It’s no secret that NASCAR has been at a low point over the last few seasons. In fact, 2018 may have been its worst season to date, with attendance and television ratings for select races reaching all-time or decade lows – per Bob Pockrass, ESPN.
Likewise, many sponsors that once played key roles in the sport have left over recent years – notably Lowe’s Hardware and 5 Hour Energy leaving after the 2018 season. Multiple tracks like Daytona, Las Vegas and Martinsville, just to name a few, have removed seats due to inability to sell out races. Fans have also been unhappy with the racing action and lack of driver personality in recent years.
New NASCAR Management
Fortunately, there’s some hope going into the 2019 season. First off, NASCAR is under new management. Jim France has stepped in and taken over the role of CEO for his nephew Brian France, who many argue is the root of many of NASCAR’s problems. Towards the end of the 2018 season, Steve Phelps took the reins as NASCAR’s president. Both of these candidates are well-liked by fans and know that they need to listen to what the fans have to say in order to do some damage control.
New NASCAR Media Outlets
Second, NASCAR announced that they would be spending approximately $20 million on advertising outside of NASCAR-related programs this season. This includes having Barstool Sports, the popular sports and entertainment blog, present at the Daytona 500.
Why was this a good move by NASCAR? Barstool is wildly popular among young people and sports fans. They have a large social media presence and garner millions of views and thousands of likes on each post. This will help NASCAR reach a younger audience and hopefully gain new fans.
New NASCAR Aero Package
Finally, NASCAR is introducing new aero package as well as a new inspection and penalty policy. Starting in Atlanta – and fully implemented by Las Vegas – the cars will all have a new aero package. This package contains a smaller tapered spacer to reduce horsepower from 750 to 550 as well as a larger spoiler to increase downforce. These measures are being put into place to hopefully encourage more side-by-side and pack racing, keeping cars closer together.
Fans have complained about recent cars and the lack of pack racing, instead being presented with single-file, follow-the-leader-style racing with little action. If this package does what it’s intended to, NASCAR fans should be pleased with the outcome.
NASCAR has gone through hard times recently. That’s evident. But we can be sure that the worst is behind us and can look forward to what changes will be made to save our sport.
