled down and saw Greenville Pickens and you are right the race track conundrum is puzzling! They shut down the tracks I raced at (Asheville,Smoky Mtn at Cherokee) The pull to Hickory is to much for a poor fellow. I seriously miss Racing, I loved being on either side of the fence!
This recession has made it tough for so many people i know man it's fucked
Me, a european racing fan, clicked on a slap video to learn more about short tracks and got a lecture about the downfall of the American middle class due to systematic economical errors as a bonus. Thank you.
Though I also wager that a waning interest in cars, racing and car culture as a whole is also to blame for a diminishing interest to some extent. One of the reasons F1 is booming now is because it has turned itself more into entertainment and reality TV and less about the cars, in my opinion.
That’s… actually something I hadn’t considered. That’s very insightful. Thank you
Stock-car racing has always revolved around dealerships selling cars, even though modern NASCAR has absolutely nothing to do with what's on a showroom floor. Still, you can at least go buy a Camaro that looks vaguely like your favorite driver's car. You can't go walk into a Mercedes dealer and buy a W12 or anything even close to it.
But the problem is that, much like the housing market, manufacturers aren't catering to middle classes any more. There's much greater profit in the upper classes that buy new cars regularly for features and prestige instead of long-term reliability or practicality. Middle classes have driven traditional American car culture, but since brands are no longer offering cars for them, there can't be any car culture, and no car culture means no interest in stock-car racing.
@@smittywjmj How’s it going in the ISAF nations?
@@smittywjmj All sound and true. I believe that for it to be a car culture there need to be cars that look cool, drive well and at the same time average joe need to be able to tinker with it, as well as actually afford it.
I feel absolutely nothing about today's generic small SUVs and crossovers that every maker produces in vast quantities and I cannot fathom there ever growing any (sizeable) car culture at all around them like it did for the everyman pony cars, sedans and muscle cars back in the day.
@@asherwiggin6456 Eruseans haven't gotten uppity again yet, so pretty good so far.
While I agree that we need more short tracks on the schedule, I also agree with the problem that NASCAR has faced. The only way to bring more short tracks on the schedule is either go back to older short tracks that NASCAR has raced in the past or to reconfigure current tracks into short tracks, sort of like what Auto Club is doing.
This is an instant S1ap classic.
So Slap, I want to ask you a question the Iceberg gave his 2 cents on a while back. Do you think Iowa Speedway should be added to the cup schedule? As an Iowan myself I'd hate to see this track die. Only Indy and ARCA are left keeping this little place going. I know it's a popular track with the drivers and there are some big time racing fans out here. Maybe it could be worth one try.
Hell as a Kansas fan and resident, I'd give up Spring Kansas in a heartbeat to get Iowa on the schedule.
Lmao Slap won't answer you're comment bruh.
Maybe sign up for his patreon to get his attention, or donate during his live stream
@@BoleDaPole or Twitter.
For the love of god they need to go to Slinger. That’s probably my favorite short track in the country and SRX proves they can put on amazing racing there in bigger stock cars than late models. I’m not even near Wisconsin but that is a dream track for nascar to go too
I mean we all saw how incredibly well the field of dreams game did for MLB even if only 5,000 fans could show up to the game, why can’t nascar do something similar at a rotating short track?
Well that was depressing, thanks for reminding me that my life won't be as good as my parents or grandparents, in all seriousness great video as always
Honestly? I really wish when we built Rockingham Motor Speedway here in the UK in the early 2000s, that it was designed as a short track. It was built as a big, wide, flat 1.5 mile track, like a Kansas clone - they saw the same dollar signs as a lot of the newer tracks in America. But to add to all the issues you touched on in the video, this track being in the UK meant it was fighting to attract major US racing like NASCAR to come on a massive overseas tour to come visit. They got CART to come over twice, but that was it. But conversely it being so big and fast meant it was too big for most club level racing series in the UK - and even more than that, ITS BASED IN THE UK. Even in the height of summer, rain was always a risk. People weren't prepared to risk travelling all the way there only to see no racing.
