May 25th, 2009 
Journo So I’m about to blow your mind. Are you ready? NASCAR wants their fans to be happy.
I know this is a tough thing to swallow but they really do.
In all seriousness though, NASCAR really isn’t out to make their fans hate what they are watching. In fact it is quite the opposite.
On Tuesday NASCAR has scheduled an unusual meeting to answer questions and solicit ideas from drivers and team owners. The sanctioning body has said they will be taking up various issues with the goal of discussing ways to improve the sport and the performance.
One idea apparently on the table is the double-file restart used during the All-Star race. This style of restart is commonly used throughout lower series. Many drivers appear to support the idea and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby says they are discussing it. There is even talk of implementing the idea this season.
No doubt the change would make for more exciting restarts and overall racing. What they do decide to do though remains to be seen.
NASCAR is not just seeking the opinion of drivers and owners though. Last year they started up the NASCAR Fan Council which gives fans the opportunity to provide feedback on various issues and topics. While I’m sure many people are skeptical that NASCAR is really listening, from what I hear they are. I also hear the surveys are pretty colorful. Not a bad thing from a very passionate fan base.
In a recent survey the Fan Council asked fans to respond to Digger. From what I understand the response was not good. Digger of course is the brainchild of Fox, which is attempting to turn it into its own brand. NASCAR though has other ideas. They apparently would like to see Digger become road kill.
Now there is only one reason NASCAR dislikes Digger. It’s not the characters or the cheesiness, it’s not the gimmicky nature of it. The reason is because the fans don’t like it. They realize unhappy fans tune out and fans who tune out are not good for business.
We have said here many times before, NASCAR is a business. And the most fundamental part of any business are customers. And in any sport the customers are the fans. If you’re not happy, they’re not happy.
Believe me if NASCAR had their way a different driver would win every week and that winner wouldn’t be decided until the final lap. It’s not good for them if the same guy or team keeps winning over and over again. It makes you bored and you quit watching and showing up to the race track. The points race is the same story.Why do you think they implemented the Chase?
Even the COT was an attempt to make racing a little better (among many other safety innovations). In my opinion it has had an effect. Though not always a good one.
Either way you look at this, remember NASCAR is nothing without its fans. You make their world go round and they know it. Unfortunately in this sport there are a lot of politics that get in the way of the competition and often divide fans and create hostile feelings toward NASCAR. We saw that this past week with the Carl Long penalties.
I know most people will always see NASCAR as the evil empire. Their role as rule maker and enforcer will always put them in that light. But I promise you they are doing everything in their power to keep you happy. Even if you do get ticked off sometimes.
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thank God for Dover. That is one of my favorite races of the year since it is that last Fox race. Don’t get me wrong. Fox has a better overall broadcast than ESPeeOn, but I can only take so much of Ol’ DW and Digger. I saw a lady wearing a Digger shirt and hat at the Texas race this year. I couldn’t believe that someone would pay for a shirt that has that fuzzy ****** on it. DW can kiss my ***.
I’m so relieved to know I’m not the only one who hates Digger!!!!!!
Thanks for the link to the Nascar Fan Council.
That’s something that slipped past me somehow.
That Digger Deal is a Double Edged Sword. Fox is just trying to make back some of the HUGE Fees that Nascar gets from the “TV Deal”
Fans that ONLY see Digger on TV hate it. Fans at the Track seem to love it as it’s been reported at least twice on THIS site [by fans] that crowds ale 5 to 10 deep around the Digger Hauler waiting to buy stuff.
If it continues to make money it will stay on TV.
IOW Fans are voting with their dollars.
Jim @ Home
Better watchout Journo, taking the side of NASCAR and positing they may take into account fans vice bottomline may bring an avalanche of scorn your way.
I mean really, why would any multi-billion dollar company bend over for it’s meal ticket? (satire tags not optional)
What amazed me on the double-wide issue was Darby’s statement NASCAR “is looking at it.” Geesh Marie how long a look does it take, it’s been a couple months short of four years.
I applaud Nascar for the Fan Council, but in regards to Digger, does Nascar have any say? After all, it’s Fox’s deal – Their broadcast, and I highly doubt that Nascar can have that much of a say. Especially if Digger appeals to a younger audience (hook ‘em while they’re young). I’d wouldn’t be surprised to see Digger next year. As for the Fan Council, I think Nascar could have done a better job letting fans know about its existence. Only time will tell if they really mean it.
If NA$CAR were serious about pleasing the fans they would have made an effort to get the 600 going last night. Instead, they let the wet track sit for an hour without even attempting to dry it and get the race going to at least halfway. Now instead of having the 600 when scheduled, it will be run on a day when many of us fans are going home instead of in the stands because we actually have jobs and have to work for a living. Shame shame shame on them and their lack of decision making. They called the race at 8:30 PM. That’s nuts! Other sports that are taken seriously don’t put a cap on how late their events run. Baseball plays extra innings until someone wins. Hockey has gone well into the 3 or 4 O’clock hour to finish a game. Nascar though, will refuse to start a race because they might have to stay up past their bedtime to finish.
