Friends Don't Let Friends Ditch NASCAR

I respectfully disagree Mr. Miller. The race was a joke and everyone at attendance and fans watching abroad should be pissed! NASCAR will drop in ratings because of this single joke of a race. Be ready for a rude awakening Brian France.....

Reply

Week after week there are people on here that say they are done watching Nascar for one reason or another. I would have to say this is probably the best reason for any of them to actually stop watching.
Why would this serve as a wake up call to Goodyear? If Goodyear tires are on the cars next week, what have they learned? Nascar needs to do what I did earlier this year. A few months ago my wife's car needed new tires. I commented to the service tech that her Goodyear tires had worn out early in my opinion. He checked the computer and sure enough they only had 28,000 miles on them and they would not pass inspection. Do you think I put another set of Goodyear tires on? Hell no!!! This is exactly what nascar needs to do if Goodyear is to get a wake up call.

Reply

MIKE ,any off brand wal mart tire or pep boys or tire city, tire king , firestone, tire plus and whatever else ,will last you as long as goodyear and longer in some cases.
Can believe you are letting the nazcar tire name fooling you.
Want quality and pay more? go MICHELIN, BRIDGESTONE, maybe PIRELLI. Just a saving tip.

Reply

Are you serious? I am baffled by the media claiming this race wasn't a joke. This blog would be a perfect indication of the media not being in touch with the fans. That is what NASCAR is racing for-- the fans, right?

Reply

We actually went with "The Other Guys", BF Goodrich this time. We will see what happens.

Reply

Well said, Geoffrey. There are so many variables that go into each race, and while no one likes to see a tire issue become the dictating factor in how a race is run, the fact is that there was still an interesting race on Sunday. Tire wear was attrocious and unacceptable, yes. But tire wear was attrocoius across the board, so every team in the field had to account for the issue and strategize accordingly. Did it create a race than many fans enjoyed watching? Obviously not, based on the NASCAR public's outrage. But as Mr. LeVan stated above, every week NASCAR "fans" are leaving the series for some perceived affront or another. Quite frankly, its that attitude of fan entitlement that will drive me away before anything Goodyear brings to the track will. While fans still drive TV ratings, track attendance and merchandising, racing at the Cup level can no longer be just about the fan when you consider the series' growth, the money involved, obligations to sponsors and number of people who earn a living either directly or indirectly from the sport. Thus, a tire issue may be bad for marketing and bad for ratings, but it was not a conspiracy by NASCAR and Goodyear to take "uninterrupted-carbon-copied-single-file-until-Kyle-Busch-wins" racing away from the fans. Instead, it was an unknown variable with new equipment on a different track that didn't turn out how anyone would have predicted or desired. Would a different tire manufacturer have made a difference? Possibly, but not necessarily considering it would have been the first time running the new car at the Brickyard regardless of what logo was on the sidewall. Is it in NASCAR's best interest to minimize how races are effected by variables? Definitely. But even when they don't get it right, a true race fan can take enjoyment in knowing that race teams can and must compete in less than ideal conditions... that race conditions haven't been scripted for your maximum TV enjoyment.

Reply

I always thought NASCAR and its fans were not to bright. The race sunday was a farce watched by fans that must like to view sap dripping into a maple syrup bucket. Why not let them race and wreck if it comes to that. Let the drivers and his team decide when to pit. Now that they have cloned the cars, I think they should clone two drivers, Kyle Petty and Micheal Waltrip and let them race 20 cars each. That's the only way these two llosers will ever win a race. This race was a tire changing competition. I'll be a fan when they race in the rain, only allow 20 cars to compete each week, and the owners start their own circuit and tell the Bill France family to go to hell.

Reply

I was at the race this weekend and it was terrible. If you know there's a problem fix it. They knew that they had a problem with the tires. They should of held more testing with the new car. When your asking families to come to these races and spend Thousands of dollars so they can cheer on their favorite drive and this is the best show Nascar can put on is B.S. My tickets alone where 150.00 a piece. Then you add hotel, food, gas, car rental and airline tickets. I go to five races a year and so far attendance has been lower at each race. This is not a way to keep your fans happy. That was the worst race I have ever been to and then they want me the renew my tickets at 150.00 each. Who wants to spend that kind of money and not know if you will even get to see a race.

Reply

Very obvious that 'Bourque' is a NASCAR mole or Brian France himself blogging here in 'incognito.' lol I'm sure he'll come back here again and tell me and all of you that he isn't.....lol. NASCAR and Brian France have 'really' let the fans down big time. NASCAR will feel the pain in the ratings and attendance from here on out...

Reply

Ricky Craven has an article today and he say's it is the car and not the tire. I wish that a sports magazine or news outlet would investigate and then just maybe Nascar would feel the pressure to CHANGE. The races are boring but why change when your still raking in the money and everyone says "I want to thank Nascar". How can men have pride in themselves when they are telling outright lies? Thanks to Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers for being honest.