At least a half mile or 3/4 mile track could have better amenities, maybe even a retractable roof to protect against weather, would be slower and safer for smaller series to race on but still exciting to watch? Itd be interesting.
I never really got the Rockingham oval. Building a huge track for the ASCAR series that was expensive to enter and not particular popular compared to the typical Brisca oval type formulas and Btcc. That's without even considering that high speed oval racing and rain don't mix too well! Having Cart in the UK was cool but probably when Cart was at its least relevant due to the Indy split.
This is exactly why I desperately want every track to have just ONE date with exception to the superspeedways cuz there are only a couple of them. That way you can circle a track on the calendar, save up some money for that race and enjoy it. Having the same group of people go out to Bristol or Martinsville twice a year is a tall task when tickets are $200. Add in Iowa, add in 2 or even 3 more short tracks from across the country that can hold 30-50,000 people or build in more grandstands for the race.
When it comes to the current state of our economy, the US is falling out of the superpower spot to countries like Brazil, Idia, and China. And if anyone says they know what's going to happen in the future is selling you something. The issue is unfortunately bigger than any sport. It's the Rich's world we're just living in it
It's definitely an interesting subject, for sure. Like you said, the attendance at most sporting events is down for regular season events and it's not like the playoff games of every series sells out either. It's also important to remember that Nascar, MLB, NBA, NLF, etc don't make their money off of attendance. They only truly care about the TV deals.
When looking at the economic side of things, there is definitely a squeeze on the middle class. But, there are also more things vying for people's money than there ever has been. Besides the net cost of housing being less, healthcare costing less, and effective wages being higher, my parents didn't have the option/necessity to carry recurring costs like internet, multiple streaming services, family cell phone plans, and others. Are those a choice? Sure, probably to a degree, depending on how you look at it. The competition for our money and attention has never been higher. I honestly think this is where the argument for Nascar not going to a single place more than once a year makes sense (with certain exceptions, of course).
Honestly I could ramble on all day about potential fixes and strategies, but when it comes down to it, I and many others don't have a single real fix to the mess and problems we have right now. It's all fucked and we just got to wade though the bog until we find the grass on the other side.
I saw a nascar truck race and arca race at Milwaukee Mile this summer. $40 ticket, minimal charge to park. I live only an hour away. For a grand total investment of around $70 I had a wonderful time.
My uncle was friends with an old owner of Atlanta motor speedway, years ago they thought of putting a bustop like the charlotte roval or something just for the heck of it, not even a roadcoarse just an oval with a bus stop in it
Actually Atlanta did have a roadcourse! See the IMSA 1993 Toyota Grand Prix of Atlanta: ua-cam.com/video/M9Nz_ZvMhSY/v-deo.html 🏁
@@wowandflutter yeah that’s cool I’ve seen footage of it, it was around that time too maybe closer to the 2000s
I was just about to say, they have these massive facilities, somewhere like Bristol, if you halved the ticket price, or maybe even 1/4-1/3 then you'd fill the stadium and you have twice as many if not more people buying beer, concessions, souvenirs, etc. It's the Walmart approach, where everything is cheap, but you make your money on lots of small transactions rather than one big one.
I think the idea of “more short tracks” is fine, but I think there needs to be a balance. Not too many, probably no more than 5 different ones in a season.
Yea I feel like nascar could do the adding to many road courses but with short tracks
Highly agreed
@@tonystewartfan2014 I think with road courses, there's a good balance at the moment. 6 or 7 is fine, but there shouldn't be any more than 7. It's a fine amount and rewards drivers who are not only good on ovals but can do business turning left AND right.
No more road courses. They should cut back on the road courses. Everyone one of them is as boring as the cookie cutter mile and half's. Exciting endings do not make a race a good.
@@chadjustice8560 I totally agree. Look at what happened to Indycar. They shifted away from ovals gradually, and now we have all these boring street courses with no passing zones. Nascar is on the same trend they were for 10 years. It has to stop now, or the same will happen.