“NASCAR WANTS FANS TO BE HAPPY….?”
Suddenly fans are supposed to be gratefull, understanding, sympathetic and conciliatory because NASCAR has decided to “CARE” after 60 years of not giving a rip.
Amazing !
Sorry, NASCAR. You just may be too late to repair the damage you have done for so long.
The “Greed Gig” is up, and almighty NASCAR, so used to calling the shots, may find itself in the “back of the bus”.
Fans may just decide they do not need to continue to pay for or support an inferior product produced by dictatorial tyrants.
Bye, Bye Brian!
It’s good to know NASCAR is reading the Fan Council surveys. Personally, I’ve spent a lot of time on the comments section week after week covering everything from the new car to the questionable tv coverage to the inconsistent rule enforcement.
I think if the racing were good a lot of the other things would be overlooked. I think it’s safe to say, at this point, that other than driver safety the new car is a serious problem. With the introduction of this car NASCAR managed to kill the competition they were trying to increase. When you compare the smaller teams this was supposed to help the results haven’t changed. I’m not foolish enough to believe that a new car alone will allow Robby Gordon or Front Row to compete against Hendrick and Roush week after week but that was one of the selling points NASCAR pushed on us.
There’s no way NASCAR will get rid of the new car, for any number of reasons including the impact on the teams. The only solution I see is to loosen up the rule book and let the crew chiefs and engineers figure out how to make the thing work. There are a lot of smart people working for the teams and with some slack they’ll have it figured out in short order.
Now that I’m done ranting. I want to thank Journo for this post. It makes me hopeful that there might be some changes, for the better, coming.
Sorry – but you missed the only reason NASCAR doesn’t like “Digger”. The real reason is not that the fans don’t like it, but that NASCAR doesn’t have a share of the income!
I sure hope Keith Urban was paid a huge sum of money for that Digger debacle.
When it comes on, I find something to do for 20 minutes.
Phyllis – fantastic post, you’ve covered everything I was thinking of and then some.
This fan council is just another way to patronize the fans into thinking that they really care what we think…sure!!
Thanks for the fan council link, I knew about it but somehow never remembered to look for it and join. I do belive that Nascar seeks out opinions, not that they necessarily will do what I want and my even ignore it but it will make me feel better
RaceMonkey- NASCAR has very little say when it comes to things like that. David Hill at Fox sees it as something to make more money, NASCAR is seeing it as something that is driving away viewers. It comes down to them trying to convince him that it really is not a good idea.
I have to agree with everything Phyllis said.
Fans have been complaining about the same things for a long time. Now that NASCAR is loosing money they care … I’ll believe it when I see it.
Nascar, Day late and a dollar short. When us fans were screaming about stuff a few years ago nascar just ignored us and plowed ahead with all there stupid changes. Now, they want us to be happy ? Pffft, nice try…
Why are people standing 5-10 deep at the Digger trailer? There is always going to be the lowest common denominator and the way Fox is going with their dog and pony show that’s all that will be left. I watched most of the Coke 454 today and I admit it’s the first race I’ve watched in 2 years.
But it goes back further than that. DW is a total douchebag and brings NOTHING to the table. The guy makes stupid comments and observations and is very commonly shut down and proven wrong.
Can NASCAR control what FOX does with their coverage? Who knows but maybe they need to look there if they want to address double digit audience losses. I will not watch a FOX race to be best that I can control it. In fact, the only reason I watched today because I was at a cookout and was a captive audience.
“NASCAR WANTS FANS TO BE HAPPY….?”
No. NASCAR wants your money. Period!
Phyllis is dead on. Ditto here.
I remember when professional “rasslin” began to be embarassing to me as I was maturing into an adult.
Lately, NASCAR has been making me feel the same way. I too damn old to be treated as a couch dwelling idiot that these broadcasts and NASCAR assumes that I am. I’ve got more productive things to do with my life.
I think that the Carl Long thing has pushed me over the edge.
I think I see what some of the stick and ball guys have been seeing for years.
so, nascar wants me to be happy now, does it? ok, here’s my single suggestion to all nascar executives: listen.
just listen. stop talking, cease justifying, duct tape your mouths and sit on your hands and listen.
listen to us, the fans, who are THE source of money for the sport.
listen to the drivers and don’t become punitive when they disagree. no more “shut up and drive” attitude.
listen to the crew chiefs and car chiefs and engineers when they tell you why the car doesn’t race and what they could do about it if allowed.
listen to the retired drivers, the living history of our sport. take advantage of their experience and knowledge and love of our sport.
so, if nascar wants me to be happy, it’s really easy: start listening.
