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If it ain't broke, fix it anyway: NASCAR 2017 Thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Batman, Jan 23, 2017.

  1. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    It was a content play for NBC, needing to fill all those hours on NBCSN and elsewhere when everyone in TV was overpaying for live sports as that one DVR-proof entity left in the universe. Except this has turned into content no one wants to watch. Up next: Nascar Xfinity Series qualifying!
     
    maumann likes this.
  2. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    NASCAR could run the same chassis for another 25 years and they'll still get 50,000 a race in Charlotte, Darlington, wherever. That's not the issue. It's the constant messing with the rules, specifically the Chase, and the raping of tracks in the south. Some of that started under Brian's dad, granted.
     
  3. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I don't know where various new or old drivers land on the "Junior" scale - but drivers with personalities made NASCAR what it was. The boys from brazil behind the wheel today bring nothing to the table. Being an arrogant punk is NOT a positive thing.
     
  4. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    Jimmy Johnson is a genuinely interesting guy, but he's so far from the NASCAR stereotype fans just didn't get behind him when he was utterly dominant. That's on the fuckin' fans by the way, not Johnson. The "Jeff Gordon is a fag" segment of the fan base deserves a nice slice of the blame pie for the sport's collapse.
     
  5. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Watching the Martinsville race last week, the announcers were trying to pump up Chase Elliott as the next big star when Denny Hamlin punted him near the end. It almost sounded like wrestling announcers trying to talk up a mid-carder to get him over.
     
  6. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    It really doesn't matter who the top teams put behind the wheel, they immediately become the "next big thing" - they have had success on lower tiers, but the PR people drain all unique-ness out of them. If I were a sponsor of course I wouldn't want my driver to make the brand look bad, but I'd also want the driver to stand out and differentiate himself from the pack. Follow grooming tips from Justin Turner, be a registered Dem, appear in a rap video, be a vegan and support PETA, be a Scientologist or Zen Buddhist, adopt some multi-racial kids, be an opera fan. Seriously, Mick Foley would be a hell of an addition to NASCAR.
     
  7. wicked

    wicked Well-Known Member

    Mark Martin might as well have been in a rap video.

    NASCAR had a colorful personality: Tony Stewart. He decided he was done with the bullshit.
     
  8. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    If for no other reason than to see him try and wriggle in and out of a race car window every week, I could definitely get on board with NASCAR-driving Mick Foley.
    Pit road fights would also be a lot more interesting.
     
  9. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Bring in celebrities who want to do something dangerous like Paul Newman.
     
  10. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    "I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to win the Eat More Chick'N 500. And I'm gonna do it ... RIGHT HERE In Talladega, Alabama! Bang-bang! Have a nice day!"
     
    Batman likes this.
  11. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I'm sure this is heresy, but with Truex's success - maybe NASCAR could expand its fan interest if more teams located outside of North Carolina. Penske repping Detroit, Ganassi in Pittsburg, Roush to Boston, Stewart-Haas to Indianapolis, Gibbs to Northern Virginia. One of the things that made NASCAR great was the tribalism generated by the drivers personalities - without the tribalism though - it's a really tough sell. Imagine some guy buying a team repping the LA market, or the Dallas market, Nashville, Atlanta. Soccer teams seem to be able to marry corporate sponsorship with geographic loyalty, no reason NASCAR couldn't do it as well.
     
  12. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    The shared economies and suppliers just make sense for virtually everyone to be around Charlotte. Tony Stewart's sprint car teams are based outside Indy and he's definitely one guy who would love do it all closer to his home, but it would cost a lot more to break away from the supply chain in N.C. It's pretty amazing that Truex's team is out there alone, clearly the sponsor values being in Denver and ignores the potential savings of joining the rest of the crowd back east.
     
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