This isn't good news

[OldSchool+]

Phil, Thx for the reminder.

I do not know, either, that is just my take, and it very well could be incorrect.

Certainly no offense to all that see it another way.

[kendo]

I think the growing interest was there prior to Dale Earnhardt's arrival with guys like the Allisons and Yarborough however Dale brought the marketability to an even greater level.

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Can only go by experience,,,1986 attended my 1st cup race at Pocono and stayed at a cheap motel not far from the track in Wilkes Barre.The following year 1987 we could not find a vacant hotel on RT 80 from Pocono almost back to the NJ state line...Most of the tracks started adding seats in the 90's.

[JMITCH]

Not sure it was any different 20-30 years ago,,,I didn't build my 1st race car until I was 29,when I finally had some disposable income...Didn't attend a NASCAR race until I was 26

Same here, had never even been to a stock car race until I stumbled on Speedworld when I thought I was going to the drag strip to see how fast my new Mustang would go! Wrong night! Saw the lights on at the circle track, checked it out and had a race car two weeks later! I was 31 years old!

[kendo]

I think the growing interest was there prior to Dale Earnhardt's arrival with guys like the Allisons and Yarborough however Dale brought the marketability to an even greater level.

.

NASCARS boom began when the black 1988 Goodwrench aerocoupe hit the track and his show cars began touring the GM dealership showroom floors.

If you don't agree you are either a predictable hater we have seen during his career (a lot of Mark Martin & Rusty Wallace fans) or were not around to experience it.

[Winger]

Personally, I think you're giving too much credit to one driver for drawing fans. They didn't become fans because of Earnhardt. Sorry, but Earnhardt fans became fans because of Nascar. Before Nascar, no one had heard of him. However, people had heard of Ford, Chevy, and Dodge and I remember the discussions being about the Thunderbird vs. the Monte Carlo, etc. Auto makers were involved in the development of race cars, there was innovation, there was brand loyalty. There were rivalries between brands and that translated into rivalries between racers. Elliott, Earnhardt, Bodine, Allisons, etc. Now the cars are all the same with different decals stuck on them. There is no innovation. Everyone knows the winner of the race is going to be one of the top multi car money teams. Maybe someone else will luck out in a restrictor plate race. But yeah, the races are boring. Nascar has cookie cutter cars based on old technology. Personally, I'd like to see innovation brought back in to the sport. I'd just as soon see a championship that was earned and meant something, not a championship that someone who misses half the season might be able to win. Or even a championship where the person 2nd in points might not even be eligible to win it, as could happen with today's scenario. Heck, I'd rather see a race series based on cars that are actual production passenger cars, that have to compete with fuel efficient vehicles. Perhaps even electric vehicles that require batteries to be changed during a pit stop. Can you imagine how quickly quick change batteries would be developed and how that could translate to actual passenger vehicles. Stop trying to even the playing field. Let manufactures and teams innovate and try to gain an advantage. Yeah, I know we old timers like to hear the noise, but we can put noise makers on the cars to make them sound cool to us old folks. I don't know, but auto racing really hasn't changed much in the last 50 years, while the rest of the world has. Heck, I just read where NASA is actually developing a drive system that travels faster than the speed of light. That's something most of us were taught was impossible, except in science fiction. But no, it's actually something that is now being done and auto racing is still stuck in the 1940's. BTW, the NASA "warp drive" was discovered by accident. Hmmm, what are the chances of discovering anything by accident when you have to build everything the same way all the time? You might as well build model cars.

[Phil Jacques]

NASCARS boom began when the black 1988 Goodwrench aerocoupe hit the track and his show cars began touring the GM dealership showroom floors.

If you don't agree you are either a predictable hater we have seen during his career (a lot of Mark Martin & Rusty Wallace fans) or were not around to experience it.

I am absolutely the opposite of an Earnhardt hater. You are missing what I was saying. The Allisons and Yarborough were the first big names along side Petty to really draw interest. Dale was in that famous 1979 Daytona 500, that was his Rookie Year but the focus was on Petty, Cale and the Allisons. I think NASCAR was on the climb before Dale really got his major popularity in the early 80s, Dale's eventual image and marketability propelled it forward in an extreme way. I am in no way disagreeing with you as much as that may shock you, I am just saying that Dale wasn't the absolute start of it, but he helped it in a major way once his popularity grew.

