Catchfence

The holidays have concluded and life is beginning to settle back into reality. It is January and it amazes me to think that preliminary testing for the Daytona 500 is less than three weeks away already. It seems like I was watching the banquet ceremony just last night and already the hype is starting to form for the 2011 Daytona 500. The problem however is just how much hype will there actually be this year. In a country that’s going to see an increase in gas prices this year and a struggling economy, NASCAR has to stop and consider the following question: Are fans going to show up this year to the track?

Racetracks are offering out packages and specials for ways to attempt to bring out a larger attendance. (Not exactly sold on the big “incentive” of allowing fans to bring coolers now into the track will make or break a race fan to attend however.) This has the potential of becoming a serious issue for NASCAR if fans begin to decide that their new HDTV unit offers a stunning view of their local racetrack at a much cheaper price. I remember people paying $80 a ticket without hesitation for Michigan tickets a few years ago, and this year, I’m not so sure fans are as fast to put out the cash.

One of the problems NASCAR made was during the last five years. The main news you would hear in newspapers and articles around the country would be how this track has expanded their seating by thousands, or that track has purchased more land for additional grandstands. A lot of time, money, and investment were used up during this process to create more seating for the fans. At the initial start, this was a good idea for the sport, but I have to challenge those in authority and ask the question, where was the long term vision? The signs for a collapsing economy were clear, and to add more seats during this time? Now they are regretting some of these decisions as time after time last season, grandstands were not full, infield camping spots were available, and issues that NASCAR isn’t exactly used to were beginning to become more in the spot light.

I believe the money could have been spent more wisely if NASCAR could hit the play button of Cher’s “Turn Back Time”. Instead of growing outward, focus on what you have. The only ways fans are going to come back to the track in today’s conditions are if they are 1) diehard fans or 2) have a way to calculate it into their budget. One thing out of NASCAR’s control is how many local hotels raise prices during race weekends. The hotel industry is struggling as well, and if they can find a way to gain a profit when thousands of race fans come to town, they will do anything possible. The Motel 6 I used to stay at during race weekend was in the low $60’s when I began attending a certain track, and now, this year’s rate for two nights is over $110 an evening. If you add that to the cost of the race ticket, sitting at home is sadly going to be the choice for many fans this year unless NASCAR does their own version of a Tea Party movement and start some type of campaign to alert fans to come back to the track.

It is going to be an interesting year to say the least. 2011 will bring drivers in different racecars, new rivalries, new dates for some tracks, and hopefully some strong on-track action. I have heard many fans say this is a do-or-die year for them as far as interest with the sport because of it becoming boring to them. The topic of seeing the same driver win a championship year after year is then brought up. Baseball fans get tired of the Yankees domination, and it is starting to look like NASCAR fans are becoming bored with Jimmie Johnson’s domination as well. But, to conclude, it is a New Year, and to that I raise my glass and offer a toast to NASCAR for what hopefully will be exciting season of racing, but also, to find ways to bring the fans back to the track.