September 29, 2009
By Allen Madding
With this week’s news of Jim Beam bowing out as sponsor for Robby Gordon at the end of the season and Jack Daniels not renewing with Casey Mears and Richard Childress Racing, many have stopped to ask, “Is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pricing itself out of existence?”
Finding sponsors willing to put up the millions of dollars to sponsor a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, or even a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team for a full season of competition has proven to be an undaunting task this season. The number of race cars in NASCAR’s top three series events this year with blank hoods and quarter panels has been numerous and notable.
NASCAR has taken steps to try to cap the expense levels the teams face by prohibiting several exotic metals in the engines, implementing gear rules to stop the escalating rpms (which drive high dollar engine valve train testing and development), implementing a standard chassis in Sprint Cup competition to limit the amount of chassis a team needs for the different tracks, and eliminating testing after several teams had hired full time crews just for testing events.
But even with these cost savings steps, competing in NASCAR’s top three series is still too expensive. A fact demonstrated by corporate America declining to supply the funds for many of the teams. To lower the cost a team is face to compete in a full season and effectively drop their budgets to a level where more sponsors will be willing to sign on the dotted line, NASCAR needs to take a hard look at the schedule in all three series.
If a track cannot fill the grandstands for two events, does it make sense to run their twice a year? In fact, does it make sense to compete at any track twice a season? Much talk has been made about reducing the season and some have even suggested shortening events. I would suggest considering both ideas.
In the 1990s, the event at Dover was reduced from 500 to 400 laps. To date, no one is screaming for those 100 laps back. Does it make any sense to run 600 miles at Charlotte? There is a surprisingly large consensus of the sporting public that find NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing interesting but have a hard time sitting through 500 miles of Atlanta. When asked, they begin to talk about the huge lull between the 100 mile and 400 mile mark in the event.
Most of these same potential fans find the length of the NASCAR Nationwide Series events much more endurable.
Maybe NASCAR needs to considering shortening some of the events on the schedule for both the fans sitting in the grandstands and making our sport more marketable to the TV networks. A regular event, barring rain delays and red flags, should never exceed three hours. Shortening the duration of the races would reduce several expenses for teams especially the tire bill.
A shorter season would certainly drop the level of expense for all the teams. A reduced number of races would equate to less number of engines to build or buy and less number of chassis and bodies to prepare. Going to Atlanta, Bristol, Charlotte, Dover, Daytona, Talladega, Richmond, Phoenix, Michigan, Texas, California, Loudon, and Martinsville once a season instead of twice would not decrease the quality of racing. What it would do is decrease a long 36-race schedule to 23 events instantly cutting every team’s budget by one-third.
Additionally, many argue it would leave the fans wanting more when the season ended stirring interest when the offseason winds down and giving the common working folks time to save up for tickets for the following year’s events.
The rising expense level and decreasing number of sponsors has been an issue that has been building in NASCAR for years and has been left unchecked. The problem is now at a level that demands attention. Is anyone brave enough to consider these possible solutions?
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Allen Madding at ..