[OldSchool+]

Something to ponder:

It is a relatively safe bet that a large percentage of women who give birth had a soft drink in the nine months prior.

But although there is a high correlation, obviously the soft drink was not causative in the pregnancy.

A correlation may be causative--like smoking & cancer, but it may not, like the example above.

In life, unfortunately there is no "control" group, so virtually anything may be due to a number of factors, and we frequently assign a cause that we believe to be true.

And it may be. Or it may not be...

[Darren]

I first got interest in racing because of a local track, at 17. could tell you every driver's name. Car meant nothing. then heard about this guy name Petty in 1967 and still the model of car meant nothing, just that he won a lot. loved the Petty blue. I believe drivers are the reason people watch racing local or on tv. still say when the local drivers started racing series tracks lost the butts on seats.

[Boneman]

OldSchool, your postulate neglects the fact that drinking does cause a lot of pregnancies. Drinking soda is a subset of that data, but if given the choice, I'll always go for the woman drinking wine or liquor.

It is just the romantic in me.

[OldSchool+]

Am starting to think the hearse is a cover story for the real reason behind your moniker!

[Joe]

I think there are a pair of issues at play here.

The first is demographics. I live in Northeast Georgia, and we have 3 "meh" dirt tracks within 30 miles of each other, and two of them run against each other on Saturday nights. That being said, the pits and the stands are pretty full of people of all ages. But these are rural, blue collar people getting rowdy to a rural, blue collar sport. Now, I live in a liberal city and wear more white than blue, but I love going to these dirt tracks because of the spectacle. I take a lot of friends who've never been to a race to these races, and they all come back. Keep in mind that the racing programs up here don't feature a lot of series, and the tracks aren't run that well.

Many of my same white collar friends really enjoy going to Darlington, Bristol and Martinsville for the NASCAR races because of the old-school, blue collar experience. And the racing itself is just part of the experience.

This is where NASCAR has gone wrong. There aren't any blue collar superstars -- because it's hard to be blue collar when you're representing a Fortune 500 company. Said Fortune 500 companies have made the NASCAR TV experience a 4-hour sales job, and young folks from any demographic hate being sold to.

That all being said, I want racing to survive and thrive in its own little bubble. It's our job as fans to keep doing our part to bring folks to the races and make sure they have a good time. We are all promoters, charged with spreading the gospel of these common men doing uncommon things.

There are just a lot more common men at your local short track than at the next NASCAR race.

[Matt Albee]

Maybe my experiences were a little different. I built my first stock car ( 55 Ford ) when i was a Junior in HS. Had a HS buddy drive it because he was old enough. I was exposed to stock car racing because every gas station had a stock car or drag car parked out front. The local stock car track held car shows at the area high schools, drag cars came too. Guys in shop class were given achievement plaques from the race track and from the various race track sponsors. At one time, there were grudge races held at the stock car track as well as the drag strip for area high schools for money and trophies. Money went to the school. Each school designated a 2 car team.

[egspeedway]

Nascar grew expotentially under the leadership of Bill Sr. and Jr. The younger Frances may be wise in corporate matters but don't appear to knowledgeable in how to run the sport. They also know how to use dope and not get suspended from the sport.

[Matt Albee]

Nascar grew expotentially under the leadership of Bill Sr. and Jr. The younger Frances may be wise in corporate matters but don't appear to knowledgeable in how to run the sport. They also know how to use dope and not get suspended from the sport.

Not to mention drunk driving.

[OldSchool+]

Hey, J.C. completed his NASCAR "Road to Recovery"!

The senior France's both had their own ways too...

In fact, I think Bernie Ecclestone, F1 Grand Pooba once said that Adolph H. was a man who "was able to get things done".

So, flaws 'n all, I believe Cup is still the best bang-for-the-buck-major-series in the world, and am thankful to have it.

That said, always did prefer short track racing, still do.