September 24, 2009
By Doug Demmons
It was a week in which NASCAR should have been riding high on the wave of a win by a heavy fan favorite. Instead, the bad news came in shovels full.
First, the bad news. In the span of just a few days two prominent sponsors -- both liquor companies -- announced they were leaving the sport. Jim Beam will no longer sponsor Robby Gordon’s No. 7 and Jack Daniel’s is bidding farewell to the No. 07 of Casey Mears at Richard Childress Racing.
I’m sure that neither sponsor is thrilled with consistently running around in the back of the field, but poor performance is certainly not the only reason for these moves.
As bad as 2009 has been for sponsorship, 2010 may be even worse. Deals that were in place before the recession hit in full force last year were honored this year but many are not being renewed as they expire.
Second, the even worse news.
The overnight TV ratings for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire -- the first race of the Chase -- dropped 21.9 percent compared to the overnights for the same race in 2008.
There is just no way to spin anything positive from that. If this race’s ratings had been an anomaly, that would be one thing. But ratings have been down for nearly every race this year.
So the question is why. No one seems to have an answer, although there are plenty of theories.
One theory is the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Factor. The sport’s most popular driver has had a horrible year. Last year -- Junior’s first with Hendrick Motorsports -- featured Junior in the Chase. This year he is the lone Hendrick car out of the Chase.
His effect on TV ratings is real. Probably not as pronounced as what happens to a golf tournament’s attendance and ratings if Tiger Woods isn’t playing, but definitely a factor. But Junior is not the only problem.
Another theory says that NASCAR has alienated its core fans with too many rule changes, Fords that cannot be distinguished from Chevys or Toyotas, drivers too afraid to say anything controversial and a drift away from tradition as it pursues casual fans in places like Southern California.
There is no doubt that NASCAR has turned off a great many fans over the years. But that process has been going on for more than a decade. The ratings plunge is a recent phenomenon.
Still another theory says that races are too boring. Cookie-cutter tracks with single-file parades for 200 laps certainly prompted a lot of mid-race naps on the couch this year. That changed significantly for the better with double-file restarts but it’s possible that the improved product has yet to filter down to the casual fans who had already bailed out.
That would also explain why the ratings for the Truck Series race at New Hampshire on Speed were up an astounding 40 percent over the same race last year. The Truck Series has a reputation for no-holds-barred racing and usually delivers. Saturday’s race -- the Gunfight at the KHI Corral -- was classic Truck Series.
It would be convenient to blame the ratings plunge for the Cup race on the disjointed and confused ABC broadcast, but that wouldn’t explain the drop in every single race broadcast by Fox at the start of the season.
It would also be convenient to blame the fact that the New Hampshire race was up against the NFL, the 800-pound gorilla of TV ratings.
But last year’s race was also up against the NFL. And ratings for Sunday’s featured NFL game between the Saints and Eagles were also down. In fact, even Major League Baseball has been down this year.
So the answer is probably all of the above compounded by the worst recession in half a century that seems to have the entire nation in a nasty funk.
The solution? NASCAR can’t do much about the Dale Jr. Factor.
But it would help if the opening race of the Chase was made to stand out more. Move it from Sunday afternoon to Friday night in prime time. That would require a schedule change since New Hampshire is prohibited from holding night races. But that wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
Hold the first Chase race at Bristol. Or Daytona. Or Talladega. Anywhere but a flat track with a reputation as hard to pass.
Doug Demmons is a writer and editor for the Birmingham News ~ he writes daily and weekly auto racing columns ranging from NASCAR to open wheel to Formula One, local tracks and more... you can read Doug's columns online at Blog of Tommorow
Follow Doug on Twitter: @dougdemmons
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.
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