Reply

NASCAR = BORRRInnngg used to make 2-3 races a year in the 90's I stopped watching in 2003 and for this reason we had last week at Indy, not to mention too many rules, too many commercials, ugly cars.. ONE tire maker? ha what a joke. been at INDY, what 10 years now and they cant make a decent tire? Bring a dirt track into the fray for POINTS, Jazz it up, Most ovals are just a snooze fest. Needless cautions for every little scrape and not enough ROAD courses.. EVERY other sanctioning body drives on ROAD courses . not to mention it takes over $1000 to take a family to a race.. I went to Hawaii instead of Vegas! . and with only 3 or 4 teams competitive.... Zzzzz
IMSA, USAC, IRL, AMLS, CORR, even F1... thats real racing!

Reply

That race was a fiasco and I know the drivers and their pit crews must be steaming and the fans that were there need to get their money back. NASCAR and Goodyear really screwed up on this one and should have stopped the race. It is not fair for the pole sitter to win the race because nobody could actually race him! They were stopping every ten or twelve miles, even less, for tires. The drivers had no control of the situation and some of their comments afterwards were candid but reserved (don't want to get flack back from NASCAR, for criticising them).
Nobody could race the pole sitter, it was toast for all the other drivers and I feel bad that the great drivers were so handicapped.
This race should have been stopped and JJ declared the winner, they might have well have, what with all the sliding around.
Jan in Beaver, Utah

Reply

at least i enjoyed the race and espn and speed shows because everyone didnt go ga ga over kyle busch like the news media does obama. what a break ! why does everyone have to inflate buschs and obamas heads.

Reply

OBVIOUSLY POSTER PORQUE IS A NEWCOMER NAZCAR FAN. Obviously he has never followed racing in the 70's- 80's
and 90's when nascar used too be a REAL ENTERTAINMENT
to spend the afternoon or evening viewing it.

Reply

I am not sure I understand your comment on "fan entitlement", Bourque. Nascar bills itself as the biggest spectator sport in our country. If Nascar wants to be able to continue making that claim they are going to have to keep the fans they have happy or find a way to replace the fans that are leaving in droves.
Like many others I really love Nascar and try to watch the race every week. While I do understand there are uncontrollables in racing, this tire issue was not one of them. It is just one more thing gone wrong this year in NASCAR. The COT is an aerodynamic flop, most of the racing has been sad to say the least, the drivers have been to stop complaining and put on their big boy pants, and now that summer is here the drivers are sweating their cajones off in a car that has no interior air flow. Kyle Busch has provided what little excitement there has been. Too bad, but I am sure Nascar appreciates the fact that he has been a distraction from the many problems the organization has been having.
Fan entitlement? As a fan I feel I am entitled to a good race where the majority of the cars on the track get to fight it out under green on a track that is safe and allows a car to go as hard as man and machine can do it for a whole tank of gas before having to pit and take on fuel and tires. With a 17 gallon fuel cell and a car that gets 5mpg that is 80-85 miles. Heck, I don't even want to see a caution if a car spins out and ends up off the track as long as it does not leave any parts on the track. I want to see cars that can pass one another. I want to see lead changes every so often. I want to see green flag finishes.
Maybe I just want too much. But I know this. I if I do not get what I want, I know how to work the OFF button on my remote and my wife will be happy when more of the honey do list on our fridge gets crossed off.

Reply

I disagree with some of you. I think Mr. Bourque's comments were actually well stated. I am not sure I agree with the "fan entitlement" theory, but I do agree that NASCAR, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the drivers, the crews, and the owners, did the best they could with what they had. I agree that they still put on a race, okay most of you think a crappy one, but a race did go on. Could you all imagine if they had really stopped a race and not have at least attempted to run the race like they did, how many fans would have been even more pissed? And he's correct, too. There are committments to media, sponsors, owners, and investors, not just to fans. The fans aren't the only ones NASCAR has to concern themselves with.

Come on, people. I think some of you are being a little too harsh here. First, yes NASCAR and Goodyear were aware of the tire issues, but I do not believe they really had time to fix it. But like Mr. Miller says, you can bet it will be fixed by next year's race as it should be. I am not an engineer so cannot comment on the time one should be allotted to learn about and make such an aerodynamic change, but I can imagine it takes more than just a couple of months.

Look, Mr. Miller is right. No, it wasn't the best race but NASCAR, the teams, the officials, and the race track really did the best they could with the situation at hand. Frankly, I am surprised and impressed with the organization and planning that had to come together in a very short amount of time to make the race run as smoothly as it did. Let's all give some credit where some is due.

