Friday, March 16, 2018

Canary in the NASCAR coalmine

Uh-oh.  SB Nation: "Jimmie Johnson losing Lowe’s is another warning for NASCAR."
The news cannot be deemed shocking. In fact, Lowe’s announcing it would cease sponsoring Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports past this season was a move many within the NASCAR industry had foresaw coming for some time.

But while anticipated, it doesn’t blunt the significance any. Instead, it offers another dire reminder about the state of NASCAR in 2018 amidst continually slumping television ratings, flat attendance, and an economic climate where teams are saddled with exorbitant costs but have fewer dollars coming in.
And then I noticed this little factoid on the Jayski Silly Season site for this Sunday's race:
Since only 37 cars are entered [for 40 spots], all drivers will make the race.
I saw two races at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway and had a great time.  At the time, I paid for tickets in advance (without knowing the weather forecast) and once I took a tour bus so you could - ahem - "recover" before you got home.  But there aren't enough fans in Western Massachusetts to justify the charter anymore and, well, it's so much easier to avoid the awful traffic and stay home, especially when there's a possibility of a rain delay.

Sorry, NASCAR, but I feel you're slipping back into a regional demographic.

2 comments:

Roger Bournival said...

1) Add this - Loudon lost the fall race to Las Vegas, mainly due to falling attendance numbers. I think it's still two races there this year, but it's coming to an end soon.
2) I'll predict Jimmie and Kasey Kahne are both out of NASCAR this year, as Kahne's losing his sponsor / ride as well.
3) Stop with the constant rule changes every god damned year!

Eric said...

1) The second time I went, I drove up with my neighbor. Never again. It took HOURS to get just a mile or so down the road after the race.
2) Kahne is still racing? What happened to him? He was pretty good for a while.
3) Yes, YES!