I have been telling you for a while now that NASCAR is in trouble...apparently Humpy feels the same way.

Per Jayskis 8-14-2013:

Humpy Wheeler: We got too fancy and messed up NASCAR:
One of the most recognizable names in NASCAR says the sport is all messed up and in the need of changes and a serious boost. In a video posted on YouTube on Sunday, "Humpy" Wheeler says racing has gotten "too fancy" and left its fans behind. Wheeler is the former President and General Manager of the Lowes Motor Speedway, in Concord, and is known as one of the foremost promoters in NASCAR history. He now runs The Wheeler Company, a consulting management firm focusing on general business, professional sports, and motorsports. He says he's thought long and hard about what is wrong with NASCAR these days. "I think we've messed it up a little, folks. I think we got too fancy," he said in the video. "I think as it soared back in the 90's a lot of people wanted to change it. They didn't like the way it was, they thought it was too country or too unsophisticated or whatever. And those people were dead wrong."
"We need to put the emphasis on winning. And we need to put the emphasis on leading and passing people as the race progresses. Give points for the repass [...] People in the grandstand are gonna go crazy when we do that." He suggests that NASCAR give winners and leaders bigger bonuses. He says that will make races more exciting and that will bring fans back to the track. He says increases in the quality of TV broadcasting has hurt in-person attendance. "You've got to give them a reason to come back to the ballpark - whether the ballpark is a racetrack or whether it's stadium. Gotta give them a reason to come back. Part of that reason is excitement. That's the whole reason!"(in part from WBTV.com and view the video there)(8-14-2013)

http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#20130814d

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I guess the end game should be making NASCAR races more affordable & filling the seats. Huge TV deals are great & all, but seeing races in Charlotte & Bristol that are 40% empty is a real problem. NASCAR should reduce ticket prices & require drivers to participate in more local short track races to promote the sport.
I just love NASCAR & I think that they tried to hard to become mainstream, & in the process of doing so, left many die hard fans behind. I'm glad to read that one of the smartest Men in racing is acknowledging this.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Remember back before Danica mania & every single seat at every single NASCAR race had an ass in it? NASCAR got greedy & ticket prices went up...you know, supply & demand. Well, now that demand is way down, ticket prices must drop in order to stop the negative growth of this sport.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

It just got too huge, too commercial, too much marketing, too many suits. Have a good product and everyone will be happy and you will make money still. Stop trying to make a buck off of everything and everyone. We have a historically shitty driver being given a top ride because of $$$.

Take note what happened at the Eldora truck race. It blew the roof off in terms of being awesome and it was about as organic as you can get with the sport. No real cup ringers either in the race. All good ol boys and kids.

They can take what they learned from that race and apply it hopefully. Dump some of the tracks that suck or at least take away the 2nd race. Look at the stands at some of these places. Indy is a shitty race. I'm sorry but it is. Go fucking buy IRP and get the Nationwide and trucks there and hell even get the Cup cars there. Maybe make it a 2 week event Where they get Eldora,IRP and Indy all together. Get the Rock back. Get rid of Kansas #2 and Pocono #2. There are tons of ways to be creative.


The big one though....... Make the season ending race(s) at Daytona. 3 week event....4 races. Thursday night- new short track at Daytona area. Saturday Night- Daytona Infield Road Course. Next Saturday Night Homestead. Next Saturday Night Daytona 501.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

The tracks were also assholes. You can't just buy a Cup ticket. You have to buy a season ticket to some IRL crap...whatever else they may have there. So a 165 dollar seat becomes that plus the nationwide...IRL...Trucks...IRL again......

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Thats cool that they have broken it up. I believe Chicagoland was like I said. My uncle had the package....to watch IRL and not Nascar and he was stuck with all the Nascar tickets he didn't want and ended up cancelling all of it after a year or 2.
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That's my purse! I don't know you!

I would probably open and close there and then make the 4th of July race at The Rock.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Thats crazy talk. All the 16 year olds who are just learning to drive can identify with the driver of the 10 car.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

I agree -- as a kid (and as an adult for that matter), I don't think age really ever came into liking someone or not -- maybe you wouldn't like Mark Martin if your dad did, but seems silly to think they wouldn't like a Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson because they are too old? And I like plenty of drivers (or other sports players) that are younger than I am now, so maybe I just don't fit this mold... is this a typical situation where you only like people your age?? I always thought it was that people liked players/drivers that won.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

The 1.5 oval has also gotten old, as they overbuilt these type of tracks so they could put 165,000 butts in the seats. They did lose a lot of the short tracks and places that were home to Nascar. This was the grass roots of Nascar and they need to remember that.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur

increase the number of 1 and 1/2 mile tracks, and find a way to create better rivalries. shorter tracks that stress driver skill, and have each team make a few cars that get thrown into a lottery pool where each driver randomly gets a car to race. all the cars should be the same. the best drivers should win.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Exactly. The super-speedway races are parades. The tri ovals are boring. Short track racing is exciting. I would also like to see NASCAR come up with some sort of heat races with 2 drivers racing 10 laps against each other...or perhaps 4 to 8 drivers racing against each other.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan