NASCAR to bring Pony cars to Cup and Nationwide
30 Comments Published June 15th, 2009 in NASCAR News
Manufacturers reportedly poured more than a half-billion dollars into the sport last year through factory and technical support to the teams, track support, vehicle programs and advertising. Yet NASCAR turned its back on Detroit with each generation of its race car as it morphed further away from what was on the showroom floor.
Yes, the new Sprint Cup car has proved to be safer. After the initial blow of scrapping entire fleets of the old car, the new model will be more cost efficient. The level of competition with the new car — at tracks other than intermediate and two-mile venues — has picked up considerably. But the majority of core NASCAR fans have never embraced this car. The evidence of their displeasure can be measured in the dramatic drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings, all of which started long before the economy tanked. Now NASCAR is feeling a similar pain in its pocketbook. And the sanctioning body is responding by offering an olive branch in the form of a sleeker, sexy race car to entice the fans back to the stands.
A car, which will hopefully revive the “Win on Sunday, buy on Monday” mentality with fans so automakers and sponsors can continue to enjoy a return on investment in the sport. Rather than admitting their mistake in the Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR will begin filtering elements of the Nationwide cars back to the Cup model. The cockpit is expected to remain the same to maintain the integrity of the safer vehicle but the car will take on a sportier appearance.
1. The article is by Lee Spencer, my grandmothers blind death cat is more accurate then Lee is.
2. The drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings isn’t because of the COT, and anybody that thinks it is is an idiot.
3. The “Win on Sunday, buy on Monday” mentality hasn’t been around for the 21 years I’ve been alive and it ain’t coming back anytime soon.
4. The Challenger has only a year or two left in it because it gets replaced by the Fiat 500
5. The Camaro is on it’s way out too. And well the 2010 Mustang is just plain ugly.
6. Anybody notice how this article (the full one) contradicts itself? Talking about how they are going to take parts of the Nationwide car and put them to the Cup COT, but also talking about how the current Nationwide cars don’t look like the stock cars so they are changing them.
7. Last year NASCAR told the teams the Nationwide COT WOULD NOT come in 2010.
Fisha, I beg to differ with you, on statements 2nd and 3rd statement, and I’m certainly not an idot.
After submitting and rereading the above response, maybe I am an idot.—What I meant to
say “I disagree with your 2nd and 3rd statement.
That’s Fisha695 for ya, all of his comments are negative and the know-it-all type of hype, he has nothing good to say ever!!!
The drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings is due to the fair-weather fans finding something else to do. Real race fans don’t care what kind of cars are being raced as long as their is racing.
And yes the “Win on Sunday Sell on Monday” idea has not held any water for a long time. People… well let me rephrase that Smart People could care less how a certain make does in NASCAR when they are thinking about buying their new cars, for the simple reason that NASCAR cars have nothing in common with the road cars. Not body, nor engine, nor drive-wheels (out of the 5 models (still counting the Monte) only 1 of them is a rear-wheel drive car), heck they don’t even have the grille/light decals that match the street versions of the cars.
When people talk about “Win on Sunday Sell on Monday” today, they are talking about touring cars and sport-bikes, NOT stockcars.
Well that COT was going to save SO much money and all that good stuff! They ran pony cars at the first Talladega race if my memory is correct. I think they actually raced them a few times in the late 60′s. We basically have spec cars now. This other crap is not necessary. If Chrysler/Fiat wants to impress me they can bring back the Yugo they created.
The first Dega race as in the one in 1969, or as in the first under the Modern era (and in Cup) in 1971?
see ,i was right ,nascar is going down,just local raceing will still excist,get greedy and see what happens,change the rules anytime you feel like it,ticket prices never reduced,and you get notta, good luck,now you don`t even have the car makers support,i`ll never attend another top series event again in my life,and i hope they go bankrupt just like every fan that they pilfered,wake up people,nascar is only about thier pocket book and that will be empty soon,maybe other major sports will buy your tracks for practice fields when you are gone Bruton,i`ll pray that you see the LORD and it won`t be too late for your salvation.
“Change rules anytime you feel like it”…. Ummm that’s how Local Racing works, so for you to use that as an example of why NASCAR is bad is a failed example by you.
Ticket prices… Guess what NASCAR does not control ticket prices, the track does.
This won’t be the first time NASCAR didn’t have car maker support, and well the last time the manufactures pulled out the sports popularity grew by leaps and bounds.
The sky isn’t falling… people do still buy cars on Mondays (the few of us that still buy American), NA$CAR over analyzed then over designed the COT, the Ponies will be fine as long as there is some discretion left to the teams and we don’t end up watching IROC races, and the economy has been tanking in certain sectors/regions for some time, esp. those led by the housing sector. Heck, maybe before long they’ll be racing on the beach again instead of the 2 milers that are all so vanilla.
[quote comment="53419"]The sky isn’t falling… people do still buy cars on Mondays (the few of us that still buy American)[/quote]
By “Buy American” do you mean as in name wise but made in Canada or Mexico, or as in Foreign owned companies that make their cars in the US?
