In one of about 15 to 20 initiatives being studied around the race-day experience, NASCAR stakeholders are "considering tweaking some race weekends to make them two-day events rather than three-day affairs," according to Adam Stern of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The "premise of the two-day proposal for race weekends is that some races during NASCAR’s 10-month, 36-race Cup Series season may be better off being held in 48 hours rather than 72" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/14 issue).
SHOT IN THE ARM: USA TODAY's Jeff Gluck writes yesterday's Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Int'l Raceway was "everything it was supposed to be" for NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. That "hadn't been the case for much of this year's playoff." But that "all changed" yesterday, as the race "redeemed this year's playoff for a day and gave NASCAR a shot of momentum heading into next week's championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway." For a time late in yesterday's race, all six drivers "fighting for the final two championship race berths were in the top six." The points battle was "edge-of-your seat intense." NASCAR will "have a chance for more headlines next week based on its final four drivers." Jimmie Johnson is "going for his record-tying seventh championship" while Kyle Busch is "going for two in a row." Joey Logano and Carl Edwards are also "both marketable, championship-caliber drivers" and looking for their first championship (USA TODAY, 11/14).
BREAK IT DOWN: ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass wrote despite a year when racing has "genuinely improved and a year when the major car owners and NASCAR took the first step of many toward a more manageable business model, NASCAR remains stuck in a rut." Despite "trying to tackle the problems with grit and determination, NASCAR brass just can't seem to lift NASCAR out of its funk." NASCAR has a "glaring problem," and needs "more people to care about its drivers and its outcomes." Meanwhile, NASCAR "needs to announce" its Cup Series title sponsorship deal "sooner than later." The governing body "needs a company to serve as a public face that NASCAR remains a valuable entity for sponsors." NASCAR might "never return to its money-printing days" of the mid-'00s, but it "doesn't have to in order to survive, in order to have a place in the sports landscape." As NASCAR "remains at the crossroads, the industry must remember the big picture of providing big value to fans and sponsors with drivers having a big influence on their result" (ESPN.com, 11/11).
