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How Far NASCAR has Come
3/10/08: SOZ Studios, MI - By Dennis Michelsen "DMIC" (RaceTalkRadio.com)
NASCAR is using an entertaining song and video from Matchbox 20 for their latest advertising campaign. The song says, "Let's see how far we've come." There is no doubt that NASCAR has come a long way since the days of racing on the beach. Today hundreds of thousands of fans pack the stands and millions view the sport on television around the world. But the debate often rages on whether NASCAR is better now or back in the day. We all waste a lot of time and energy reminiscing about the good old days. Some say the good old days of racing are right now! I look back at NASCAR and steal a line from my co-host Lori Munro from Doin' Donuts, "See how far we have come. NASCAR isn't better or worse just different."
NASCAR by the Numbers
Over the last sixty years NASCAR racing has changed a lot. Last season only twenty-six drivers races in all thirty-six races. But turn back the clock to 1977 and only eleven drivers competed in all thirty races that year. Ten years before not a single driver competed in all forty-nine sanctioned races. Let's take a look at NASCAR by the numbers over the years.
You hear some of the cheerleaders for today's NASCAR say this is the most competitive the sport has ever been. That trend doesn't jump off the page at you looking at the statistics. The one thing that has changed is the close competition. But how much of that comes because of more safety conscious decisions on throwing cautions and how much because of closer racing? That is a debate for another day! The one thing that is sure from the numbers above is that NASCAR racing has always been competitive.
More Top Teams Today
Flip on any episode of Dale Earnhardt Junior's "Back in the Day" program on SPEED and you will see the biggest thing that has changed in NASCAR today, other than the hairdos! Today there are more competitive teams than ever before. Back in the day many of the drivers were part-timers or weekend warriors. Could you imagine one of today's drivers talking about their Monday through Friday job? Many years ago guys did travel to the race after selling insurance, doing roofing work, or other occupations. We even had a dentist that raced when he could on the short tracks of the circuit back in the late 60s! Today NASCAR is big business and more drivers have a chance to win than ever before in the modern era of the sport.
Super Teams Come and Go
Last year we heard the uproar from some fans when Hendrick Motorsports won half of the races. But turn back the clock to 1955 and Carl Kiekhaefer's entries won 22 of the 45 races. His encore in 1956 would send his cars to Victory Lane 30 times in 56 races! If Hendrick Motorsports grabs half of the wins this season everyone will be up in arms. Back in 1956 despite his dominance two years would be the end of Carl Kiekhaefer's domination of the sport. Petty Enterprises, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, and Richard Childress have all taken their turn as the top dog of NASCAR. Super teams come and go all the time but nowadays it is harder to stay on top than ever before.
Cars Changing is Only Constant
Every since the second season of NASCAR way back in 1950 I am sure fans and drivers have been complaining about the cars changing! They used to race real stockcars even though the absurdity of that is beyond comprehension today. Can you imagine Tony Stewart driving his car to the track and then racing in the Daytona 500 nowadays? (Although Smoke's hearse would do well at Bristol, talk about intimidation!) I hate the common templates and the new design from an artistic standpoint. Gone are the days you could tell what kind of car your favorite driver was driving. But that didn't make the racing any better just perhaps more enjoyable for those that love the classic design of cars. Once again my co-host on "Doin' Donuts" reminds me that street cars look pretty much the same now too so common templates make some kind of perverse sense.
Money Means Exposure
It is funny to hear some fans gripe about how money has taken over the sport and changed everything, but then in the next breath they talk about watching Sprint Cup practice from Atlanta! We couldn't get the saturation of coverage that some of us love without money taking over the sport. As sponsorships soar these companies want us to see their logos in practice as well as the race and SPEED is there to make it happen. Turn back the clock to 1978 and we didn't even get the whole Daytona 500. Thirty years later we got 100 hours of coverage from Speedweeks! I got hooked on NASCAR watching replays of races two weeks later on ABC's Wide World of Sports. Convincing the local librarian we needed to have a newspaper from Charlotte gave me access to race results by Tuesday! Now any time the cars are on the track we get the news instantly. You might blame money for all that is wrong in NASCAR spoiling the drivers and team owners. But without NASCAR being big money we wouldn't get the coverage we enjoy!
Not Better Just Different
Nothing stays the same and thank God for that! The cars are safer and still put on a good show. The coverage from the old days took four hours of racing and condensed it down to a highlight reel style presentation. Now we get every minute of the action! You might complain about over saturation of commercials but the coverage we get today is better than ever before. (Although not always the announcing) NASCAR isn't better or worse than it was back in the day…it is simply different. One thing we can count on is the NASCAR we see ten years from now will be different still because of how far NASCAR has come.
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