(we’ll cover what happens next only when nascar gets past the active listening stage!)
First, NASCAR wanting you to be happy isn’t a new thing. This isn’t something that has just popped up recently now that TV ratings are down and seats are empty. They have always been this way.
But what most of you haven’t figured out, is happy fans spend money. You may have been complaining for years about the sport, yet you still watched on TV, bought race tickets, and purchased merchandise. If you are still spending money, you must not be that angry. NASCAR doesn’t hear what you are saying, they hear what you are “doing.” And rightly so.
So now that ratings and ticket sales are down, NASCAR is listening because you aren’t spending anymore. NASCAR is a business, and angry and upset fans who don’t spend money are bad for business. They want and need good competition and compelling story lines because that is what puts butts in the seats. Keep that in mind when you start thinking NASCAR is a the evil empire and a big conspiracy. Actually, it’s not. It’s just a business, run by people who want to make more money. Kind of like every other business on the planet.
I wanted to think for awhile before responding to this post. While I truly believe that Nascar wants it fans to be happy, I also believe they have ignored the voice of the fans for far to long.
Personally, I do not like the chase, nor does most anyone I have talked to about it. When the chase was created it changed one of the foundations of the sport. That is rarely a positive thing to do.
Making a new, safer car was great, but pushing it into place so quickly was a mistake in my eyes.
The schedule needs an overhaul in a big way. Racing at California needs to stop all together. I’d bet any poll would show at least 90% agree with me there. We do not need 2 races at Pocono, and cut out some of the cookie cutter 1.5 mile ovals.
Since Nascar seems dead set on keeping “the chase” we need a better mix of tracks for the final 10 races. Throw in a road course, some short tracks, and the finale should be at Daytona, the season would be full circle.
It’s not just Nascar that screws things up in the eyes of the fan. Progressive banking at Bristol has killed the track we all knew and loved.
We all have different opinions of what needs to be done, and I’m glad Nascar is now looking for opinions, but it may be to late for many of us. My interest wanes a little more every year, and I know I am not alone in that.
Thanks NASCAR, I am happy…. when I go to the local short track, drag the kiddies and the grill and my Granny’s sour cream pound cake. I’m Happy when a local driver uses my husband’s shop to put his car back together, getting ready for an LA dirt race. (Lower Alabama people). I’m happy when the ARCA teams that we’ve helped over the years find victory lane.
I’d be even happier if I could swap my 1978 VW Bug convertible for an ASA asphalt car to put the above local kid in.
You eventually get to a point in the sport where the koolaid consumption completely overwhelms your life…or you take your life back and get back to the roots of racing.
Happiness in motorsports is not always NASCAR. Just maybe the fans have figured this out and have started spending their money locally where for the cost of one Sunday ticket, your whole family can have a blast.
TC, i’ve thought long and hard and have crafted several responses to your comment (#18) so please hang in with me on this, ok?
i completely agree that nascar is a business and, like any business, it should focus on making money. welcome to the world of capitalism, huh? but . . . i have worked in retail for over 30 and i disagree with the rest of your comments.
1. i certainly HAVE “figured out” that happy fans spend money. but unhappy fans do as well: we just spend less than we would have otherwise. i don’t want to see our sport go under but i won’t support it to the same level i have previously precisely b/c i AM so unhappy. so, now i only go to 2 races a year, not four, and i no longer pay for cup races: i much prefer the truck gang now. so yes, i’m still spending money but i am SERIOUSLY angry as well.
2. “angry and upset fans . . . are bad for business.” yep, that’s for certain. and as someone with over 30 years in retail, i can tell you that my job is to make certain that frustrated customers do not become angry customers! good business people make every effort to keep their customers (fans) content and coming back to their store (tracks.) and that doesn’t happen if the business reacts in a defensive or arbitrary manner when faced with complaints from customers. nascar continues to be reactive instead of proactive, arbitrary instead of definitive and reacts to criticism by telling its drivers to “shut up and drive” and its fans “we know what we’re doing!” not even mediocre customer service, TC, let alone good customer service and any business that treated its customers the way nascar treats its fans would have folded long ago.
3. i don’t see nascar as an evil empire nor am i given to conspiracies but one doesn’t need to believe in either of those to have the opinion that nascar is blowing it big time right now. a strong, energetic business values its customers and does whatever it can to gain feedback from them about what its doing right and wrong. it asks the same question repeatedly AND listens to the answers. it speaks to all components of its business: consumers, vendors, employees. nascar does none of this and i believe it to be a poorly run business.
