Despite coming from a family of stock and midget car drivers, I can't stomach NASCAR. Are they really down on attendance? That whole project at Daytona sure speaks differently. The north grandstands now reach to the sky. Plus International Speedway Corp. developed all that land north of the track with a big movie theater, Bass Pro Shops and other retailers. Doesn't look like the France family is hurting.
The France family isn't hurting. The turn 3 grandstands at the south podunk race, though.... fuckin' EMPTY
The new seats are all multi colored and look full on a Monday morning. So... But really, having lived here for the vast majority of my life, I've come to realize that these Frances are nobody's fool. Why would they dump all that money into the facility if it's a sinking ship?
I never disliked NASCAR until they took over and killed off Speedvision. You used to be able to turn the TV on and see some form of racing. WRC,SBK,GP,F1,old NASCAR, New Nascar,those badass jet boats. I mean something of some form with a motor in it was racing. Then they went to reality TV for NASCAR. So yea. Fuck NASCAR.
I think NASCAR started pricing themselves out of most fans reach by raising prices on merchandise, tickets and all that during an "economic turmoil". Combine that with how they neutered the cars over the years (restrictor plates and what-not) and every car looks the exact same profile-wise I could see them losing customers.
I'm sure some specific races like Daytona are still well attended. Heck, the Indy 500 still does well but the rest of the season mostly sucks.