Fan Commentary

Which Straw Will Be The Last?

by Grandstand Bob

NASCAR reminds me of Becky Larson, the girl who captured my high school heart and strung me along for four mostly agonizing years. Everyone liked Becky, and she knew it and used it to her advantage. She could stomp on your feelings in the morning and have you buying her lunch by noon. I was convinced that she could finance her entire college education with just a flirtatious smile. She was that good.

If Becky wanted help with a project, you would drop your friends like a hot rock, hoping that just that one favor might finally get you her true affection. Sometimes, when sufficient credit was earned, you might have the courage to ask for a date, which would promptly be refused. You see, Becky liked older guys with nicer cars and with the financial wherewithal to take her beyond the movie theater. Though this was no secret, Becky’s suitors were numerous and extremely loyal.

NASCAR too has created fierce loyalty. Instead of drop-dead good looks, they have exciting action week after week. Instead of alluring eyes and a body you can’t ignore, they have drama and the drivers we all love to follow. Like I once needed my Becky fix, I now crave NASCAR, even though it’s looking less and less like they really care about me.

The latest snub by Becky, I mean NASCAR, is the Racecast fiasco. I’ve received tons of e-mail lately regarding just this one subject, and the common theme I see is one of NASCAR fans deeply in love with their sport, though they are quickly growing weary of having their wallets picked.

A little background first. NASCAR.com, for years, has allowed fans to tune in for race and qualifying broadcasts, as well as archived video and audio footage. At first, the technology and Internet connection speeds left a lot to be desired, but as technology developed and faster connection speeds became reality, many fans enjoyed being able to get another perspective on their sport.

It’s an established fact that NASCAR fans are highly committed in their desire for anything to do with their sport. Those merchandise trailers don’t follow the circuit around the country out of charity. Now, imagine those fans, all fired up for the Daytona 500, going to NASCAR.com to tune into their driver’s radio frequency only to learn that they’ll have to find their credit card AGAIN before they can tune in. Just imagine how much love that generated!

Out of fairness, I must point out that NASCAR.com is run by Turner Sports Interactive – yeah, the same Ted Turner who said that the terrorists on 9/11 were “brave.” As such, theoretically, the decision to charge for broadcasts was not NASCAR’s. Still, since NASCAR has laid claim to all sounds, images, etc. of its races, a suspicious fan must wonder if there isn’t some influence here, and if this influence, at least tacitly, endorsed yet another fleecing of the fans.

And that brings me to my point, it’s not the insane restrictions on coolers and bags; it’s not charging for race broadcasts; it’s not endorsing the trackside scanner monopoly; it’s not even the outrageous ticket prices that are irritating fans – it’s a combination of all of the above.

Yes, I realize that one can write this off as “just business,” and as a confirmed capitalist who believes in the free market, I want to believe that these costs are the result of market capitalization. If you have willing customers, you owe it to your company and its employees to charge rates which the market will bear.

Yet, there’s another, deeper issue here, and that’s customer care. If you don’t take care of your customers, they might disappear. Even Becky realized this. If she wanted to keep getting attention, she had to make sure that she threw out the proverbial bone every once in a while. It’s about time that NASCAR threw out a bone.

Instead, fans are walking around and talking to each other, speculating about what’s next. We’ve become so jaded that nothing surprises us anymore.

NASCAR has the power to turn this thing around before they start losing fans, and I would like to offer some suggestions. To do this, I need your help. If you have some suggestions, send me an e-mail at bob@arsracing.com in next week, and I will incorporate them into a column for suggestions. Specifically, I’m looking for answers to the following question: How can NASCAR regain the favor and confidence of disenchanted fans?

If you’re a disenchanted fan, I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

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.