“New markets” are NEVER going to work as long as those new viewers and the general culture look down on nascar and think Talladega Nights was a documentary.
NASCAR has slapped Wisconsin race fans in the face for decades and it continues with this Chicago move over Road America. Wisconsin has the strongest pavement late model competition outside of the southeast, the fans continue to pack racing events at Milwaukee and Road America, and the series continues to ditch that amazing fanbase.
I want them to bring back the mile. Road America is my least favorite road course on the schedule right now. With that being said they had amazing attendance.
If Chicago is a huge market - why pull out of Chicagoland Speedway? Maybe moving the schedule from mid September to afternoon races in July has an impact on crowd turnout?
The track was "Chicagoland" in name only. With traffic, you could be looking at a 90-minute drive from downtown Chicago to Joliet, where the track is located.
100% they should have never done that. 4hr radius from Chicago in the summer when kids are out of school is a no brainer for ticket sales and camping. Moving to Sept sucked
More numerically, but not more per Capita. Plus LA doesn't need a nascar race to support the local economy like other places on the schedule past and present.
This guy is simply stating views that come from TV producers. Neither have a clue about NASCAR fans. What a clueless NASCAR executive. L.A, N.Y. and Chicago have the most fans. Was that a pile of BS. Charlotte NC area had the most fans. He is only trying to push the larger t.v markets.
@@dannypowers4995 To be fair, the sport keeps the lights on by the TV revenue, so putting a huge race in marketable cities (like LA and Chicago) are great ideas to keep their providers happy with the bill they're footing. The problem, is that in order to do that, somewhere else has to lose out. Often, these come in the smaller markets. There's a reason North Wilkesboro and Rockingham got jettisoned for Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth is the 4th largest market in the US. TV, sponsors, and other corporate interests would 100% rather be at Texas than the aforementioned tracks (and why go to them when Charlotte is right there?). That's why Texas in its abominable state is still around. Where NASCAR went wrong was not trying to make these places coexist. These tracks are where their core audience is, but the corporate interests that drive revenue don't care about them. And when you're a business, you go where the money is. But this was all when NASCAR was economically booming. They're in a recession right now. While some of those moves were good (going to Kansas City, Las Vegas, & Miami are all smart with decent tracks), they went too far from what the core base wanted, so when the big money starts leaving, and the people stop coming and watching, you're left with the haggled mess today. NASCAR's issue is that their leadership has failed to acknowledge that the fix is to coexist with old traditions and flashy innovations, and instead continuously throw every gimmick at a dartboard and hope it sticks. A street course isn't a bad idea. A street course in a city that never has hosted one, doesn't want one, is hated by many fans, and came at the expense of a classic old school fan favorite is a terrible one TL;DR: NASCAR needs to balance their flashy ideas with old traditions
@@shicker88 ummm? Dollars aren’t rated by per capita when it comes to fans. It’s rated by how many fans are providing dollars because that’s more dollars… what is your point? If LA has more fans then it has more fans lol. None of this “per capita” bs. NASCAR is gonna chase the money, as is any Motorsport. Or any sport for that matter.
So is road america gonna go down in nascar history as the (only? First of many?) track(s) that fans voted their favorite but isnt on the next years schedule? Really shows how much nascar listens to and cares about its fans
Same lol. Im like 15 miles west. No thanks. Id rather take the 3 hour drive to elkhart lake anyday. The city sucks. Id rather get away from it on my vacation (race-cation)
I live essentially smack dab in-between Road America and Joliet (Lake Geneva area). Went to both over the years. Zero percent chance I go to Chicago for a race.
@@shicker88 Thank God that you suburbanites are staying out of the city. We don't come to the suburbs and claim we're from your towns; feel free to never come to Chicago and claim OUR city.
In reference to his RA comment I will be attending the Xfinity race at Road America again. I have less than no interest in the Chicago Street Course though. You took a date away from one of the most recognizable and respected tracks in the world to experiment in a city that doesn't want you that close.
I now understand why there isn't more money for the teams. When you have unlimited funds to go try something, there is no money left for the workers. City street courses are an enormous pain in the ass for the people who live and work there. City street courses are incredibly expensive to set up. Ben Kennedy should not be allowed access to the piggy bank
Nascar keeps distancing itself further from its roots in a desperate attempt to reinvent itself, kind of like a guy that is trying to make it with the ladies and is constantly changing his appearance to something he's not ever going to be and missing badly, instead of just being himself and embracing his strength's, like short tracks and beating and banging. Oh, I forget, the delicate new cars can't take that.
@@barrymorrisss I would say old dirt tracks, many being converted horse tracks. I know a few honed their skills running moonshine, like Junior Johnson, but I think it was rare.
It’s roots is also stock cars that would race in the streets M-F. I can’t wait for NASCAR to embrace those roots and stop caring so much about bump drafting around ovals.
I'm saying this in the most respectful way possible and by no means am I trying to look down on people who like where the sport is going and the new ideas. But I am not happy with NASCAR anymore. There is such a huge disconnect between what got me into NASCAR and how it is now. Local Short tracks are really what got me into the sport of stock car racing. I stopped watching NASCAR in 2010 and started agian in 2019. since then i have been to Daytona, Martinsville 5 times. Britstol 2 times, Charlotte 2 times and Richmond and Poured thousands of dollars into merchandise and stuff nascar related and met TONS of people. I can say with confidence that NASCAR is loosing more then its gaining. People that just became fans that i know are losing intrest. Older fans are starting to loose intrest. The playoffs are so bad. the new car isnt that great. the tv broadcast are not great. but most of all it doesnt feel anything like the product that put NASCAR on the map. The holy grail of every short tracker across the nation. The place they all wanted to end up. The disconnect from saturday night local racing and NASCAR is greater then Highschool football and the NFL or Highschool basketball and NBA i would even say
Very well put, I watch nascar basically just outta habit. I do enjoy the trucks and xfinity (I still call it the Busch series) . I really enjoy taking my grandkids to our local dirt track. The racing is awesome, it’s a short track with all the different classes and once a month they have a night of destruction lol with a figure 8 track! Unbelievably fun and my grandkids are always asking me when we can go again. Local tracks and drivers are the best!
