LDN - Sports

Success, popularity not always together in NASCAR

[August 18, 2017] By Jonathan Ingram, The Sports Xchange

Has Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s lack of winning performance in the last 10 years stunted the growth of NASCAR?

Kevin Harvick stated this interesting perspective -- unless you're a diehard Earnhardt fan -- and there's been nothing but fallout ever since. Some have demanded Harvick apologize and many have come to the defense of NASCAR's most popular driver.

I think Harvick got it half right.

If Earnhardt had won more often in the past 10 seasons, the sport's most popular driver would have brought more fans to grandstands and eyeballs to TVs.

But the fact Earnhardt has not been a regular winner is hardly the reason NASCAR's popularity has declined since the highs of 2007. One could argue just the opposite. NASCAR's decline might have been far steeper without Earnhardt's popularity.

The other argument made by Harvick, which has hardly elicited a peep, was perhaps more accurate. If NASCAR's most successful driver in the last 10 years had been more popular, he said, the sport would be better off.

Instead, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson has not been near the top of the list when it comes to NASCAR fans. A majority of fans decided early on that Johnson was not sticking to his roots as a working-class Californian. He quickly gravitated toward expensive wine, a New York apartment and a lifestyle to match -- while Earnhardt continued to live on his family's farm in North Carolina and drink Budweiser.

Initially, the son inherited Dale Earnhardt, Sr.'s legion of fans. In a remarkable turnabout, not only did Earnhardt, Jr. fall short of winning as many races as his father, he took an entirely different approach to how he raced or dealt with fans and the media.

While declining to drive like The Intimidator -- his peers also declined -- Earnhardt engaged the fans and media with a winning personality and always had an interesting perspective. Earnhardt, Sr., needless to say, was often short tempered and short on words, although when he did take time to comment he generally stirred the drink.

Historically, drivers have stirred the drink in NASCAR. It is accurate to say that seven-time champions Richard Petty and Earnhardt, Sr. helped build NASCAR as did "Wonder Boy" -- four-time champion Jeff Gordon. But Earnhardt, Sr. won only one Most Popular Driver award posthumously in 2001. Gordon never won one.

I would say the changes introduced by NASCAR before the Great Recession have as much to do with fan alienation as any other factor. The emphasis on safety as symbolized by the Car of Tomorrow, the Drive for Diversity and the postseason Chase were radical and significant changes to the sport. Once the economy tanked with the Great Recession, fans began to fall into "lapsed" status.

In addition to the loss of "lapsed" fans, NASCAR has had trouble attracting new or younger fans, despite good production values from TV partners.

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During the 1980s when ESPN pioneered regular live coverage of races, it spurred fans to get out to the racetrack, which in turn helped sustain the TV numbers. These days that dynamic is in reverse. Fewer fans watching TV translates into fewer fans in the stands. How much this trend has to do with the change in viewing habits manifested in all sports, particularly among the younger demographic, is anybody's guess.

NASCAR and its promoters are now bending over backwards to evaluate fan concerns and respond to them. The biggest single change has been the new points system occasioned by stage racing. It forces drivers to race hard from start to finish if they want to make the playoffs or win a championship. The new system helps sustain both fan interest and admiration. It's also been hard on some veteran drivers, including Earnhardt, Jr.

That brings up one final point. During the downturn in interest, fans began to sense drivers on multimillion-dollar retainers were no longer pushing the envelope while collecting fat paychecks. The team ownership structure had evolved to a point where the wealthy multi-car teams signed up all potential winning drivers or champions and the major sponsorships to go with them.

Aerodynamically dependent cars, which drivers complained about when in traffic, resulted in some pretty boring races among drivers who were well paid no matter where they finished. In effect, drivers began stroking for points.

Could some of these problems been overcome with one dominant, popular driver? It doesn't seem likely.

For my money, Kyle Busch is as close as they come to Earnhardt, Sr. in attitude, willingness to take risks on the racetrack and pure talent. He's on track to score more than 200 victories in NASCAR's major traveling series.

But so far, he has yet to attract the legions who followed The Intimidator, probably because he tends to be more petulant than intimidating.

At this point, NASCAR's future resides with a new generation of young drivers such as Kyle Larson and the new points system.

In the meantime, Johnson has a chance to add a couple titles to his record-tying seven. The extent younger drivers can regularly beat Johnson, Busch and veterans like Harvick could make a difference in how popular they become with existing fans and how many new ones they attract.

It was certainly a formula that worked well for Gordon in his battles with Earnhardt, Sr.

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