NASCAR needs a tune-up. With crowds dwindling at racetracks across America during the recession the Sprint Cup Series is in need of a makeover to bring back the fans.
Over the past decade NASCAR has experienced a huge boom in popularity. From advertising campaigns to a big spike in television revenue NASCAR has become a national sport. But the boom hasn't come without its share of problems.
Problems With the Car of Tomorrow
After several years of research and development NASCAR unveiled the Car of Tomorrow back in 2007. It was lauded for its enhanced safety features including a stronger roll cage and bigger frame that would slow the car down, but from a racing perspective it had its flaws.
- With new safety features came new templates that every car had to fit. This made most work on the car illegal, thus removing most of the innovation from the sport. In order to fix this NASCAR should implement a system of regulations akin to Formula 1 where the teams are given a set of guidelines and are allowed to work anywhere within them. These guidelines allow for independent innovation, differing chassis setups from all of the teams, and more freedom during the race weekend to make adjustments.
- The car itself looks strange. It has the look of a rolling brick with a fin attached. NASCAR should look into streamlining the car to make it look more like a race car without sacrificing any of the safety features.
- The car still had a carburetor rather than a fuel-injection system. The carburetor remains necessary so that restrictor plates can be added, but it seems ironic that a car billed as the "Car of Tomorrow" would still use a carburetor.
NASCAR Issues On Race Day
It hasn't only been the new car that has become an issue for NASCAR its the race days as well. The current economic trouble has hit NASCAR much harder than other sports and it can be seen everywhere from sponsors dropping out to dwindling crowds at every track. NASCAR needs to change its race day procedure to help restart the NASCAR boom.
- Shorten the 500 mile/lap races to 400. With the exception of the Dayton 500 and Charlotte 600 which are two of the biggest races, all races should be shortened by 100 miles/laps. Many times a 500 becomes excessive and intolerable for the fans who are sitting on hot metal under a summer sun. With many tracks and promotors hesitant to drop the "500" moniker a good compromise would be either 500 miles/laps or three hours. Many 500 races are roughly three hours to begin with so the timed aspect of the race would allow for the "500" to stay intact while guaranteeing fans a three hour race instead of a four or five hour caution-filled marathon.
- Take a race from California. NASCAR in suburban Los Angeles seemed like a ludicrous thought, but to go there TWICE! There should be a race in the Golden State because it is a major market but two is overkill. The 90,000 seat grandstand is half-full on a good day which is a black eye for NASCAR because the fans see more seats than people when they watch. One of California's two races should be given to Kentucky. The fans are rabid for racing in the south and Kentucky has a fine facility with over 70,000 seats that would be perfect for the Sprint Cup Series.
- Add more variety to the Chase. With three one-mile tracks and four high-banked 1.5-mile ovals there is little variety to the races in NASCAR's ten-race playoff. Rather than its current order a more varied Chase would provide more entertainment for the fans and keep the teams on their toes until the very end. A good chase order would be Indianapolis, New Hampshire, Bristol, Texas, Michigan, Atlanta, Talladega, Kansas, Infineon, Homestead-Miami. The addition of a road course and super speedway keeps the Chase varied and a more true "playoff".
- Get rid of green-white checker finishes. While it seems sacreligious to many for a race to end under caution so be it. A 500 mile race is a 500 mile race, not 501.5 miles or 503 miles but 500 miles. NASCAR has to take a stand and say "we said the race would be 500 miles and that's how it's going to be". While every race fan wants an exciting finish, myself included, many also want to see races like the Daytona 500 keep from morphing into the Daytona 505.5.
The copyright of the article How to Fix the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in NASCAR is owned by Mike Abelson. Permission to republish How to Fix the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