@@simshadyhagrmfchevy3908 and let's be honest I wouldn't be leaving these long-winded comments if I didn't care anymore. still care about the sport just not happy with it you know?
I dropped NASCAR as a fan around 2000. I’ve only recently started watching again in the last 2 years and it’s been entertaining and the racing has been pretty fun to watch. Especially the reintroduction of the road racing. Keep it up NASCAR. Big echo chamber in this comment section, but just know that there’s tons of us that are coming back and showing our friends what’s going on in the sport in a good way.
I’m from the Chicagoland area. You’d be shocked at how republican Illinois is. It’s just that Chicago is so democratic, and there are so many people in that city, that one city is basically able to make decisions for the rest of the state. However, the crowd will be huge in Chicago. Northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan have a ton of race fans, and you can get to Chicago in an hour from those locations.
From a business perspective, NASCAR has to keep older fans happy by doing things like bringing back North Wilkesboro. They also HAVE to cater to newer fans, because when the old fans are gone, NASCAR would have no fans left. They are in a tough spot of keeping old fans, but also creating new ones. They have no option to ONLY make old fans happy.
I will say that I heard a high level exec there say, they have no desire to market and improve the older gen experience. She said that they already won your business. They push all there marketing to attracting a new fan, even by going Woke. It’s over for us fans that supported the sport for decades. I shop with my feet and now support the World of Outlaws and other series.
I watch on TV occasionally but I'll never support woke nascar with my money. I'd rather spend my time and money working on my own projects or attending a local short track race.
@@SuperNoticer … you do you, man. But attracting new & different demographics of fans is just good business. “Woke?” By courting the African-American race fan’s money and making EVERYONE feel welcomed? And not just the Southerner with that certain expectation of being surrounded by “like minded” Confederates? Pffft….ok man…you spend your money any way you want. NASCAR will move along just fine without your pittance…
Just cause I don't like that point of view doesn't mean I don't 100% agree with it, it's tough right now. On the other hand, Ben Kennedy doesn't scream leader like Helton, John Darby, Bill France, Dick Beatty etc
Totally agree, Nascar has wrecked some many tracks to make them all the same , and now you wanna do a street course in one of the most dangerous cities in the States , with a car that has been proven to not be safe for the drivers . Nascar is trying so hard to become the same as the Super Cars in Australia or the Touring Car series that happen all over Europe and Grand Britain, but doing this the market share they say they are trying to tap which is a minority to the majority of fans that want no road courses and keep the model that has worked all these until Brian France screwed it all up .
Eh, there's evidence to suggest that they did watch. All of the Fox races from Daytona to Richmond were up in ratings. However, due to that bad TV contract, all FS1 races were down in ratings. Once the string of FS1 races, people tuned out. That's on NASCAR for not having a good enough infrastructure to support what they're trying to do with races like the Clash
I think nascar should be focusing on fixing the new car, or replacing major components to make it better for purpose “going from IRS to a live axel”. NASCAR doesn’t care about the fans they have, they want people who have never cared about the sport and never will. I’m afraid there is about to be an Indy car style split in the sport, and honestly it needs to happen.
Exactly, well said. Nascar is looking to get new fans. They are chasing people that don’t care about stock car racing. The saying “get woke, go broke” is perfect for what’s happening here. Surprised they don’t demand pink and rainbow cars
@@melmount5 agreed Melissa, it’s a shame that the sport is dying and it feels like nascar is doing on purpose. I feel like there are 2 options at this point, option 1 is nascar is dumb as hell, option 2 is they are doing it on purpose.
Great podcast but think you guys went to soft on him. I was waiting on some posts to RUclips from DirtyMo to read the comments. I’d love to know where he gets his data from as far as markets for fans? After seeing this I’m actually optimistic for Chicago,however as for gaining new viewers (not the same as new fans) a road race seems to be the wrong track to do so. Hope DirtyMo posts more video for this pod. 🏁
Data comes from huge marketing companies same as it always has. That being said the market and the city the market is named after are two completely different things. Pocono for example is in the NYC media market, the viewers in northeast PA count as viewers in the NYC market,that doesn't mean people in NYC are huge into NASCAR. Same for Chicago, that markets numbers for NASCAR are likely mostly from the rural areas in a 100mi or so radius than they are from the city
Yup. This. What garbage, LA, NY, Chi???? Hahaha. Ok pal. Lmao, not even a "NASCAR fan", been watching for a few years but this is clown data. Perfect for clown world. ...street race Nascar? Wtf. Gimme awesome cars on an oval and let's go! Mix in a shortie and speedway here and there. Make flat tracks rare. Edit: don't how they're qualified but just to be clear I love Dover, Darlington, and Vegas.
Sounds like he is trying to push the larger TV markets. Someone at Fox or NBC is filling his head full of crap. First you got to put out a good product , then fans will fill the seats. TV does not make NASCAR, it's the product.
Whenever I hear "outside the box" and "new" and "innovative", I know its over. The people running Nascar have no clue what made it great and now the fall accelerates. Its possible someone will at the last minute listen to the fans screaming make it what it used to be, bring back the old tracks that took real skill, let the drivers talk smack and run each other over. I doubt anyone will, especially after listening to this podcast. Those are the things that made Nascar great. None of that exists today.
Lol what? They are working to get NW, Nashville FG and Rockingham back in the National Series, Milwaukee Mile is back in Truck series etc. JimBob in the south is old and dying off, they have to expand their horizons. Change is necessary.
