Two Prominent Motorsports Writers Talk State Of NASCAR

Facing a NASCAR season with numerous changes and challenges, longtime motorsports writers David Poole of the Charlotte Observer and NASCAR Scene’s Steve Waid spoke recently with Senior Staff Writer Jon Show. Following is the first part of their discussion. See tomorrow’s issue of THE DAILY for the conclusion.

Q: What are some of the key issues facing NASCAR this season that you’re keeping an eye on?

Writers Feel Montoya's Rookie Season Will Be One Of Sport's Biggest Storylines

Poole: The arrival of Toyota and Juan Pablo Montoya; and the increasing level of interest in former and current open-wheel drivers like Sam Hornish, A.J. Allmendinger, etc.; the return of ESPN to the television mix; NASCAR’s ability to recoup the momentum it had and seemingly lost in the last season-and-a-half in terms of growth, television ratings success, things of that nature; and diversity is going to be a key issue.

Waid: I would agree with all of that and throw in the Car of Tomorrow. NASCAR is making a very radical attempt to change the face of competition and at the same time provide safety and affect the pocketbook of the teams by reducing their costs so that they do not have to build such a large fleet of cars. This is a very ambitious project that NASCAR has put out there -- it’s met with some consternation and some approval. We’ll just have to see how it develops. My thinking is that it needs to develop very positively for NASCAR if for no other reason than not to have spent a lot of time, money and effort to come up with nothing.

Q: What are some of the challenges NASCAR should be focusing on this year?

Poole: I would go back to diversity. I think that’s an area NASCAR is vulnerable on. With the exception of Wendell Scott, the only people who have won races in NASCAR are white males. This sport needs people of color as fans, drivers and officials at every level. Also, managing all of the changes this year in a way that doesn’t alienate fans and make the sport so confusing and different that the people who have followed it for years don’t want to follow it anymore.

Waid: I agree in terms of the alienation. NASCAR has to find a way to get off of this plateau it’s on with its falling television ratings and declining attendance at several tracks. Sellouts used to be somewhat routine. It’s obviously a problem in keeping fans interested, and NASCAR needs to find what that problem is and it’s traceable back to what David said. Maybe the fact that there is no diversity is a serious problem. Maybe the fact that a lot of people think NASCAR is a conglomeration of unhinged, unglued changes that don’t make any sense has alienated them. Whatever the reasons may be, NASCAR needs to find a way to reverse the sinking ratings and attendance.

Q: What countries should NASCAR be looking at for Nextel Cup racing?

Poole: None. I think that the globalization of this sport takes place in a lot of ways but NASCAR is not Formula One and never will be. Formula One is the world’s premiere racing series. NASCAR kills Formula One in terms of popularity in this country, and the American sports consumer doesn’t care what the rest of the world thinks. Never has, never will. We don’t care about certain Olympic sports unless we have Americans that can win in them. NASCAR needs to be worried about where its customers are, and its customers are in America.

Waid: Agreed. If NASCAR wants to globalize what does that mean? That means expense. And what is it always bragging that it’s trying to do? Save expenses for its teams. If you’re going to sit there and say, ‘We’re all about trying to save our teams money,’ are you doing that by asking them to bear the expense of additional costs of shipping cars, personnel and everything else to a foreign country? And if you’re talking beyond Mexico and Canada then you’re talking some serious travel. So I don’t think that NASCAR needs to cultivate any foreign markets that it’s not ever going to replace Formula One in. Why bother adding the expense of something that isn’t going to do it any good?

Q: Are tracks in the Northwest and New York vital to NASCAR’s continued growth?

Poole: No. NASCAR’s secret little dream is to have a track where they can pan up from the racetrack and show the New York skyline. But that is NASCAR’s obsession, not the sport’s obsession. It matters only to NASCAR that they’re in New York because they want New York to love them desperately. The Pacific Northwest is a place where NASCAR would be a success. But if NASCAR took a race to existing tracks in Kentucky, Iowa or Nashville, those races would be huge successes. I don’t think there’s a part of the country relative to TV markets that NASCAR has to be in to succeed.

