Better, Not Shorter
Attention-challenged fans, TV execs and even some drivers say NASCAR’s problem is too-long races, but they are wrong
Did you watch the last ÂNASCAR race from green flag to checkers? Didn’t think so. Television viewership is down. And seats remain available at most tracks. A TV executive says the problem is that the races are too long. NASCAR’s favorite driver agrees.
I don’t.
Before the season, Fox Sports Chairman David Hill suggested that the run time of some races be shortened. “I think the racing is far too long,” he said during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s pre-season media tour. “There is more diversion, more opportunities for stuff than any other time in man’s history.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. brings the drivers’ perspective to the discussion. A lot of fans, surmised Earnhardt, “just don’t feel they need to watch the first 200 miles. They’re skipping that on purpose. That’s what I think.”
Sorry, guys, you’re off the mark.