@@Grim_Prospects I was there when they 'expanded their horizons' to cookie cutter 1.5 mile tri ovals and the two most boring tracks on the schedule, Indy and NHIS. Then because that was failing they came up with the playoffs, said the same thing at the time 'new' and 'innovative'. Now that is no longer working we continue down the path of insanity. Jimbob didn't die off, nascar left their roots and they arent interested in boring, lifeless racing.
Is it economic? No. Do most the fans like it? Seems not. Should we continue it? No. WILL we continue it? Of course, we're NASCAR. We run a business out of touch. Like Vince McMahon, Al Davis, Jerry Jones. You know, all the guys with recent success.
So Jr is a major player in the whole sport....runs the largest podcast/discussions weekly for the sport....maybe NASCAR should look at comments from the actual nascar fans about all this crap about racing stupid tracks etc....
I can tell you we are freaking out here in Chicago about this race. Most talked about thing for weeks everywhere. I'm doing hip-hop interviews on radio and answering questions cause they know im a fan. 😂 Bet $ on Harvick, he's actually driven this race his whole life. Busch are good street racers as well.
Then why bother with the Fairgrounds, which would be a better long-term play? I agree that a city in the Southeast or close to it regions would be better than Chicago, but Nashville is not it
Here is an idea for the Clash. Put traffic cones in a fifty foot circle in a Walmart parking lot. then for the next race, let the cars coast down a steep hill like the soap box derby cars.
Thousands of people and companies are fleeing the Chicago area because of the crime and NASCAR is running full steam towards it. They could even have Beetlejuice as the Grand Marshal!
Exactly! I hate politics in sports and it appears like nascar is seeking it out! Nascar doesn’t want the fan base they have, they want the NFL and NBA fan base. Nascar not wanting the fans they have is why people don’t care anymore.
With the gen 6 car road courses were exciting, if short tracks and road courses are no longer fun and the dumb 1.5 cookie cutters are actually entertaining something is bad wrong!
In upstate New York which is practically an entirely different world compared to NYC. Very different markets if they were to potentially run a street course race in NYC.
Not to mention the car is also getting closer to a sports car too... Moving forward is great but let's not lose its identity for the sake of saying we advanced the sport
@@jeffcole75 other than a few years in the mid 00s through the 2010s they've basically always been sports equivalent to sports cars. The only difference between a Cup car in the 90s and a Trans-Am car in the 90s was that the Trans-Am car had on board air jacks....
Let's face it. Camaro, Mustang, camry was not intended to be Stock Cars. Nobody Makes quality Cars anymore. Like the Monty Carlo, T- Bird, Cutlass so on.
The Chicago crowd is already training how to remove a single lug tire and the quickest way to car jack a driver behind a window net because smashing is out. Nascar has missed out on 30 plus shootings every weekend on the slow weekends.
Adding things like the Chicago street race is no different than when the drivers went over to Japan to race. It's an attempt by Nascar to bring a live nascar event to a market without it easily accessible. Nascar also has its own fan base now and doesn't need to rely on the fan bases of the local short tracks anymore.
I hate that they aren’t even looking at Chicagoland Speedway. Track hasn’t seen action in years. Would love to go to the track where I can watch the whole race. Also curious how those aluminum rims are gonna handle our potholes 👀
I remember that when the announcement was made, people were immediately wanting him fired. I can’t imagine the amount of death threats he got when Chicago replaced Road America
NASCAR has spent the last ten years catering to the liberal market that's why most tracks are in decline for attendance. Nascar is "NO LONGER EXCITING" cookies cutter cars and tracks. It's not about racing to win, it's about wrecking someone to win and throwing cautions to allowed someone to win that didn't deserve it. Nascar is full of B.S. full of corporate greed.
This guy says that there are no international oval tracks, I guess he's never heard of the Lausitzring in Germany. Rockingham speedway in the United Kingdom is still there too, and it wouldn't take much to get it back in racing form if they wanted.
@@horsefly1020 Yeah, absolutely! Twin ring motegi even has nascar history with Mike skinner winning an exhibition race there. Australia has an oval too at Calder park "the thunder dome".
I hope the Chicago Street race is a big flop. You’ve already got Chicago land and you’re going to a city with one of the highest crime rates in the USA. I just hope no one gets hurt while being there for the race.
The idea of a street race to me is ok, just not a Chicago. The logistics of it will be a nightmare with it being 4th of July weekend and not only that but the city itself is a disaster with crime and generally unsafe. If NASCAR wants to race In the Chicago market, they should have just stayed at Chicagoland and not disturb the people that live there and create a fustercluck for the locals come race weekend. Again, love the idea of a steer course but I don’t think it should be in downtown Chicago.
i think Nascar should look at racing the street course at Long Beach Ca week before or week after Fontana , mid April is when IRL races there, so the track is pretty much set up anyways
Imagine being given the task of adding races in the Chicago and LA markets and deciding to ignore the Cup series racetrack in Chicago in favor of a street course, and ignoring the street course in Long Beach in favor of a temporary racetrack in a stadium. Brilliant.
Adelaide's Parklands Circuit comes back to life this December for the Adelaide 500 and V8 Supercars after being dropped for 2021. Fantastic street circuit on the edge of the CBD, the atmosphere around the event is electric. The circuit is set up for each year and then removed afterwards, huge crowds and a party atmosphere with concert's inside the circuit when on track action ends. Take a look at this icon of Australian motorsport NASCAR... 😎
Trying new things is great, except when the actual racing isn't very good because the track design doesn't allow it. The Coliseum sucked, Street courses suck. There's going to be lots of contact and I guess that'll drive "excitement", it just isn't good racing. As a driver, I would have to question if I wanted to be in the series for anything other than money because rovals and street courses are not road courses and don't allow for good racing.
The ONLY reason LA, New York, and Chicago “have the most fans” is because they are the most densely populated areas. It’s the same as elections. Those areas end up controlling the entire country. A mass congregation of people who are too timid and afraid to think for themselves and don’t know how to live in a rural, less populated area. That’s why “just looking at the data” is a flawed approach.
