Recently there have been reports regarding NASCAR, keeping every member of its teams, drivers, owners, etc. on point regarding the positive message they hope to keep spinning despite half-full stands, and lagging ticket sales.
They have been embarrassed by the loss of their television audience but honestly do they have anyone else to blame for that problem? Not at all they inked a three-network deal for their seasons and frankly in many cases the shifting from broadcasters to broadcasters, network to network the spin is bigger than the continuous left hand turns on the track. They ruined the all-star race by placing it on SPEED network where not everyone has the channel and those without cable or satellite dish were left out completely as far as a television viewing opportunity is concerned.
The probation of drivers after offering up the have at it attitude at the beginning of the season seems ridiculous given their attitude of "have at it" in the first place. Which message are the drivers supposed to get and exactly how do they follow the rules when they are changed from race to race depending on the accidents or intentional wrecking of the "young guns" of NASCAR? This comes into play with the Edwards/ Keselowski's incidents and season long probationary period for both drivers this season.
Then there is the points system, which many will admit, leaves something to be desired despite the "race to the chase" mentality that NASCAR is positively pushing on its fans. The system was not broken the year that made them change it but because Jeff Gordon did not win and Matt Kenseth did that left many to begin, questioning the point's rules then and almost immediately they changed the system in order to make a driver supposedly win more races to be able to win the championship. That still has not been truly instilled in the point system as it stands there are too many opportunities for someone going an extra lap while everyone else pits to garner points for leading the race.
In addition, lately there have been too many issues with both the tires and the condition of the racetracks pavement. Many of the vintage surfaces are gone or have been messed with so much they are not worth the weight they are given as "great tracks" or "legendary race tracks" which leaves many of the great drivers left questioning both the safety and promise of great racing for fans and drivers alike. Some of the old tracks are so bumpy that many drivers fear losing control of their cars as they bump draft around them at almost two hundred miles an hour.
Stars vs. "team" mentality is not helping any of their issues in the least only leaving such high praised drivers by fans left wondering why their favorite driver ever left the team they were previously with when given the chance to stay (Earnhardt Jr.). The five and six car teams are leaving some of the team members struggling by themselves as the others are running rather consistently in the top twenty at the very least. Clearly, the idea of teammates is lost on the sport that praises individual drivers more than "teams" of multiple cars unless all those teammates are in the top ten at the same time. Drivers like legendary Mark Martin who had retired before possibly left out in the cold after this season as the rumor mill abounds with other possible scenarios for his seat on the Hendrick team.
http://www.jeffgordon.com/http://www.mattkenseth.com/html/MattBio....http://hendrickmotorsports.com/Default.a...http://espn.go.com/racing/blog/_/name/wi...http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/wr...