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The numbers are in, and they paint a disturbing picture for NASCAR as the series barrels toward its championship race in three short weeks.
Bottom line? Fans are leaving the sport ... in droves.
Nobody is watching. And those who are watching, are complaining. A lot. About the car. About the tracks. About the lack of drama, and personality, and, frankly, about the TV channel.
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Most folks have turned it off completely. Those who have stayed aren't thrilled.
I don't need to tell you guys, but that's not a great place to be.
Take a look:
Last Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix drew a pathetic audience of just 1.2 million viewers. That number is alarming, folks. I've seen a lot of bad TV numbers for NASCAR over the years. Believe me.
It's not like they're hard to find.
But that's a low number. It's an unfathomable number given the series is smack dab in the middle of its playoffs. I never thought we'd see the day where a NASCAR Cup Series race drops below the Mendoza line (1 million), but we're getting close. Too close.
For comparison's sake, NASCAR averaged more than 4.5 million viewers per race in 2016, which was a really bad time for the sport. That's when viewers were fleeing left and right. Jeff Gordon had retired. Tony Stewart was on his way out. Dale Jr. was right behind him.
There's been a nearly 50% drop-off in viewership since then! Through 33 races this season, the Cup Series is averaging 2.3 million viewers per race. Through seven Chase races (that's what we're calling the playoffs this season), the number drops to 1.5 million.
So, yeah â I'd imagine alarms are going off in the big glass building across from Daytona International Speedway this morning. At least they should be.
Now, the obvious question they'll be asking themselves is ... why? Why is this happening? Where are fans going? Why are they leaving?
To me, it's a fairly simple answer if everyone is just honest with themselves for 30 seconds. I'll go in order from what I consider most pressing, to least:
Jeff Gordon is gone. Dale Jr. is gone. Tony Stewart is gone. Kyle Busch, tragically, died. He was, perhaps, the last of the "old guard" when it came to NASCAR. Beyond hoping someone goes viral and physically attacks Carson Hocevar every week, I'm not sure who NASCAR is looking at to bring in new fans. He doesn't exist.
And finally ...
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OK, that was a long-winded "30 seconds" of honesty, but you get the picture. You add all those up, and I think it's fairly easy to see how the series has cratered in terms of viewership over the past few years.
As for the answers? I don't know. I'd shorten the season and own the summer. That's probably atop my list. Utilize midweek races in June and July. End the regular season in July, and end the postseason on Labor Day weekend.
That's probably the quickest and easiest fix.
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The TV deal is done, so I'm not sure you're changing that any time soon. A new-era car would take a while to build, so that's probably a ways off, too. As for the lack of personalities in the garage ...
Yeah, I wouldn't hold your breath. Carson Hocevar is gonna need to keep rattling cages for years to come, I fear.
So start with the schedule, and go from there. That's my best suggestion ...
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Because right now we live in a world where a WNBA Finals game is outdrawing a NASCAR postseason race.
And nobody wants to live in that world, folks.
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