Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

NASCAR’s changes don’t seem to be making an impact

Despite NASCAR’s best efforts, attendance and TV ratings for Sprint Cup races remain in the doldrums. Is anyone surprised? I’m not.

This year has been the year of rule changes with the introduction of double-file restarts, multiple attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and the reimplementation of the rear spoiler. But none of these things have been able to overcome the economic restraints that contribute to fans’ reluctance to spend what discretionary income they may have on attending races.

It seems logical that people would turn to television for their racing fix if they can’t afford tickets to a race. But that isn’t happening, either.

Nate Ryan, who covers the sport for USA Today, wrote an article in today’s edition examining the disconnect between NASCAR’s changes and the sport’s attendance figures. Longtime racing promoter “Humpy” Wheeler told USA Today: “The gods in the NASCAR control booth made some great moves, and it seems to have produced much better racing, but it is bombing at the box office.”

But economics isn’t the only thing contributing to the attendance and ratings declines. Here’s the full story from USA Today.

This week's StockcarToon

Purchase your copy of "Nuts for Racing"

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy