July 31, 2010
By Brenda Benedict
"Within a few days, several ripples of disquiet had materialized in the orderly life Salander was trying to create for herself."
NASCAR, like Salander, has found ripples in the orderly life it has tried to create for itself.
That quote comes from the wildly popular mystery novel "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson. But that concept could describe the news in NASCAR this week.
This past week has been a difficult one for NASCAR. Their credibility has once more taken a hit with their fans. The media and fans have been focused on NASCAR's attempt to control what is said by their drivers.
The difficulty is not for the drivers and the races but for the NASCAR organization. Corporate NASCAR is a large organization that is overseen by the France family. Their credibility has been hurt by news this week of the fines they have levied against some drivers for criticizing NASCAR. The fines were levied earlier this year and this news was never released. The public learned of these fines when the Associated Press broke the story earlier this week. NASCAR later confirmed the story and defended their actions.
Ramsey Poston, NASCAR spokesman said, "It is the sanctioning body's obligation on behalf of the industry and our fans to protect the sport's brand. Any action taken by NASCAR has nothing to do with the drivers expressing an opinion -- it's focused on actions or comments that materially damage the sport. We have specifically discussed this in meetings with teams, drivers and stakeholders."
NASCAR seems to becoming paranoid and I feel this is brought on by the declining interest in the sport by the American public. This is reflected in lower attendance at races and falling TV ratings. As NASCAR analyzes the reasons for these downturns, they must have decided that people are turning away from the sport in part because of negative comments made by drivers. That doesn't make any sense to me.
The economic problems of fans has also been used as a reason for the decreased fan turnout at races. It is expensive to attend a race but I don't feel this explains what is going on.
If the declining economy were to blame for declining fans, then we would see an upturn in TV viewership. That has not happened. If the declining economy were to blame, then we would see decreased fan attendance in all professional sports. That has not been the case.
ESPN reported Thursday morning that the two unidentified drivers who were fined are Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman. This has not been confirmed by NASCAR or the drivers. But it is sure to be the focus of media attention at Pocono this weekend.
NASCAR should be listening to the comments made by these drivers and others. The comments could be helpful even if they are negative. Believe me, they are comments that have already been made by the fans. The NASCAR organization would do well do listen more closely to the stakeholders in stock car racing rather than fining those drivers who have the courage to speak up and share what is already being said by the fans.
NASCAR does not need to fine drivers to protect the fans. We can decide for ourselves what is happening.
NASCAR may be the sport that is playing with fire.
You can follow me at Twitter @nascarfaithful
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.