Waid: It’s NASCAR’s dream to be buddy-buddy with New York but I think NASCAR needs to concentrate on shoring up some of the tracks in big markets it’s already in. It’s in the Los Angeles market and it’s not drawing at California Speedway. That proves right there that just because you have a big venue, you’re not going to be immediately successful.

Q: Is the Car of Tomorrow the answer in curbing costs and promoting competition?

Poole: NASCAR better hope so. There’s only so much you can do to save car owners money. They’re going to spend every dollar they can get on racing or they wouldn’t be racers. What might change is the emerging trend of corporate investment in NASCAR. If you start having corporate dollars paying for race teams, they might have to start looking at whether it’s worthwhile to build cars for every race. If the Car of Tomorrow doesn’t have sufficient competition advantages I think it will be considered a failure. This is a project that NASCAR cannot afford to fail on.

Car Of Tomorrow Should Help Teams Curb Costs

Waid: On paper, and what they’re telling us, the Car of Tomorrow will have an impact on curbing costs and promoting competition. But it has not been seen in competition yet. And I can guarantee you that when it is, there will be more tweaks and changes before it makes its full-time run in NASCAR. But I agree, they have to succeed for NASCAR or else it spent a lot of time, money and human effort on something that’s not helping anyone at all. While it’s true that team owners will spend every dollar they can get their hands on to go racing, there’s not one out there that won’t tell you he’d like to spend fewer of them to go racing. And if the Car of Tomorrow provides that, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Q: What should be the identity of the Busch Series?

Poole: If you make it a developmental circuit and you charge racetracks the kinds of sanctioning fees, can you charge fans the ticket prices you’re charging now? Can you fill up the major venues? The problem with some fans is they want to pay $10 to go to a Busch race at a major league facility to see drivers they have heard of and drivers they haven’t heard of all at the same time. The fans will tell you they want the Cup drivers out of the Busch Series. Should that ever happen, however, the fans will vote with their pocketbooks by not attending Busch races and send the exact opposite message. That’s the dilemma.

Waid: The fans are touting this “Busch-whacking” stuff left and right, but without the Nextel Cup drivers in the race, it has no appeal. Promoters want them in there. It’s impractical to expect a fan to pay the kind of dollars it takes to come to a race, even a Busch Series race, and not recognize any names in that race. They’ll lose interest in it no matter how much they complain about the Nextel Cup drivers being “Busch-whackers.” They make all kinds of suggestions about limiting the Nextel Cup drivers in the Busch Series, things of that nature, and I imagine at some point in time NASCAR might come up with something along those lines. But the best thing NASCAR can do right now to satisfy promoters and fans is to call it a Nextel Cup Lite Circuit and let it go on Saturdays like it is. Switching it entirely just isn’t going to work.

Poole: ESPN has too much money invested in the Busch Series to become no-name racing. Plain and simple.

Q: If you’re Brian France, what one change do you make to the Nextel Cup?

Poole: I would give 500 points to each driver for his first victory in the regular season and the Chase. That would solve 95% of the problem with points racing. That would make winning the first priority in the regular season and the Chase and would eliminate many of the problems that now plague the championship system.

Waid: I have never come up with an exact total, but NASCAR needs to find a way to reward victors to the point that it means something and has an effect on the outcome of the Chase. With the tweaks they’ve made, you still have to find a way to make the competitive situation more rewarding for guys that do win races.

Poole: If I could have a 1A on mine, I would take half of my money and spend it on diversity.

FAD OR FUTURE
TNT’s in-race ads?
Waid: Fad.
Poole: Fad.
Multiple primary sponsors over the course of a season?
Waid: Future.
Poole: Future.
Nextel Cup guys driving in Busch?
Waid: Future.
Poole: Future.
SHORT QUESTIONS
Favorite track to watch racing?
Poole: Bristol.
Waid: Richmond.
Favorite track media center?
Waid: Indianapolis.
Poole: Indianapolis, but it’ll be Las Vegas next year.
Who is in your dream NASCAR TV booth?
Poole: Mike Joy, Benny Parsons and Darrell Waltrip.
Waid: Dr. Jerry Punch and Darrell Waltrip.