CHARLOTTE – The financial omens weren’t good even before the NASCAR Hall of Fame opened its doors last May.
The post-recession economy remained stagnant. Double-digit unemployment kept many race fans from the track. NASCAR fans with jobs traveled less frequently. TV ratings dropped precipitously.
NASCAR officials feared its meteoric rise into the sporting world’s big leagues had plateaued. Had the races become boring?
“Not at all,” said Blake Davidson, a NASCAR vice president. “We’re getting younger and attracting new fans. We always have new faces coming into the sport and new story lines. We’ve got great drama. I certainly think we’ll continue to grow overall.”
Attendance and viewership, according to NASCAR, have rebounded this year. Caution flags, though, abound for the multi-billion-dollar industry:
● Attendance at Sprint Cup races dropped 16 percent between 2008 and 2010 to 3.6 million, according to NASCAR. Bristol Motor Speedway, a perennial sellout, had 40,000 no-shows for the March 20 race.
● TV ratings fell 13 percent last year, 30 percent since 2005.
● Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns tracks in Charlotte, Atlanta and Las Vegas, reported $502.2 million in total revenues last year, down from $550.5 million the year before.
● Sponsors, bruised by the recession, kept wallets closed. “It’s not been a great time to go out and sell sponsorships,” Davidson said. “That’s been obviously slower than anybody would like to see.”
Economic doldrums explain only so much of NASCAR’s troubles.
“Part of it’s the economy, because people travel so far for races,” said Tim Peck, a Greensboro, N.C., attorney who recently visited the hall. “Part of it’s the racing product. The cars are all uniform. Crews aren’t allowed to be innovative. So many rules have to be followed.”
Peck echoes laments heard across NASCAR Nation, that the races are too long and boring, the drivers are colorless and the so-called “Car of Tomorrow” blunts wide-open driving.
Jimmie Johnson, winner of the Sprint Cup five years running, doesn’t rally the masses like Dale Earnhardt Sr. or Richard Petty did in previous decades. A few more wrecks wouldn’t hurt ratings either.
NASCAR is scurrying to win back fans. Ticket prices have been lowered to $25 at some tracks. Lynyrd Skynryd will play Atlanta Motor Speedway prior to the Labor Day race. NASCAR officials have loosened up race rules, returned spoilers to cars and encouraged a bit more flamboyance from racers.
This season shows promise. Attendance, through the first five races, is up 2 percent; TV ratings rose 9 percent. Only one driver, Kevin Harvick, has won more than one race this year. Unheralded Trevor Bayne, 20, prevailed at Daytona.
“Sports always run in cycles,” said Tim Newman, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. “But NASCAR has listened to fans and made changes to appeal to traditional and new fans. NASCAR is positioned to take off again.”
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