It obvious the word has come down from NASCAR to all related entities to strongly enforce the position that going to Chicago is safe. I've heard multiple times on SXM when a fan has questioned the safety of going to Chicago (which is a fair question if you watch the news at all) the segment host will go into a short spiel that sounds like it's scripted. Something like "Chicago is no more dangerous than any other big city (not the own they think it is) and questioning the safety is bigoted" followed by a hang up. Seems like a more nuanced response would be better, following Ben Kennedy's discussion here noting Chicago is a big city and the racecourse is going to be far from the reported issues. that the location has hosted other large venues, like lollapalooza, without incident and the event has the full focus of the city's event planners.
@@glendederick7270 NASCAR was built on crime. NASCAR started back during Prohibition with drivers racing to beat each other sneaking alcohol and especially moonshine to people wanting to buy it from them. A lot of times outrunning the law as well as each other
The huge problem with Chicago would be finding enough smooth pavement to have a race on. It’s rough enough in a street car, you would have to wear a mouth guard in a race car to have any teeth left by the end of the race. 😂
I really liked the video. I will need to listen to the podcast. Something I'm curious about, is NASCAR having people from their group visit other street races from other promotions? The first one I think of is F1. There isn't a bigger circus.
I think it's great to try new things. Why not? You have to do something different to attract new fans. NASCAR can't continue to do the same old thing and survive. In my opinion if you want to attract new fans and keep them, you cannot have the intentional wrecking of another car/driver and there be no punishment. As we saw in in Austin this year when Chastain wrecked two cars to get the win. That's not racing, that's demolition derby. If a new fan sat and watched that race for two hours and was getting into it because it had been a good race and then suddenly a driver intentionally wrecks two other cars to win, many won't turn on another race. Just look at the stands for many NASCAR races in traditionally areas where there is a lot of support. They're not packed. You have some of the greatest drivers in the world and they don't have to play rockem socke robots.
The criminal element is just chomping at the bit to see NASCAR fans come to Chicago. I have a bad feeling about this and I do not support it in any way.
Should have asked him to explain how ripping out the temporary track at the Coliseum every year and sending literally tons and tons of asphalt to the landfill fits in NASCAR's "green initiative" that they keep bragging about. 🤷
I bet you there's nothing that went to the landfill. The asphalt wasn't even that thick since it was only temporary and that can be recycled same with gravel. The dirt has probably been used for something else or stored and ready for this year
Won’t be able to race cause won’t none of the cars have wheels left on them they’ll all get stolen overnight in the highest crime rate city in the USA 🤦🏻♂️
Wanna go race at Chicago, go to freaking Chicagoland Raceway!!!! NASCAR is about oval racing... I really dunno what these guys running NASCAR are on since a few years now
I think having Jr as the voice of the people who want classic NASCAR racing is a good thing. But there's some things they need to change also the traditional 7/4 @ Daytona The Brickyard The all star should be a destination all series of NASCAR in a week of races at a different track every year and make the championship race a different track
The question Nascar should be asking is does the fan want to see those venues? When fans can't afford to go to those races. Then starts watching instead of attending. Fans are more likely to walk away.
I know bs when i see it,This is exactly why nascar is a joke....the people of chicago dont want it, as far as runing in la, most of folks that went do not give a blank about nascar, they were for the concert
So, is this guy one of the people who decided that we don't get a proper Brickyard 400 anymore? I feel like he showed his hand when he mentioned the aerial shots we will be seeing on NBC next year. This is all about spectacle to this guy and not actual good racing.
I believe he is just a computer nerd. He doesn't know what the fans want. Bring back the old tracks. Should explore Laguna seca. Loved that track on Gran Turismo
if you have any questions why NASCAR is dying , look no further than this guy. Lets go race thru the streets of the biggest crime infested city in america cause its fun on a video game. THE OVER/UNDER OF CARS STRUCK BY RANDOM GUNFIRE IS 3!!!
Chicago crime is way out of control . Why would you put the fans and drivers at risk ? The criminals will smash and grab your cars while you are watching the race . Who's the idiot that came up with this ? Edit to add . My 45 years of watching and buying NASCAR stuff is over . If it ain't broke , don't try to fix it .
Agreed! I just hope it’s long and wide, with great city landscapes and plenty of “video game-like” vistas… Aerial drone TV coverage, over-water bridge and downtown track sections covered by drone cameras…make it good, like an F1 concept…
I think it will race well. It’s wide as a street course and stock cars do well with narrower RCs. I just don’t think Chicago is the place to do this. If they didn’t already have the short track I’d say do it in Nashville.
Eric - No disrespect intended, just genuine curiosity, but are you located in the US? Wondering if NASCAR street racing is especially appealing to the international audience.
I’m located in the US, age 30, can’t wait for street racing. Good Racing to me isn’t 3-4 deep on every wide turn in a speedway. I want to see them have to fight for every spot in every turn.
@@stratolestele7611 I am not from the US. I prefer oval racing over any kind of racing. I do feel though like most people worldwide prefer turning right and left but thats just my opinion
Stray bullets is something nascar drivers usually don't have to worry about. the added element of danger of racing in chigafastan might be fun. Look out for the homeless guy wandering into the track asking for spare change.
Little known fact; The Taliban is currently building a 3/4 mile oval just southwest of Kabul and nascar is planning an exhibition race in fall of -24, just to please the increasing large Muslim population of the United States.
I don’t watch any road course series. So does NASCAR want to be IMSA. Never missed a race till they started changing NASCAR’s identity. Watching less and less every year.
everyone says to get the new fans....the old fans were once new at one point. so why don't they just do what they did to attract them then?? if it worked before I feel like it would work again.