[quote comment="53416"]“Change rules anytime you feel like it”…. Ummm that’s how Local Racing works, so for you to use that as an example of why NASCAR is bad is a failed example by you.
Ticket prices… Guess what NASCAR does not control ticket prices, the track does.
This won’t be the first time NASCAR didn’t have car maker support, and well the last time the manufactures pulled out the sports popularity grew by leaps and bounds.[/quote]Nascar not controlling ticket prices is true for the most part but they could lower prices at ISC tracks.
Believe it or not fisha, some people like to buy American if only in theory.
Back to the subject of the article…..it would be fun to see pony cars race…..
[quote comment="53409"]That’s Fisha695 for ya, all of his comments are negative and the know-it-all type of hype, he has nothing good to say ever!!![/quote]
he may be negitive but usually to shine a light to something, Fisha knows his stuff. I didnt know you were only 21 fisha you seem much older by your posts
as for the topic… i can only hope this does happen, ive been saying it along with the rest of you for years now
Fisha, I agree with you on #2 and 3…
#2 – People may dislike the COT, but it’s not turning people from the tracks and keeping them away from the TV. Like you said, true fans of racing would watch these guys race IROC cars, Oscar Meyer weinermobiles, factory stock hybrids, etc. Plain-vanilla drivers, viewers’ short attention spans, Jimmie Johnson winning everything, mega-team dominance, and the economy changing people’s spending habits all have contributed to the falloffs, but not the car.
#3 – That mentality might have worked 20 years ago before you could get on the internet and research everything you wanted to know about a car and make an educated decision about buying a car. Back then, yeah, you saw the King winning races in a Charger, Superbird, or whatever, and that might be all you need to know that you should have one! You couldn’t get online and find out that a GTO might have more horsepower, better handling, better maintenance history, etc. That sort of mentality worked better 20 years ago when foreign cars weren’t nearly as prominent as they are today too. Now the market is much more diverse, including tons of cars that are comparable to the cars that cup cars are made to resemble, but don’t run in the series.
I must be “THE EXCEPTION” to your opinion. As you can see, I’m an JG fan, have been since
he’s been in NASCAR. I have owned 3 Monte Carlos, all with JG personalized plates. Before
the change to the COT, I went to 3-4 races every year, and never missed a race on TV. I also
have an entire JG room, with personal JG photos and autograghed memorabila. The economy has nothing to do with my race attendance, nor my devotion to spending the week end watching everything pretaining to NASCAR. There is no racing with this car, no passing, no excitement.
I think JG will retire, the end of 09. If not then, 2010 will be his last year. That will also be
the end of my boring races. I know he will be involved in NASCAR, but that won’t be enough
for me to continue watching NASCAR.
[quote comment="53429"]Fisha, I agree with you on #2 and 3…
#2 – People may dislike the COT, but it’s not turning people from the tracks and keeping them away from the TV. Like you said, true fans of racing would watch these guys race IROC cars, Oscar Meyer weinermobiles, factory stock hybrids, etc. Plain-vanilla drivers, viewers’ short attention spans, Jimmie Johnson winning everything, mega-team dominance, and the economy changing people’s spending habits all have contributed to the falloffs, but not the car.
#3 – That mentality might have worked 20 years ago before you could get on the internet and research everything you wanted to know about a car and make an educated decision about buying a car. Back then, yeah, you saw the King winning races in a Charger, Superbird, or whatever, and that might be all you need to know that you should have one! You couldn’t get online and find out that a GTO might have more horsepower, better handling, better maintenance history, etc. That sort of mentality worked better 20 years ago when foreign cars weren’t nearly as prominent as they are today too. Now the market is much more diverse, including tons of cars that are comparable to the cars that cup cars are made to resemble, but don’t run in the series.[/quote]I agree for the most part as for the economy being the reason why so many seats are empty but tv ratings are going in the toilet too and the COT does have something to do with it the racing plain sucks…but it is the economy more than anything,as for the win on sunday buy on monday deal goes I agree thats pretty much dead has been for along time.
[quote comment="53430"]I must be “THE EXCEPTION” to your opinion. As you can see, I’m an JG fan, have been since
he’s been in NASCAR. I have owned 3 Monte Carlos, all with JG personalized plates. Before
the change to the COT, I went to 3-4 races every year, and never missed a race on TV. I also
have an entire JG room, with personal JG photos and autograghed memorabila. The economy has nothing to do with my race attendance, nor my devotion to spending the week end watching everything pretaining to NASCAR. There is no racing with this car, no passing, no excitement.
I think JG will retire, the end of 09. If not then, 2010 will be his last year. That will also be
the end of my boring races. I know he will be involved in NASCAR, but that won’t be enough
for me to continue watching NASCAR.[/quote]Why would you stop watching NASCAR just because Gordon retires which I dont see him doing anytime soon…he’s not old and racing is something he’s done his whole life,the only way I could see him retiring would be because of health issues.
