Are We There Yet? - 8/14/07 Column

Are We There Yet? NASCAR Races Just Keep Going and Going


When you are nestled up in front of your television watching the weekly NASCAR race do you find yourself fighting the urge to take a nap? Can you anticipate when the next Domino’s commercial will air?
The time has come to think about the possibility of shortening some of these races. Yes, the true hardcore fan does sit there with his/her favorite adult beverage and make a day of it. But with every race now having a prerace and a pre prerace show then the actual race followed by some post race commentary and results you will have to invest close to 7 hours on an average race day.
With the conclusion of the second Pocono race a week ago I think there has to be some discussion among NASCAR officials to shorten some of these races. I am realistic and realize that in this day and age this cannot be done.
On the side or reducing the laps in some of these races, teams would save on fuel, engines and other parts. Multiple events could be held in a day, eliminating those fans disguised as empty seats during those Truck Series races. Fans would get more bang for their buck, and there would be less pit stops and more than likely fewer crashes.
On the negative side for the sport would be fewer opportunities for sponsors names and logos to be seen. Television networks will have a much harder time selling those expensive ad spots for a Busch or Truck Series race than for the Nextel Cup Race package. This in fact would kill the golden goose, since it is the sponsors and television that have brought NASCAR to the verge of becoming one of out major sports.
A quick solution would be to try this shortening of some of the dog days of summer races. Pocono, Dover, are just two that this could work at. These races seem excruciating long, and I can’t watch an entire event.
Even the drivers admit that the races drag for the fans who watch on television. Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that adding a few 300 mile races into the mix might make things more exciting. "It would eliminate some of the boring middle laps," adds Jr. New fans especially find the length of races disturbing. During a recent radio call in show in Tennessee a young fan asked why the races don’t end sooner and why are the yellow flags so long?
NASCAR has many problems it needs to address in the coming years. They can’t be short sighted and have blinders on just because the sport is bringing in mega dollars right now. They need to be proactive with the length on some of these races, NASCAR claims to be all about the fans, let’s hope they listen to our concerns a little.

Rick C. Limpert is Nothinbutnascar.com's columnist. He has been a freelance writer and photographer for over 8 years. His works have been featured in numerous print and online publications. To reach Rick with a question or comment his main e-mail is rclimpert003@yahoo.com.