Wait! Chicagoland Speedway is now a parking lot for semis since you closed it down. If you cared about #3 Chicago NASCAR would be utilizing that racetrack. Not ignoring us for years then throwing us a bone with a road course in downtown Chicago. Do you know about crime in Chicago!? Do you know how many fans you lost and continue to hemorrhage?! Check your seats, no ads in seats means no fans
@@johnhaas2523 cars from a local Auto Auction are housed there as well as parked semi trucks. Local news helicopters have flown over and shown this on the news on a regular basis. Also if you drive by it, you will see the semis
Japan is the strongest foreign investor in NASCAR!! Toyota Racing Development- All 3 Series Twin Motegi Oval Speedway 🇯🇵 Denso Starters Yet NASCAR never goes after that market!! Why not?
They did go to Japan. Packed the house if I remember right. 1996 and 97. I think one was oval and the other was a road course, but not sure. Rusty won one of them.
Almost universal fan input that they should run at Road America, so NASCAR says "let's do a sh@t show street race in Chicago instead." Brilliant. Mike's question is perfect- How do you hear EVERYONE ON EARTH telling you this is stupid and do it anyway (paraphrasing)? Ben says "Um, well, this might be a disaster but...blah blah blah."
I'm all about data, but it only gets you so far. Sometimes you have to listen to outside opinions. Yeah, maybe the data points you to Chicago, but I dunno if a big ol stock car can get around a chicago street course. It's not an F1 car that can turn on a dime and accelerate like a banshee, it's a big, bulky monster. If you think martinsville is boring now, wait til Chicago next year. With the set up of that track next year (Chicago), thats all it's gonna be is a bunch of Martinsville straights with 90 degree corners. Also, go where there are fans. You're not F1, stop trying to be F1 and be NASCAR.
LA having the biggest fan base is hard to believe. Fontana from what I can remember had tons of empty seats in recent past. If I remember correctly that’s one of the reasons they left Fontana because the attendance wasn’t there. His data he is providing doesn’t add up.
The the LA Coliseum seems like another gimmick grasping at straws rather than doing the obvious thing to bring make millions of fans like getting rid of playoffs and stage racing and put sheetmetal back on the cars. How about after every race they have a demolition derby with the remaining cars. That would be a better idea.
“New markets” are NEVER going to work as long as those new viewers and the general culture look down on nascar and think Talladega Nights was a documentary.
It wasn’t? 😮
THIS! Talladega Nights did more to hurt NASCAR than help in the long run.
NASCAR has slapped Wisconsin race fans in the face for decades and it continues with this Chicago move over Road America. Wisconsin has the strongest pavement late model competition outside of the southeast, the fans continue to pack racing events at Milwaukee and Road America, and the series continues to ditch that amazing fanbase.
I want them to bring back the mile. Road America is my least favorite road course on the schedule right now. With that being said they had amazing attendance.
Either the Busch or truck series is going to the Milwaukee Mile next year.
Bring the mile and road America back
Give me a cup race at the Milwaukee Mile and I’ll be happy
You're right. Even if they can't do it every year they could share that date with another track and maybe race every other year.
Now we know why Nascar is imploding, this guy!
Phelps is playing his role as well.
Who is he? Lmao.
@@FantasySportsZen Bill France Jr.grandson. Bill France Jr daughters son.
LOL!!! Yep!!! I KNEW IT!!!
LOL!!! Yep!!! I KNEW IT!!!
If Chicago is a huge market - why pull out of Chicagoland Speedway? Maybe moving the schedule from mid September to afternoon races in July has an impact on crowd turnout?
Great question. I’d like to know where this data is coming from.
i think it has to do with the track being around an hour away from Chicago.
The track was "Chicagoland" in name only. With traffic, you could be looking at a 90-minute drive from downtown Chicago to Joliet, where the track is located.
100% they should have never done that. 4hr radius from Chicago in the summer when kids are out of school is a no brainer for ticket sales and camping. Moving to Sept sucked
Well, yet another nail in the lid of NASCAR’S coffin.
Yep!!
There is no way LA has” more “ nascar fans come on !
More numerically, but not more per Capita. Plus LA doesn't need a nascar race to support the local economy like other places on the schedule past and present.
This guy is simply stating views that come from TV producers. Neither have a clue about NASCAR fans.
What a clueless NASCAR executive.
L.A, N.Y. and Chicago have the most fans. Was that a pile of BS. Charlotte NC area had the most fans. He is only trying to push the larger t.v markets.
@@dannypowers4995 To be fair, the sport keeps the lights on by the TV revenue, so putting a huge race in marketable cities (like LA and Chicago) are great ideas to keep their providers happy with the bill they're footing. The problem, is that in order to do that, somewhere else has to lose out. Often, these come in the smaller markets. There's a reason North Wilkesboro and Rockingham got jettisoned for Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth is the 4th largest market in the US. TV, sponsors, and other corporate interests would 100% rather be at Texas than the aforementioned tracks (and why go to them when Charlotte is right there?). That's why Texas in its abominable state is still around. Where NASCAR went wrong was not trying to make these places coexist. These tracks are where their core audience is, but the corporate interests that drive revenue don't care about them. And when you're a business, you go where the money is. But this was all when NASCAR was economically booming. They're in a recession right now. While some of those moves were good (going to Kansas City, Las Vegas, & Miami are all smart with decent tracks), they went too far from what the core base wanted, so when the big money starts leaving, and the people stop coming and watching, you're left with the haggled mess today. NASCAR's issue is that their leadership has failed to acknowledge that the fix is to coexist with old traditions and flashy innovations, and instead continuously throw every gimmick at a dartboard and hope it sticks. A street course isn't a bad idea. A street course in a city that never has hosted one, doesn't want one, is hated by many fans, and came at the expense of a classic old school fan favorite is a terrible one
TL;DR: NASCAR needs to balance their flashy ideas with old traditions
@@shicker88 ummm? Dollars aren’t rated by per capita when it comes to fans. It’s rated by how many fans are providing dollars because that’s more dollars… what is your point? If LA has more fans then it has more fans lol. None of this “per capita” bs. NASCAR is gonna chase the money, as is any Motorsport. Or any sport for that matter.