There's two things I think need to happen to fix NASCAR's short track problem:
1. Lower the prices of tickets and amenities at the tracks. I know NASCAR will be reluctant to do this because it'll take a hit on profits, especially as the economy is showing signs of recession, but like you said people can't afford to go to sporting events anymore. I think I paid $125 for a seat in the Allison section at Bristol last year and then had to pay a marked up price for a hotel room. NASCAR could try to work with hotel chains near their tracks to lower prices of hotel rooms as well as NASCAR ticket prices, though I'm not sure how that would actually work.
2. NASCAR needs to stop trying to race at SMI exclusive tracks and branch out to independent tracks like Oswego, Slinger, I-55, and other tracks like that. NASCAR was built on tracks being largely independent up until around the 90s when Bruton Smith began buying everything in sight, and with one company basically having a monopoly on NASCAR tracks they don't have to worry about a reconfiguration making racing at one track bad because nobody is going to compete with them in that market for NASCAR and if revenue for that track falls the other tracks can make up for it.
I Honestly Get why Nascar Never looks at Adding short tracks.
It’s because Most Short tracks around America can not Hold A Nascar Cup series Size Crowd and they wouldn’t make as much Money,Which is a Fair Excuse.
But We Do Need More Short Tracks but Sadly there’s no Quick Fix for it it’s not as easy as people say it is when people complain about having no short tracks.
But I think In the long run adding more short tracks is a necessity instead of chasing big markets like Chicago for a street race but Nascar looks at it for the Money.
Not just hold the fans but most short tracks don’t have full pit rows, and the newest safety equipment that the Big pockets have.
NASCAR can't even sell out the "big tracks" so the whole notion that if a track doesn't have 100K seats it won't make money is laughable. hell Richmond use to be an automatic sell out and had almost 100K seats at its peak can barely sell 20K NOW and thats when they had a night race. August in Richmond in the DAY they will be lucky to get 10K.
I honestly wished Richmond would scrap the D oval configuration and go back to the 1/2 mile Strawberry Hill bullring layout. and give them back their May/September dates.
I knew I recognized that first background music from somewhere…thanks for that part of the description!
Video suggestion/request: F1's recent US growth. Your thoughts on the phenomenon and lessons for NASCAR.
F1 commentators treat the race with the seriousness it deserves (looking at you Fox). Also the races are easy to watch as your normal race is just under 2 hours.
I appreciate that you don't make America's economic issues into a partisan issue.
I agree. For a channel like this, there is really no point.
That’s because we all know who the culprit is for the rich getting richer
It’s inherently political, but he’s right, both parties are complicit.
although I’d argue “Reaganomics” aka “trickle down economics” started the trend. Still waiting for something to trickle down
@@yommishYep, that’s what started the whole mess. Some have handled the economy and the budget better than others, but like you, I’m also still waiting for something good to trickle down.
Id be fine with nascar buying kern country raceway. All they need to do is put safer-barrier and theyd be good. Tracks big and has had 30-35 arca and super late races. And theres not any local racing out there much. So “Nascar” running it would make people come from all over west to run it.
A 3rd point worth bringing up about why the 3 short track's attendance have dropped is because NASCAR has made every attempt in it's power to turn it's back on it's core fan: the lower middle class Southerner.
I used to work at a local airport around BMS, so obviously race weeks were our biggest of the year. Our airport manager ran an advertising agency for the better part of 25 years before coming to the FBO. And every race week, without fail, he'd religiously bring up the same point with us. He'd say "NASCAR had the most rabid, loyal fan base in all of American professional sports. You'd have housewife's that, since the 80's, have ONLY used Tide to do their laundry, because their husbands were DW fans. You have multiple generations of families that ONLY purchases Chevrolets, because they were raised Earnhardt fans. And somehow, someway, NASCAR found a way to completely alienate that fan base in only a decade. It makes absolutely no sense."
