Open Air at Bristol

You look at the race Sunday in Bristol? If so you may have noticed the unusual spacing around the cars.More of there were some spacing in the stands also.The cars were driven as though they were borrowed and needed to be returned clean and neat,kinda.
Seems as though the new ruling have spectators along with drivers unclear as to what is really going on.
True the economy has a little to do with empty seats but also is there concern as to what or when the next move by Nascar will be,Even those clowns on Fox seem to be dancing carefully around something in the air,and no it wasnt the weather.
The drivers put on a good show and even the guy with the funny last name that "Pete" talks of was even trying to pull off a hat trick without Carls help.
All in all I think the race itself was good,lead changes were frequent and there were many different races in the show Sunday, But something is in the air,there is change a coming and somehow the lid has been kept on it but something is in the air.
You got to admit it they cant do much more wrong so cross your fingers and hope this time its the right way.
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

Johnny, I watched only a small part of the race, but Nascar racing at the Cup level is in turmoil. It's so bad that the hole Brian France and his ass-ociates have dug is too deep to climb out of. This is almost a burn it to the ground and start over situation. I don't know how you fix it now, Johnny. I thought I had some ideas but without the crowd showing up on race day it will hurt Cup racing bad. Nascar has made bad decision after bad decision and fans are tired of it. Why pad the pockets of these guys with hard earned money when they have no clue what they're doing.I mentioned in a previous discussion that Bristol is the shining star as far as sellouts and track attendance. They were hurt...imagine what the crowd will look like for Michigan, Indianapolis, Chicago, Pocono and other midwest tracks. Nascar and track officials will be the only fans in the stands.Just my opinion.Pete

everyone has one pete now next week martinsville which is in the mecca of carolina va racing --lets see how the turnout there is---but something is up in the background with Nascar--lets see Pete Banchoff said:

Johnny, I watched only a small part of the race, but Nascar racing at the Cup level is in turmoil. It's so bad that the hole Brian France and his ass-ociates have dug is too deep to climb out of. This is almost a burn it to the ground and start over situation. I don't know how you fix it now, Johnny. I thought I had some ideas but without the crowd showing up on race day it will hurt Cup racing bad. Nascar has made bad decision after bad decision and fans are tired of it. Why pad the pockets of these guys with hard earned money when they have no clue what they're doing.

I mentioned in a previous discussion that Bristol is the shining star as far as sellouts and track attendance. They were hurt...imagine what the crowd will look like for Michigan, Indianapolis, Chicago, Pocono and other midwest tracks. Nascar and track officials will be the only fans in the stands.

Just my opinion.
Pete

I guess I was trying to be a little nice when I responded to "empty seats at Bristol" earlier, but I think you guys are absolutely right about Cup racing. Bristol should be the "wakeup call" that NASCAR should have recognized long ago..........if that race doesn't sell out, there is a serious problem somewhere. It has been my impression that current NASCAR leadership just didn't come from the same mold as the original & second-generation leadership. Here's another little tidbit of information..........I just heard last week that contractors on the new NASCAR headquarters in Daytona are not being paid & that liens have been filed against the property..........maybe current leadership has bitten off more than they can chew.

Well i will say this it is more than the economy yes the economy is bad but a true race fan will go to a race if they realy want to

We were out of town for a funeral of Ann's cousin so I didn't see any of it. It is very alarming when there are empty seats at Bristol. That is more than the tanked economy. This is very scary to someone who does love the sport and doesn't want it going down the tubes. I'm fresh out of suggestions because anything I would suggest would come from the perspective of one who believes as we all seem to here on Racers Reunion and those beliefs are NOT what NASCAR wants to hear.Tim


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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.

I read somewhere today that they estimated the attendance at Bristol to be 138,000, I wonder if they were counting people in Johnson City. I would like to know what the T.V. ratings were for the race because the weather was blamed, by the track officials, as a cause for the low attendance. In my opinion the real indicator of of the 'state of the sport' will be the attendance at the August night race. If it does not draw a better attendance then trouble is coming with a capitol T.

Johnny, I didn't get to watch much of the race or hear those "clowns" on Fox. I got so turned off by the Cousin Carl slap on the wrist from Atlanta that I found better things to do on race day. If there is something in the air for changes in Cup I'm not aware. There needs to be sweeping changes starting at the top. I don't know what bar these decision makers are at when decisions are made, but it's probably written on a cocktail napkin with another round on the way.The comment by Ernest about Brian not being cut from the same mold as Big Bill or Bill Jr. is right on! Big Bill had family working in the field instead of sitting in the Ivory Tower trying to anticipate what racing should be. Maybe Brian should have taken tickets, sold programs, parked cars or sat in the Grandstands to learn what the fans are looking for like his Dad did.Eric made a great point about Bristol. Race fans have always attended races there in numbers and the night race may tell what is really going on. Many tracks have been on the decline for butts in the seats...except Bristol and a very few other tracks. Now, who knows. We all know what happens when attendance plummets at a local track, you either get the people back or turn it into a shopping mall/parking lot or it becomes a Ghost Track for Bobby to talk about on Racers Reunion radio.Pete

Thanks for the acknowledgement, Pete. It has really been my impression that NASCAR racing (and Cup racing, in particular) has been on a downhill slide since Bill, Jr. turned the reins over to Brian. I can appreciate wanting to keep the business in the family, but the least he could have done would have been to keep the control in the hands of knowledgeable & stock-car-racing savvy individuals. I don't know for sure but I suspect that even Lisa France Kennedy might have been a better choice. At any rate, it seems to me that there needs to be some "old school" advisors on the NASCAR board of directors before the sport becomes "beyond repair". Pete Banchoff said:

Johnny, I didn't get to watch much of the race or hear those "clowns" on Fox. I got so turned off by the Cousin Carl slap on the wrist from Atlanta that I found better things to do on race day. If there is something in the air for changes in Cup I'm not aware. There needs to be sweeping changes starting at the top. I don't know what bar these decision makers are at when decisions are made, but it's probably written on a cocktail napkin with another round on the way.

The comment by Ernest about Brian not being cut from the same mold as Big Bill or Bill Jr. is right on! Big Bill had family working in the field instead of sitting in the Ivory Tower trying to anticipate what racing should be. Maybe Brian should have taken tickets, sold programs, parked cars or sat in the Grandstands to learn what the fans are looking for like his Dad did.

Eric made a great point about Bristol. Race fans have always attended races there in numbers and the night race may tell what is really going on. Many tracks have been on the decline for butts in the seats...except Bristol and a very few other tracks. Now, who knows. We all know what happens when attendance plummets at a local track, you either get the people back or turn it into a shopping mall/parking lot or it becomes a Ghost Track for Bobby to talk about on Racers Reunion radio.

Pete