He is judging this on population not for the love of NASCAR!!! I KNEW this was happening....
So is road america gonna go down in nascar history as the (only? First of many?) track(s) that fans voted their favorite but isnt on the next years schedule? Really shows how much nascar listens to and cares about its fans
After listening to this guy I can understand why nascar is struggling. I live in a suburb of Chicago no way I'm going down there to watch the race.
Same lol. Im like 15 miles west. No thanks. Id rather take the 3 hour drive to elkhart lake anyday. The city sucks. Id rather get away from it on my vacation (race-cation)
I live essentially smack dab in-between Road America and Joliet (Lake Geneva area). Went to both over the years. Zero percent chance I go to Chicago for a race.
100% correct. Who the hell is going into the city? Lightfoot is losing the Bears because of the crime. This is a suicide mission. What a dummy.
Dont feel like getting shot that day huh, i dont blame you, lmao
@@shicker88 Thank God that you suburbanites are staying out of the city. We don't come to the suburbs and claim we're from your towns; feel free to never come to Chicago and claim OUR city.
Seems to me that NASCAR is prioritizing entertainment and revenue at the expense of racing.
That is why they are still losing fans, we want real racing
Formula one is going the same way
Yep..Danica Patrick..
Marginal driver at best , but they beat that to DEATH
Death by a thousand cuts. I love racing first and foremost, nascar is becoming the WWE of racing.
Advertising dollars may be making some decisions for NASCAR. The amount of money to field a team is ridiculous.
The problem with nascar is that they have people like this guy running our sport
God forbid they try to do something different
@@tbird1991 that would be nice if he did forbid that actually
LOL...I was thinking the same thing!!! 10 seconds in!!!!!!!!
You got that right !!! Dummies who shut down great events in the south.
@@tbird1991 it’s not working
In reference to his RA comment
I will be attending the Xfinity race at Road America again.
I have less than no interest in the Chicago Street Course though. You took a date away from one of the most recognizable and respected tracks in the world to experiment in a city that doesn't want you that close.
wait til they start shooting at the cars flying by,NASCAR gets worse every year,not many sellouts anymore
I now understand why there isn't more money for the teams. When you have unlimited funds to go try something, there is no money left for the workers. City street courses are an enormous pain in the ass for the people who live and work there. City street courses are incredibly expensive to set up. Ben Kennedy should not be allowed access to the piggy bank
I would love to see Talladega under the lights
Same! But after they soften the rear hits for theses dudes.
That man was so nervous and felt in the line of sight from Jr. Because he knows how Jr feels about Nascar decisions.
Nascar keeps distancing itself further from its roots in a desperate attempt to reinvent itself, kind of like a guy that is trying to make it with the ladies and is constantly changing his appearance to something he's not ever going to be and missing badly, instead of just being himself and embracing his strength's, like short tracks and beating and banging. Oh, I forget, the delicate new cars can't take that.
More focused on going International and TV money.
Roots?? Weren't their roots in running moonshine?? On the streets??
@@barrymorrisss I would say old dirt tracks, many being converted horse tracks. I know a few honed their skills running moonshine, like Junior Johnson, but I think it was rare.
It’s roots is also stock cars that would race in the streets M-F. I can’t wait for NASCAR to embrace those roots and stop caring so much about bump drafting around ovals.
@@barrymorrisss back roads , not streets
Nascar doesn't care what the fans have to say, if they did road america would still be on the cup schedule
Great Track!
If nascar listen to it's fans road america would never have been in nascar
I'm saying this in the most respectful way possible and by no means am I trying to look down on people who like where the sport is going and the new ideas. But I am not happy with NASCAR anymore. There is such a huge disconnect between what got me into NASCAR and how it is now. Local Short tracks are really what got me into the sport of stock car racing. I stopped watching NASCAR in 2010 and started agian in 2019. since then i have been to Daytona, Martinsville 5 times. Britstol 2 times, Charlotte 2 times and Richmond and Poured thousands of dollars into merchandise and stuff nascar related and met TONS of people. I can say with confidence that NASCAR is loosing more then its gaining. People that just became fans that i know are losing intrest. Older fans are starting to loose intrest. The playoffs are so bad. the new car isnt that great. the tv broadcast are not great. but most of all it doesnt feel anything like the product that put NASCAR on the map. The holy grail of every short tracker across the nation. The place they all wanted to end up. The disconnect from saturday night local racing and NASCAR is greater then Highschool football and the NFL or Highschool basketball and NBA i would even say
Very well put, I watch nascar basically just outta habit. I do enjoy the trucks and xfinity (I still call it the Busch series) . I really enjoy taking my grandkids to our local dirt track. The racing is awesome, it’s a short track with all the different classes and once a month they have a night of destruction lol with a figure 8 track! Unbelievably fun and my grandkids are always asking me when we can go again. Local tracks and drivers are the best!
Well said bro
Strange channel name tho if ya’ don’t care for sport any longer js
@@simshadyhagrmfchevy3908 i made the channel name before i was unhappy haha
@@simshadyhagrmfchevy3908 and let's be honest I wouldn't be leaving these long-winded comments if I didn't care anymore. still care about the sport just not happy with it you know?
I dropped NASCAR as a fan around 2000. I’ve only recently started watching again in the last 2 years and it’s been entertaining and the racing has been pretty fun to watch. Especially the reintroduction of the road racing.
Keep it up NASCAR. Big echo chamber in this comment section, but just know that there’s tons of us that are coming back and showing our friends what’s going on in the sport in a good way.
Chicago and New York have to be the two worst places I could ever think of to host a nascar race.
NY would be fantastic, just move it 15 miles outside of NYC.
