Interesting Editorial in Late Model Racer Magazine

[rebelracewriter]

............about the death of the NA$CAR Elite series!!

 

Point is.....support your local series or end up with $25-50,000 yard art!! JMHO

[HORSEPOWER]

I remember a some years back they actually had some races televised, other than that, how much more did they do for the series? I also think in the past few years they haven't averaged more than 20 cars per race, that also goes back to the time they changed the chassis, body, and rules packages all together. The new PASS Southern Series, I think allows similar rules, so they can use them there. ASALM allows the Elite bodies in the series.

[txtom]

When Nascar isolated their series with the chassis requirements, it killed the interest and participation.

 

If you remember back to the original All-Pro series thet Bob Harmon founded in 1980, he worked off the premise of having a core group of 15 to 25 regular racers. He took this group to a particular track on the schedule, and relied on a combination of short schedule racers and local track racers to fill in for a full field. Since the cars existed, and had common rules, it was a very successful formula.

 

Also important here was the treatment of the racers by Harmon. At one of his races, the guy who finished last in the consi race was just as important to him as the current points champion. Harmon respected the efforts the racers put forth to race, and in turn, the racers respected and trusted him. Add to that the tech procedures under Fritz Augustine. If Fritz was teching, you knew you were on a level playing field. Fritz knew his stuff, and was not intimidated by the big name.

 

When Nascar bought the series, they started by branching out too far, adding to travel expenses, and then slowly isolated themselves by dictating certain chassis, etc. Their cars did not mix with the typical saturday night SLM chassis. But we have already hashed out the different chassis, rules, sanctions, series, etc.

 

Add to that the mixed message Nascar sends out by stating they support saturday night short track racing, yet at the same time they schedule cup races on saturday night.

There are currently less than 100 tracks in Nascar's weekly racing division. I wonder how much saturday night cup racing we'd be seeing if it were more like 600-700 tracks.

[CommonSenseRacing]

NASCAR is a business, like any other business they are interested in the bottom line regardless of what any PR person might say. People are interested in Nextel Cup, due to the bigger than life show that is put on every week, driver’s in commercials living the life that people only get to dream of. NASCAR, made them celebrities and they live the AMERICAN DREAM!!!

 

A friend of mine is a Professional Soccer Player in the USA. He is a Pro Athlete and he had a said something to me that made a lot of sense. If he played soccer anywhere else in the world he’d be famous, but here in the USA as a pro soccer player he earns about $65,000, the masses only admire money and fame (multi-million dollar deals). Racers love to race, people love things they believe are out of reach. Late Models race all over the country, to common to keep the short attention span of the public.