And I have to agree with Susan here, too. Everyone is blaming Goodyear, but perhaps the REAL problem is the COT. I don't recall ever hearing so many complaints about Goodyear tires from NASCAR drivers until the COT races. Perhaps Susan is correct....It's not the tires, it's the car!

Kim

Reply

Note to all,.......Kim is a Jimmie Johnson fan. Also note, that if it weren't for the fans, Nascar, teams, officials and sponsors would all be out of a job. We, the fans, support them all in the end.......don't forget that Kim.......

Reply

DA24JG:

What does me being a Jimmie Johnson fan have to do with my statements above? Just because he won Sunday's race, that means my comments are biased? Is that what you are getting at?

As I stated on another blog entry on this issue, I really didn't care who won as long as it wasn't Kyle Busch. Look, once again, I don't dispute that the race was horrible. My point, Mr. Miller's point, and Bourque's point, was that it could have been much worse than it was. I stand by my statements. Had the race been cancelled or called mid-way through, there would have been an even bigger uproar. NASCAR, the teams, the drivers, and the Speedway did the best they could with the situation at hand. No, it wasn't ideal. No, nobody was happy about it. But like Mr. Miller said and I agree with, you can bet it will be fixed by next year.

Look, we are all either TRUE fans of the sport or not! We can't have it both ways. Like Mr. Miller said...."all sports have their ups and downs." He mentions the numerous strikes the MLB organization has gone through, yet their fans stay true. The MLB has a huge steroid problem as well, yet their fans stay true to them. The NFL & AFL have become bloated, all about money, free agents, and so forth....yet the fans stay true to their sport. NASCAR fans are the worst fans in my opinion. NASCAR is going through a rough spot. They will work it out. Their fans are important to them! They don't want to lose them! Let's give them just a little bit of a break here. I agree, they need to get their act together, but I am a fan! I will remain a fan! A true fan sticks by their sport, team, favorite, etc. through thick and thin! JMHO

Kim

Reply

Since Dale Sr. passed on, NASCAR has slowly gotten worse, not better. That is a LONG time. MLB and the NFL are completely different sports than racing. Every fan that 'used to be' and are 'current' fans are fed up with the Brian France 'show' and are tired of being kicked in the face time and time again. If there is a problem in MLB and the NFL, they make the attempts to clean things up. NASCAR?? Yeah, maybe after the ratings plummet and the race attendance takes a nose dive, then MAYBE,,,,,,,,,just maybe NASCAR will wake up........(JUST MY HONEST OPINION...........KIM)

Reply

Kim,

I gotta disagree with you a little on this, sorry but the evidence coming from the drivers mouths themselves ( the one's with the guts to say it ) is all that needs to be said......This was not a RACE. And Nascar had more than enough time to take care of this issue with the tires, they did a tire test and knew the tires were only lasting 5 laps during the test and CHOSE to put there money on the theory that the rubber would build up on the track even though they're racing a totally different car with a very different center of gravity. They did nothing.......JMO, but they should have ordered more tire tests at the track, they had plenty of time and even had 2 weeks since the last race ( THEY HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO FIX IT ), JMO but to look at those tires after 10 laps during the whole race with chords showing every time tells me the drivers were on the edge the whole race waiting for the tires to come apart or flat out blow up, which puts the drivers in extreme danger with the speeds they're running. Did Nascar do the best job they could, maybe on sunday but as a whole.......OH HELL NO! ! !

As far as the fans being more pissed if they had not run a race, JMO but I wonder how pissed they would have been had someone gotten seriously hurt. Yes nascar has commitments to, the media, sponsors, owners and investers ( all money related ).........BUT where the hell was the commitment to the drivers, I'm sorry but they put them in danger allowing them to race even 10 laps on those tires. Hey I'd love to give some credit where credit is due but IMO Nascar really F.....D up on this one and deserves no credit. As far as fans sticking by there teams in MLB and NFL........ just go to the game of a losing team in Baseball and see if they are sticking by them, sorry but it ain't happening, but if the team is a contender well then you'll have to get a ticket from a scalper, the NFL same deal, in the early 70's when the 49er's were going 2 and 14 on a regular basis you could walk right up and buy tickets at the stadium for the sky boxes but in the 80's and 90's when they were winning...sheeesh you had to have a 6 figure income to get tickets, now when there losing again you may not get sky box seats but tickets are easy to come by, let's face it unless your winning or extremely exciting most ( not all ) fans aren't going to waste there money like the poor suckers at Indy this weekend........How many fans do you think would have shown up if they knew there would be 52 of 160 caution laps with only 10 lap green flag runs, Nascar KNEW it and chose to HOPE the problem would go away, sorry but this weekend was all about the $$$$$$ and the fans be damned. JMO

Aloha, Brad

Reply