You know, I never actually noticed that all 3 Short Tracks are right next to eachother until you pointed it out...hell I could probably hit all 3 tracks in a day if I tried. In fact I should do a video about that...
Also, Bristol has had pretty bad luck with rain lately.
You can drive Bristol to Richmond in about 8 hours with a stop at Martinsville in the middle.
Slap, Best video you've put out in a little while now (well since your last one). Very valid point on the short tracks being placed back to back to back.
One thing you forgot to mention, in the 80's & 90's. Nascar had TV blackouts with-in 1-2hrs driving distance from the track hosting the races that week. It forced it's diehard local fans to attend the races in person; And that was feasible back then since the ticket, concessions, souvenirs, amementies and travel cost were significantly lower than they are today even with out inflation.
Nascar isn't asking it's fans on how to put butts in seats at tracks because they don't care about the fans nor track attendance (that's the tracks problem in there eyes). They care about their TV deals & TV raitings which is where they make their money.
If tracks lowered ticket prices, concessions, souvenirs & amenities at the tracks then they might see a increase in attendance, but they won't & Nascar wouldn't force them to do it anyway. So until then, they'll keep suffering.
I went to Richmond in the spring and it was pretty full. As my hometown track, it would destroy me if they got rid of it.
Another thoughtful, well-reasoned video from S1apSh0es. I don't have a silver bullet, but there is a short track in Newton Iowa, built by Rusty Wallace's team, and I think it used to host Xfinity races. Now it hosts ARCA. 25,000 seats would not be enough for a Cup race. . .maybe it could be expanded.
Your assessment of the core economic problem is insightful.
supply and demand would indicate that if you have a lot of empty seats then you need to lower your ticket price
S1ap, I hear that Halo 2 music in the background at the end of the video. I appreciate that more than you know.
Your comments about the economics of going to NASCAR races really hold true for most pro sports in America in general. Live sports are just too expensive for most working class people.
4 tix and headsets for spring race in Richmond was $695 before food and drink.
Surprisingly, having 10 terms of Reaganomics was a bad idea.
This!
Go blow Biden
There’s an Idea that I thought but I highly doubt it that it will happen and NASCAR will except it.
1. Make the tickets cheaper BY SOMEHOW
2. go to a state that they never raced in and either 1. Short track 2. Long track or 3. Middle track. And make the track somewhere that’s famous or at a big city or a small but famous city.
3. New drivers and see what they do.
That’s all I got
What you said at ~8:30 is so true, people fight with each other over ideas and issues created by the people that are supposed to be working for the them as those same people dismantle us from the inside getting rich while everyone else suffers... the sooner people realize this and stop fighting each other the sooner things can get better.
Nashville is the 21st most populated city in the U.S. Bigger than Vegas, Miami, Detroit and Atlanta. It's no small market town.
"NASCAR has always relied on a thriving middle class"
There is the problem. There is no middle class no more. At least not a thriving one.
Aaaaaaand you immediately started to talk about it..
Iowa Speedway is 7/8 of a mile, designed by Rusty Wallace, and is race ready now. Indycar seems to be doing alright there.
This is the way I look at it. I live in Ohio, and the 3 closest tracks to me a Michigan, Indy, and Bristol, all about 3-4 hours away from where I live.
-So I spend $55-100 on a ticket
-I drive for 3-4 hours maybe 350 miles round trip, thats about $150 worth of fuel post Biden
-The races would end around 7pm-9pm or later, meaning realistically you would want a hotel so you could return home the next day. that's another $300-500
-Now add $150-300 for food and Souvenirs.
Congratulations, you just spent upwards of a Grand attending a single Nascar race. I make $12 a hour, and spend $70 a week on fuel alone just to go to work. it isn't possible, it isn't reasonable, and that's why I don't go anymore.
Nascar turned it's back on a giant chunk of the fanbase over the last few years because of its fear of social media outrage. As someone that lives and works in Mooresville, deals daily with several teams and knows countless ex-fans, the stark difference between now and 8 years ago when I transferred to the area is incredible.