Crowd attendance is down at NASCAR races, I presume because it’s a luxury cost that many fans can no longer afford. Ad sponsors are pulling out because they have to prioritize their spending when customers aren’t buying as much. On top of all that, the Big Three automakers are in deep shit. You don’t see a lot of Toyotas or Hondas running in NASCAR. It’s all GM, Ford, or Dodge. If they sink, what becomes of NASCAR?
So that begs the question of what happens to Daytona International Speedway. Sure, there are some other races, such as the AMA motorcycle races during Bike Week and the Rolex 24. There are other events inside the Speedway, such as Camping World. However, the NASCAR races are the big draw. If those events take a dive, the impact upon local tourism is going to roll right through the community. Hotels, restaurants and vendors are likely to feel the pain.
NASCAR President Mike Helton is asking fans to support NASCAR advertisers. When has that ever happened before? Basically, he’s begging you to help NASCAR keep its advertisers. This isn’t for the benefit of the fan’s daily life. This is to keep more sponsors from bailing out on a sinking ship.
Personally, I don’t give a damn about go-fast, turn left racing. However, it does seem to be something interesting to a large part of the population. I guess when it comes to rent or racing, NASCAR fans aren’t quite as dumb as I previously thought. I don’t think that NASCAR is going to die, but it does look like it’s going to have a major transplant if things keep going this way.