Fan Commentary

Listening to Fans a Brave New Concept?

by Grandstand Bob

Although the proverbial “squeaky wheel” is supposed to get grease, too often in NASCAR it gets soaked in salt water. Fans have made no secret about their frustration and displeasure with such tactics as cooler bans, seat licenses and television packages. And, though virtually all of the media have reported on these sources of fan discontentment, their stories seem to fail to make it to Daytona Beach.

That’s why it is particularly refreshing to see officials at New Hampshire International Speedway listening to the fans and adjusting appropriately.

A single-groove racetrack made past New Hampshire races extremely boring. Who can forget Jeff Burton leading all of the laps at an NHIS race? While that was great for Burton, it wasn’t particularly appealing to the 100,000 who had plunked down a load of cash for a ticket and the millions who wasted a Sunday afternoon sitting in front of a television waiting for something to happen.

NHIS took some serious public relations hits with boring races, and the damage was compounded by the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin. Many, myself included, questioned whether the race belonged on the already crowded Winston Cup schedule, especially when tracks like Martinsville and Rockingham were rumored to be on the chopping block.

With drivers complaining about the track’s dangers and the lack of passing opportunities, and fans complaining about races more prone to induce naps than excitement, only the sell-out crowds that the track was successful in attracting seemed interested in racing at NHIS.

The Bahre family heard all of this and took steps to turn things around. They stepped to the forefront of testing wall designs, and just this year, expanded the width of the corners to enhance the quality of racing by increasing passing opportunities. Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the success of this design; however, the fact that a change was made should be applauded.

Imagine if other organizations associated with motorsports were as responsive to the needs and wishes of fans. Maybe we could bring our coolers to the track with us, buy tickets to a single race and be able to catch all of the races on network television. Green flag finishes and true stock car bodies would be added to the rulebook, and race dates would be assigned to tracks based on the quality of racing the track produces.

Yeah, and there will be peace in the Middle East. 

Grandstand Bob Profile and Past Columns

note: This opinions expressed in this column are those of writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of ARS Racing Outlet or its parent company, amI, Inc.