I agree, aren’t those states threatening to ban gas powered cars anyways 😆
I’m from the Chicagoland area. You’d be shocked at how republican Illinois is. It’s just that Chicago is so democratic, and there are so many people in that city, that one city is basically able to make decisions for the rest of the state. However, the crowd will be huge in Chicago. Northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan have a ton of race fans, and you can get to Chicago in an hour from those locations.
@@TheMallen07 no. California.
@@FalseHope61 the same can be said about most major cities. 20 mins outside of any city the politics are usually quite different than the city itself.
From a business perspective, NASCAR has to keep older fans happy by doing things like bringing back North Wilkesboro. They also HAVE to cater to newer fans, because when the old fans are gone, NASCAR would have no fans left. They are in a tough spot of keeping old fans, but also creating new ones. They have no option to ONLY make old fans happy.
I will say that I heard a high level exec there say, they have no desire to market and improve the older gen experience. She said that they already won your business. They push all there marketing to attracting a new fan, even by going Woke. It’s over for us fans that supported the sport for decades. I shop with my feet and now support the World of Outlaws and other series.
Older fans have been long gone from when they purged them 20 years ago
I watch on TV occasionally but I'll never support woke nascar with my money. I'd rather spend my time and money working on my own projects or attending a local short track race.
@@SuperNoticer … you do you, man. But attracting new & different demographics of fans is just good business. “Woke?” By courting the African-American race fan’s money and making EVERYONE feel welcomed? And not just the Southerner with that certain expectation of being surrounded by “like minded” Confederates?
Pffft….ok man…you spend your money any way you want. NASCAR will move along just fine without your pittance…
Just cause I don't like that point of view doesn't mean I don't 100% agree with it, it's tough right now. On the other hand, Ben Kennedy doesn't scream leader like Helton, John Darby, Bill France, Dick Beatty etc
this guy is one of the reasons NASCAR is goimg down the tubes !!! Dont spend the money for a charter Dale it would be like throwing money away !!!
How? Cause I can’t wait to see our current gen cars on the streets.
You’re delusional 😂😂
Totally agree, Nascar has wrecked some many tracks to make them all the same , and now you wanna do a street course in one of the most dangerous cities in the States , with a car that has been proven to not be safe for the drivers . Nascar is trying so hard to become the same as the Super Cars in Australia or the Touring Car series that happen all over Europe and Grand Britain, but doing this the market share they say they are trying to tap which is a minority to the majority of fans that want no road courses and keep the model that has worked all these until Brian France screwed it all up .
This guy is gonna be the answer to succeeding nascar u troll
new and bold.. . dumb ass ideas. Just get back to racing
Taking applications for Tail Gunner position on the Pace Car for the Chicago Street race yet?
Hahaha. Funny but true
No wonder nascar can’t attract fans and owners. Look at who is in charge of decisions 😂😂
Looks can be deceiving
EXACTLY!!!!!!!
Facts
If you don't like the Greys, you would hate, hate the reptilians
10:58 They went for the Ice Cube concert. How many of those new people have watched a race since? Probably under 1%.
Eh, there's evidence to suggest that they did watch. All of the Fox races from Daytona to Richmond were up in ratings. However, due to that bad TV contract, all FS1 races were down in ratings. Once the string of FS1 races, people tuned out. That's on NASCAR for not having a good enough infrastructure to support what they're trying to do with races like the Clash
I think nascar should be focusing on fixing the new car, or replacing major components to make it better for purpose “going from IRS to a live axel”. NASCAR doesn’t care about the fans they have, they want people who have never cared about the sport and never will. I’m afraid there is about to be an Indy car style split in the sport, and honestly it needs to happen.
Exactly, well said. Nascar is looking to get new fans. They are chasing people that don’t care about stock car racing. The saying “get woke, go broke” is perfect for what’s happening here. Surprised they don’t demand pink and rainbow cars
@@melmount5 agreed Melissa, it’s a shame that the sport is dying and it feels like nascar is doing on purpose. I feel like there are 2 options at this point, option 1 is nascar is dumb as hell, option 2 is they are doing it on purpose.
Great podcast but think you guys went to soft on him. I was waiting on some posts to RUclips from DirtyMo to read the comments. I’d love to know where he gets his data from as far as markets for fans? After seeing this I’m actually optimistic for Chicago,however as for gaining new viewers (not the same as new fans) a road race seems to be the wrong track to do so. Hope DirtyMo posts more video for this pod. 🏁
I wish I could do a double thumbs up on this.....this was hard to listen to, watch, and ACCEPT!!!!
Yep way too soft
Data comes from huge marketing companies same as it always has. That being said the market and the city the market is named after are two completely different things. Pocono for example is in the NYC media market, the viewers in northeast PA count as viewers in the NYC market,that doesn't mean people in NYC are huge into NASCAR. Same for Chicago, that markets numbers for NASCAR are likely mostly from the rural areas in a 100mi or so radius than they are from the city
Yup. This. What garbage, LA, NY, Chi???? Hahaha. Ok pal. Lmao, not even a "NASCAR fan", been watching for a few years but this is clown data. Perfect for clown world. ...street race Nascar? Wtf. Gimme awesome cars on an oval and let's go! Mix in a shortie and speedway here and there. Make flat tracks rare.
Edit: don't how they're qualified but just to be clear I love Dover, Darlington, and Vegas.
Sounds like he is trying to push the larger TV markets. Someone at Fox or NBC is filling his head full of crap. First you got to put out a good product , then fans will fill the seats.
TV does not make NASCAR, it's the product.
Whenever I hear "outside the box" and "new" and "innovative", I know its over. The people running Nascar have no clue what made it great and now the fall accelerates. Its possible someone will at the last minute listen to the fans screaming make it what it used to be, bring back the old tracks that took real skill, let the drivers talk smack and run each other over. I doubt anyone will, especially after listening to this podcast. Those are the things that made Nascar great. None of that exists today.
