No matter what is happening in the sport, NASCAR is always looking for more. Elton Sawyer credits fans for being a part of that process. If the fans want it, then the execs at NASCAR are going to listen to them. Or are they?
This season we have had debates over horsepower, tires, short tracks and road courses. Now there is talk about scoring pylons and video boards being removed from tracks. So, we’ve officially moved on from the race product to the “fan experience.”
This week Elton Sawyer was on the Dale Jr. Download Reloaded and talked about the lack of practice time now in NASCAR. He also talked a lot about fans and their experiences at the race track.
“When it comes to fans, they have a strong, strong voice,” Sawyer explained. “Without fans, we don’t have a sport. So, if our fans speak up and they’re looking for that then it’s up to us again as a stakeholder to try to figure out what that looks like. Again, I think it’s fair to say what we have on the race track today is really, really good. That’s not to say we can’t make it better but the fans, they weigh in heavily on those decisions, their input is heavily, obviously on the table as we go through those conversations.”
Elton Sawyer, the SVP of Competition, talked about the fan experience and also the data and “eye test.” For Sawyer, the product on the track is as good as it has ever been. He also believes that fans do not want more practice time and that it would not add to the overall product NASCAR is putting out.
For me, that is insufficient. With the state of short tracks and passing overall in the Cup Series, I find it hard to believe data or the eye test says that the product is as good as it’s ever been.
Is the field closer than ever before? Yes. But does that mean the actual product is good? I’m not convinced, especially after watching Richmond and Martinsville this season. NASCAR does have good racing, on certain tracks.
Fans, at least online, are fairly vocal. Less time on the track has made the NASCAR experience worse. The short track package is in dire straights. The entire conversation from Elton Sawyer feels tone-deaf at best and dismissive at worst.
NASCAR has a lot to be proud of right now. They have to be realistic about their situation though.
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