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Hard Turn

A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Owens

Why were fans leaving at Dover?

Jun 4
Halfway through the race at Dover Sunday, many of the grandstand seats were empty. Fans were leaving in droves.

Why?

That is the question that NASCAR must ask.

Was it because the race was less than compelling, with only a couple of passes for the lead and two drivers basically dominating?

Or was it because bad boy Kyle Busch took control and halfway through the race it was obvious that he was going to win again?

Or was it because fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. was involved in the lap-18 pile-up that knocked 11 drivers out of contention?

Is Busch hated so much that he has that type of impact on fans?

Is Junior so popular that fans want to tune out and leave when he is out of the race?

If either is the case, there’s not much NASCAR can do. It can’t dictate the fate of Junior or Busch.

But if fans left because the race was not compelling and they grew tired of it, then that is a problem NASCAR should be concerned about.

Average Rating: 2.5

Comments

19 responses to "Why were fans leaving at Dover?"
  1. 1
    S Beau said:
    Jun 4, 2008 at 4:24 PM

    Can't say I noticed that one on TV. But to outright say its Kyle or Jr directly is a bit of stretch don't ya think?. I'd definetly look at the quality of the racing if anything. If anything, this new car is terrible on these fast tracks and 1.5 milers. As long as you can stay in clean air, its pretty hard for anyone to even compete with you. Seems it all comes down to who has the best pit stops.

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  2. 2
    Run Jump said:
    Jun 4, 2008 at 5:01 PM

    It's a combination of things. I tuned out because watching a car go around the track fast, with no one close enough to catch him...it's boring. That's not racing. NASCAR has regulated and penalized this sport into the snoozefest it's become. Get rid of the COT and quit giving Toyota an advantage. I don't think I'll be watching this weekend.

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  3. 3
    Mary Froehlich said:
    Jun 4, 2008 at 5:38 PM

    I was at the Dover race on Sunday and left at Lap 200. It was one of the most boring races I have ever attended. Empty seats and non-cheering fans could be seen throughout the whole track. If NASCAR doesn't take a good hard look at what they have created with the COT, more races will look just like Dover. It had nothing to do with Busch and Earnhardt.

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  4. 4
    Anonymous said:
    Jun 4, 2008 at 8:09 PM

    I have a suggestion how to keep the drivers "up on the wheel" for the whole race and not just the last 100 miles or so. Let's say it's a 400 lap race. Whoever is leading after lap 100, 200, 300 gets 20 points and the winner at lap 400 gets his bonus points as always. I think there are too many drivers "laying back" for the majority of the race and something needs to be done to entice them to push the envelope from the drop of the green flag till the checkered. Any thoughts on this idea?

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  5. 5
    Timothy Schultze said:
    Jun 4, 2008 at 8:26 PM

    That makes NO sense why not just tie a suitcase full of money to the hood the the confound car. I personally know lots of fans that quit watching when asked why they said part of it was when HMS was winning all the time in 2007 and then they brought out the new cot they felt the actual racing was gone these people attended 4to6 races a year.

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  6. 6
    Les Paris said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 5:21 AM

    I tend to agree with S. Beau. Once a car gets out front, it's that drivers or teams race to lose. NASCAR needs to allow more flexiblity in the dynamics of the car to suite driver styles.

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  7. 7
    Gene Haley said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 7:12 AM

    Going to Pocono this weekend. From the posts it appears it will be a boring race. Maybe some racing on the front stretch but other than that it will be single file. Guess I have to wait and see for myself.

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  8. 8
    Kris Leonia said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 9:35 AM

    People seem to pin this race on Jr being knocked out as the cause. It had little to do with it in reality. The racing was just absurdly boring and it was a big "follow the leader cause you can't catch him" race. That, plus this car once you get it out front is just so good you can't catch up to them. Pocono I'm afraid will be more of the same, yet longer and worse. I wish they'd shorten the race to make it at least mildly interesting to watch on TV. I can't imagine how it would be in the grandstands there come Sunday.

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  9. 9
    Lanette Williams said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 11:12 AM

    We went to several races last year and the year before. Any time Earnhardt, Jr. fell out of contention, his fans would empty the stands...a sea of red streaming down the stairs. Since the move to Hendrick and the excellent equipment, Junior contended in every race this year until Dover. I guess the green mass exodus was harder to detect. What was inexplicable was Hotpass staying with a driver 10 laps down and out of contention - even if it was Junior. They dumped Harvick immediately and went to his teammate Burton.

