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NASCAR: Five Things To Like About Race Format Changes

By Mike Hutton

Feb 12, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; An overall view of NASCAR Media Day at the Daytona 500 Club. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; An overall view of NASCAR Media Day at the Daytona 500 Club. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /
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Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Today’s Fans Demand Compacted Action

Let’s face it, attention spans are shorter these days.  Young and old alike desire more instant gratification.  They need to be entertained and their interests need to be captured.  The “wow” factor has to be there.  All of the other traditional sports have quarter breaks, halftime breaks, time outs and other stoppages in their action.  Why won’t this work in NASCAR?

Too many races and too many venues currently suffer from boring stretches in their race.  More than one fan has said that they watch the start, go cut the grass and then come back for the finish and don’t feel like they’ve missed much.

California is an example of an event where going from two races each year to just one did wonders for the competitiveness and excitement.  Racing 400 miles at each Pocono event is still about 401 too many, but its better than 500.  The “throwback” nature of the Southern 500 at Darlington has been a hit each of the last two years.  The new format should address the same issues at some other venues, such as Indianapolis, Michigan and Charlotte.

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