2024 NASCAR THREAD

Yes he is. It’s this year or no more for Denny

 

Eric Estero said it was one of the greatest short track races since the new car was introduced.

 

Honestly he may not be wrong. The short tracks have been pretty bad so it's not saying much.

 

I think I've been to the (ranked) worst and best ones, both at Martinsville. One had five lead changes and one legitimate caution for someone scraping the wall (April '22), and the other featured twelve lead changes, Blaney and Hamlin duking it out and Logano and Gibbs feuding all race (October '23).

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzAQbuoLl11/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

True, but the little Gibb-let will be getting the best stuff in the shop.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3A7T4jsE4U/?igsh=eTg0eTZ4ejc5eWJq

 

It is the week of the 500, and teams are just now unveiling their schemes. I was speaking with a former NASCAR reporter this morning and we were lamenting how there is very little hype leading up to the race these days. There used to be media days in early January when the press was bussed to each shop for interviews. Then- Speedweeks was two weeks rather than five days. Oh well. Maybe they weren't seeing returns on those methods.

My favorite scheme thus far is Todd Gilliland's Citguard scheme:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3QLhJ0rTYO/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

It’s been replaced by social media.

 

Yeah- this is my thought. It's likely more efficient, and while not necessarily more impactful, some data points support the impact. Part of my work is using software to see what social media is most impactful, what makes it so, and where & when to support campaigns with traditional advertising. It's getting to be less and less traditional media. Unfortunately, it means a lot of old ways will go by the wayside (TV, print magazines), and I think the NASCAR business model will need to adapt or be left behind quickly.

I know the RTA wants a more equitable distribution of TV contract money but I don't think it'll ever happen how they want it to. Monster Jam is a good example of this. When I was a kid, monster trucks ran for prize money in the now-defunct USHRA. That's back when they had supporting acts such as tractor pulls, which I thought were fantastic. Now that Feld Entertainment owns Monster Jam, they have a profit-sharing model amongst all the teams. Unfortunately, the teams had to relinquish their ownership rights to Feld to receive a cut of the pie. Feld owns the rights to the trucks (Grave Digger, Max D., etc.), and in turn, they pay the teams to field the trucks. This is why BIGFOOT isn't associated with Monster Jam. Bob Chandler would never relinquish ownership of BIGFOOT.

NASCAR nearly has a stranglehold on every aspect of their sport, and while I think the RTA charter system is dumb and keeps the privateers out of the sport, it's one bit of (perceived) value that NASCAR can't manipulate for their gain.

 

I concur. With older fans dying off and trying to attract millennials with the attention span of a gnat. They want instant gratification and won’t turn out for hype or anticipation. They quite frankly don’t give a fuck.

 

In all fairness:

Speedweeks isn't a thing anymore. Speed Channel isn't a thing anymore. And they are competing with the Super Bowl literally the week before. The 500 has always been held around the same time of year while the Super Bowl has been getting later and later in the last 10-20 years. Maybe I'm mistaken but I don't even recall seeing a Daytona 500 ad during the Super Bowl. Not to mention only a handful of races anymore are on mainstream media channels and those that are are commercial-fests. People love to throw the buzzword "millennials" out there even though millennials are almost entirely in their 30's by now. You have to be careful to adapt to a changing world without alienating your core and NASCAR has struggled to do that. Not to mention they have one of the most toxic fanbases I've ever seen, especially on social media, so any change they make is met with instant whining.

Personally I'm excited to see racing again. But I'll also admit I skipped most of the 2nd half of the season last year.

 

Yeah, in my convo with the former NASCAR reporter he said that with all the emphasis on the playoffs, NASCAR brass have basically stripped all the luster from the 500.

 

Yep. I'm not even excited about the 500. No speedweeks suck, it's get people excited about the 500, now it's just blah.

 

I forgot it was this weekend, and I booked a cabin with my wife.
For some reason, I had the 25th in my head for the race.

 

What is with Toyota, and other companies, with the giant grill.....
I will try to get some more pics this weekend.

 

That's just the style. I don't get it either. I didn't get it on the last Camry either. That has been a staple of the Tundra since around 2014.

 

6 going to tech inspection last night.

 

Truck Series Pace Trucks

 

ARCA Car Garage. Big field this year of 50 cars for 40 spots.

 

Qualifying was not kind to Toyota. Wonder what kind of speed they'll have in the pack.