The racing has gotten so boring, I only watch part of the race. I wouldn’t watch, if JG wasn’t
still driving. I read an article, in the Scene Mag, that alot of fans feel the same, without JG racing, there will be a big void in NASCAR. JG will be 38, 8/4/09, and his contract with Dupont expires, 2010.
[quote comment="53433"]The racing has gotten so boring, I only watch part of the race. I wouldn’t watch, if JG wasn’t
still driving. I read an article, in the Scene Mag, that alot of fans feel the same, without JG racing, there will be a big void in NASCAR. JG will be 38, 8/4/09, and his contract with Dupont expires, 2010.[/quote]Like 38 is old? as for a void Dale Earnhardt was much bigger than jeff gordon.
The very first in 1969 Fisha. I think Brickhouse won and it was his only win because the King and the Allisons boycotted the track conditions (pavement, etc.)
[quote comment="53436"]The very first in 1969 Fisha. I think Brickhouse won and it was his only win because the King and the Allisons boycotted the track conditions (pavement, etc.)[/quote]Yes Richard Brickhouse won and it wasnt so much the track most of the drivers felt the tires were not safe.
I Always wanted a pony! One with 4 wheels that has been groomed for years, by FORD!!!!!! Because we all know that if you drive a Ford, you don’t need a GoodWrench!
QW in SO-CAL
Concerning Jeff Gordon:
If anything, should Gordon retire from NASCAR it’s because he would probably want to devote time and effort in an all-out attempt to win the Indy 500 (he is from there originally), which for him might very well still be his ultimate dream. Remember, had there not been the CART-IRL split in the mid-’90s (that wound up fueling NASCAR’s growth), Gordon could very well have wound up in open wheel racing instead of NASCAR on a full-time basis (for a long time, a lot of Indy Car drivers also drove part-time in NASCAR).
As for the drop in ratings and lack of attendance, I blame a lot of it on the economy not as much as the COT. The lack of passing in the Sprint Cup Series is one thing, but not nearly as bad as some would like you to believe. It’s just that for quite a while, the IRL had more compelling racing even if it was with people (aside from Danica Patrick) that few knew about outside the sport (and moving to Versus was a mistake for them). NASCAR does need to make some changes, and one I would make is to have more road course races, which to me are more appealing for one.
i thought that Ford scrapped the 2010 Mustang?
as far as TV ratings.i could have sworn i heard somewhere that they were doing good. and as far as attendance, i blame the weather, i mean the past few weeks NASCAR went to tracks where it rained most of the weekend.
as for examples.
1) the Coca cola 600
2) the weekend after that at Dover
3) Pocono the week before last
4) last week at Michigan
they all either had rain on raceday or at certain times during the weekend. and i don’t know about you but i wouldn’t want to be at a race track when it is raining.
[quote comment="53467"]i thought that Ford scrapped the 2010 Mustang?
as far as TV ratings.i could have sworn i heard somewhere that they were doing good. and as far as attendance, i blame the weather, i mean the past few weeks NASCAR went to tracks where it rained most of the weekend.
as for examples.
1) the Coca cola 600
2) the weekend after that at Dover
3) Pocono the week before last
4) last week at Michigan
they all either had rain on raceday or at certain times during the weekend. and i don’t know about you but i wouldn’t want to be at a race track when it is raining.[/quote]It’s not all due to bad weather even last year Bristol and richmond still had tickets for sale on race day.
“The evidence of their displeasure can be measured in the dramatic drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings, all of which started long before the economy tanked. Now NASCAR is feeling a similar pain in its pocketbook. ”
People!!! Attendance, souvenir sales and ratings have been dropping for years due to FRANCE’S POLITICS!
MANY long time NASCAR fans have left it behind due to it “BECOMING TOO POLITICAL”
I have been hearing this more and more for 10 years now!
[quote comment="53475"]“The evidence of their displeasure can be measured in the dramatic drop in attendance, souvenir sales and television ratings, all of which started long before the economy tanked. Now NASCAR is feeling a similar pain in its pocketbook. ”
People!!! Attendance, souvenir sales and ratings have been dropping for years due to FRANCE’S POLITICS!
MANY long time NASCAR fans have left it behind due to it “BECOMING TOO POLITICAL”
I have been hearing this more and more for 10 years now![/quote]
How has NASCAR become political? I mean I understand Backstage Politics in Pro-Wrestling, but how the heck does that even work in NASCAR? Oh that’s right it DOESN’T.
I must really be a novice but I think that the reason that the attendance at Nationwide and Sprint is because after Dale Sr. was killed NASCAR over compensated the safety issues. If a car catches on fire now, the driver can hardly get out of the cars. I would like to go back to the nintys and watch the “good ole boys” race. Now everyone is afraid to get a scratch on their cars. Some of the new grudge matches may prove to be good racing if NASCAR will just stay out of it. Let the wrecked driver get out and throw his helmet at the car that wrecked him. Bring back the good old days of hard racing and anything to win mentality. Too many “team” cars.