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  10. 10
    don Guinn said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 11:22 AM

    When you run a race where no one can pass and the field is so big on these little tracks you have so many cars a lap or two down it tends to get boring very fast. Also NASCAR needs to equal the horsepower on all the cars, kyle wouldn't have won so much if the other cars were up to his HP.

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  11. 11
    Laura Pardy said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 1:05 PM

    While I am a Jr fan, I am also a fan of Tony, Elliot, Denny, Kevin and all the other guys who got taken out on the SEVENTEENTH LAP. Why bother watching when most of the guys I want to see race are in the Infield Care Centre?!

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  12. 12
    Mike Schaefer said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 5:58 PM

    Last year the Toyotas barely made a race this year noone can touch them. Why? Gibbs built strong GM motors but never dominated like this so there is no doubt NASCAR lets them have a little extra. Why do people leave early,cause Kyle has very few fans and it is getting sick watching the same car win every race just like last year. NHRA is real racing.

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  13. 13
    Reginald Greene said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 9:04 PM

    Re: Mike Schaefer comment. Mike is right in suggesting that NASCAR, has given Toyota/JGR a little extra. It's not a secret. It was briefly mentioned at the start of the season that NASCAR had given Toyota a new manifold which developed 30 plus HP. Again it was only briefly mentioned. I can't remember the sites that covered the story. Although if true, don't you think that Roush would have gone ballistic by now! Also something to consider. NASCAR, didn't want Toyota stinking up the field like last year. JGR, would never have switched to Toyota with out some assurances that they would be running up front. Also, would someone tell me what happened to the #20 car that NASCAR confiscated at TMS some years ago and never gave it back. Rumor had it then that NASCAR gave it to Toyota. There was never any mention of it afterwards. Any connection here?

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  14. 14
    emily bagwell said:
    Jun 5, 2008 at 9:39 PM

    Why in the Heck wouldn't they leave??? not the only one where fans have left--did you go to Texas? Pocono should be a jewel!

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  15. 15
    mark zysk said:
    Jun 7, 2008 at 5:05 AM

    I think that people were leaving because they don't want to be stuck in traffic. I was their and it took us 30 minutes to go 1 mile. It was not that bad after the race because so many people left.

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  16. 16
    Eric Kennemer said:
    Jun 7, 2008 at 2:04 PM

    Because the racing is not very exciting. I went to the Spring 08 Texas race, and My family and I left with 50 laps to go, and we weren't the only ones leaving there either. To me, the racing right now is very boring. There isn't much passing, leads that are more the 5 seconds in front of 2nd. At one point, Carl had an 13 second lead in Texas. Also, at Dover, only 6 cars finished the race on the lead lap, and those guys weren't even close to passing Kyle. So, that is why people were leaving races early.

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  17. 17
    Theresa Gay said:
    Jun 7, 2008 at 7:36 PM

    We were at the race at Dover and was surprised to see how empty the grandstands were. After the crash we saw people leave in droves. One big problem we saw was the toll was increased from $1.00 to $2.00 on "1" and then you had to pay another .50 toll with only 2 lanes open, a big traffic jam. It seems that the state of Delaware wants to rip off the NASCAR fans. We saw a miniaml increase in food prices at the Dover Downs Hotel. We are glad we spend our money in Philadelphia.

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  18. 18
    Jacki Stevens said:
    Jun 10, 2008 at 5:29 AM

    OH my. IT WAS NOT A race. Geesh...at the end there were 6 (SIX?) cars on the lead lap; and THEN if that was NOT enough, it was the 18 car leading those. How many top drivers were in that first wreck is part of the answer also.

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  19. 19
    Jacki Stevens said:
    Jun 10, 2008 at 5:36 AM

    One of my friends has come up with a solution to make things more interesting point wise: You start with 43 points; winner of the race gets 43 points; 2nd gets 42 points.....etc. NO bonus points for anything. AND GET RID OF THAT DRATTED "CHASE". It is NOT fair for even Ky. Busch to have his point accumulation erased at a certain point in the season; and basically tell any driver below the 12th spot, "sorry dude, don't matter how many races you win now, YOU are NOT eligible to win the championship".

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