TC, i agree nascar is a business but i believe it is an example of a very poorly run one and, if it doesn’t begin to listen to those who provide it with the money to continue, it will find itself in the same position as all other non-responsive, non-proactive businesses: needing to shrink its business in order to survive.
i don’t want that and neither does any fan of our sport. but to take the opinion that b/c we’re still spending, we must not really be “that ” angry and so nascar is justified in not listening to us doesn’t cut it for me. it is a simplification of the business model at the very least and (frankly) a rather condescending attitude toward fans.
nascar needs to begin to listen and then listen some more. it needs to be transparent in its operations, it needs to consider that it “may” have made mistakes that need to be corrected, it needs to value and promote all levels of racing — including trucks! — and it needs to bring its retired drivers back into the public eye. “business as usual” just isn’t working right now for me as a fan.
or should i say “customer”?
To follow up regarding the issue of Digger and what was mentioned about fans tuning out when they’re not happy, that is exactly what happened with me. When FOX Sports continued to cram the Digger schtick down my throat over and over and over and over earlier this year (especially in the middle of the races while there was action on the track), I was so fed up and frustrated over this that I couldn’t enjoy watching the races anymore. It was because of this that I stopped watching their coverage of NASCAR, and as a result, my interest in NASCAR has begun to fade. The article mentioned that when fans tune out, it isn’t good for business. As it relates to me, in the last few years, I’ve been to two races at Infineon Raceway as well as last year’s Labor Day weekend race in Fontana. I also was a subscriber to Race View on NASCAR.com. But when the over-persistent Digger schtick got me to change the channel, thus lowering my interest in NASCAR, I ended up cancelling my Race View subscription, and I have lost interest in spending over $100 to go see a race in person.
I have thought of some rather long responses, but I’ll get to the point.
DW – Digger – and now watching Rick Flair come out and scream like a girl, yeah it certainly makes me want to spend my $$ attending a race or spend my time watching on tv. Is someone trying to purposely turn the fans off. If so then congrats to them.
Digger is just a FOX marketing ploy that has gone terribly wrong . DW isn’t horrible other then with his favoritism . Larry “he just ran his fastest lap of the race” McReynolds is a toolbag and Mike Joy is just a corny fruitcake . The pit reporters are okay . Let me just say I will be exciting to say goodbye to FOX .
Rumors have it that in an effort to bring in more fans, NASCAR is testing up a new type of racing. It will be run on the streets and will pair Lamborghinis against Porche SUVs.
Of course there will be drug testing, as all drivers are requred to get all jacked up on booze and coaine befroe the racing begins.
The drug testing will assure all drivers are properly juiced, and the races will be run on Florida intercoastal bridges, for public saftey.
It is rumored that a close France family member, possibly Bill France’s grandson, has alrrady been testing out this new type of racing.
All in the name of keeping Fans happy … YEEEEE-HAAA
I can no longer enjoy a race on tv, due to the camera angles, camera switching, and the nauseating zoom in zoom out. Imagine moving your head like that. It would be like watching five tennis matches at a time from the net. Why would you zoom in and show a car with no peripheral vision. Might as well show one parked, can’t tell if it’s moving except for the occasional stripe on the track. It’s not just NASCAR, it’s like every program has to be a preview for a action movie these days. Whoever is in charge of this crap get help with your speed or crack habit.
NASCAR’S adult audience has been forgetten about. That is why NASCAR is where it is today. NASCAR has been smooching up to th kiddy crowd ever since it switched from WINSTON CUP to NEXTEL/SPRINT CUP. They let EA-ELECTRONIC ARTS & THE ESRB ruin the Racing Game’s REAL LIFE AUTHETICITY (Budweiser/MIiller Lite/Jack Daniels) all because of the children. They should have made 1 Adult Version & 1 Childrens Version. Too many times the Adults who buy tickets get hung out to dry because of children. The Adults brought NASCAR to the dance but NASCAR refuses to dance now because it sees ayounger boy or girl. I Have watched NASCAR ever since 1985, I am 33 years of age. We were never smooched up as kids by NASCAR ever. Then Mr. France Sr. knew who put food on his table, the ADULT NASCAR FANS. Now his grandchildren all smooch up to anybody. As it relates to the media (ABC/ESPN, FOX, TNT, SPEED) they all are jokes. What does Brad Dougherty know about NASCAR as a former NBA player? I wish they would let Larry McREYNOLDS and MRN do the telecast for an entire year. Those guys know NASCAR better. DALE EARNHARDT SR. would never have let NASCAR pull the crap they pull today. The COT has been a sore tooth for NASCAR. I think that NANCY PELOSI & HARRY REID are running NASCAR too. NASCAR needs to listen to all FANS and act right. GOODYEAR needs to get some act right in their program too. The 40 GRIT SAND PAPER 400 at Indy that year was a total disgrace.