Lol what? They are working to get NW, Nashville FG and Rockingham back in the National Series, Milwaukee Mile is back in Truck series etc. JimBob in the south is old and dying off, they have to expand their horizons. Change is necessary.
@@Grim_Prospects I was there when they 'expanded their horizons' to cookie cutter 1.5 mile tri ovals and the two most boring tracks on the schedule, Indy and NHIS. Then because that was failing they came up with the playoffs, said the same thing at the time 'new' and 'innovative'. Now that is no longer working we continue down the path of insanity. Jimbob didn't die off, nascar left their roots and they arent interested in boring, lifeless racing.
Yep!!
Is it economic? No. Do most the fans like it? Seems not. Should we continue it? No. WILL we continue it? Of course, we're NASCAR. We run a business out of touch. Like Vince McMahon, Al Davis, Jerry Jones. You know, all the guys with recent success.
So Jr is a major player in the whole sport....runs the largest podcast/discussions weekly for the sport....maybe NASCAR should look at comments from the actual nascar fans about all this crap about racing stupid tracks etc....
They probably ignore them and go off their data instead.
I can tell you we are freaking out here in Chicago about this race. Most talked about thing for weeks everywhere. I'm doing hip-hop interviews on radio and answering questions cause they know im a fan. 😂 Bet $ on Harvick, he's actually driven this race his whole life. Busch are good street racers as well.
Should have went to Nashville and used Music City Grand Prix layout if they really wanted a street course
Or the street course at Belle Isle
This would’ve been genius
Then why bother with the Fairgrounds, which would be a better long-term play? I agree that a city in the Southeast or close to it regions would be better than Chicago, but Nashville is not it
They want Chicago, wanting a "street course" *might* be in the list of _Top Ten Wants_ .
Here is an idea for the Clash. Put traffic cones in a fifty foot circle in a Walmart parking lot. then for the next race, let the cars coast down a steep hill like the soap box derby cars.
I thought they did the parking lot race this year?
Thousands of people and companies are fleeing the Chicago area because of the crime and NASCAR is running full steam towards it. They could even have Beetlejuice as the Grand Marshal!
Exactly! I hate politics in sports and it appears like nascar is seeking it out! Nascar doesn’t want the fan base they have, they want the NFL and NBA fan base. Nascar not wanting the fans they have is why people don’t care anymore.
It’s simply ignorant in the most fundamental way.. spot on
Probably the first time the shops will have to fix bullet holes in the cars
Yup. Everything "new generation" just means 'without brains'. Lol.
@@dkallmyt YEP. FOOLISH TO GO THERE.
Nascar decision making is similar to putting a Scooby-Doo band aid on a 50cal. gunshot wound to the head!
One look at this guy says it all. RIPNASCAR.
Truer words have never been spoken.
There was a time when Bill France Sr. And Jr were young and making decisions. Change happens…
Exacty.. NASCAR is hemorrhaging because their decision making SUCKS a$$. So they have to try something different. RIP NASCAR.
Yeah, why isn't it a 300 lb good ol boy.
Haha. I saw someone say "leader" referring to him and NASCAR somewhere in these comments and I was floored. Like, no way, right?
I want a car that drives well at short tracks. I am bored with road races.
With the gen 6 car road courses were exciting, if short tracks and road courses are no longer fun and the dumb 1.5 cookie cutters are actually entertaining something is bad wrong!
I think a lot of people are forgetting there already is a race in New York lmao .
In upstate New York which is practically an entirely different world compared to NYC. Very different markets if they were to potentially run a street course race in NYC.
The 2 closest races to NYC are Pocono and Dover. The Glenn is upstate NY's track drawing from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Binghampton
Feels like NASCAR is getting closer to sports car racing now with all of these non oval races
I mean considering the first NASCAR race was a rallycross race....
Not to mention the car is also getting closer to a sports car too... Moving forward is great but let's not lose its identity for the sake of saying we advanced the sport
Sometimes everyone forgets that the original NASCAR drivers earned their livings road racing. The big difference was that 2nd place was jail.
@@jeffcole75 other than a few years in the mid 00s through the 2010s they've basically always been sports equivalent to sports cars. The only difference between a Cup car in the 90s and a Trans-Am car in the 90s was that the Trans-Am car had on board air jacks....
Let's face it. Camaro, Mustang, camry was not intended to be Stock Cars. Nobody Makes quality Cars anymore. Like the Monty Carlo, T- Bird, Cutlass so on.
The Chicago crowd is already training how to remove a single lug tire and the quickest way to car jack a driver behind a window net because smashing is out. Nascar has missed out on 30 plus shootings every weekend on the slow weekends.
Adding things like the Chicago street race is no different than when the drivers went over to Japan to race. It's an attempt by Nascar to bring a live nascar event to a market without it easily accessible. Nascar also has its own fan base now and doesn't need to rely on the fan bases of the local short tracks anymore.
At least Suzuka is a legit bad ass track! This BS "course" was terrible in iRacing
I've never been less excited for a road course, and I was already burnt out on road courses
I hate that they aren’t even looking at Chicagoland Speedway. Track hasn’t seen action in years. Would love to go to the track where I can watch the whole race. Also curious how those aluminum rims are gonna handle our potholes 👀
They are after the street course contract is over
It’s seen some action. Did an autocross there a while back
I remember that when the announcement was made, people were immediately wanting him fired. I can’t imagine the amount of death threats he got when Chicago replaced Road America
Couldn't have designed a more boring track. This is one of the problems with street courses. Hope everyone loves 90 degree corners....
NASCAR has spent the last ten years catering to the liberal market that's why most tracks are in decline for attendance. Nascar is "NO LONGER EXCITING" cookies cutter cars and tracks. It's not about racing to win, it's about wrecking someone to win and throwing cautions to allowed someone to win that didn't deserve it. Nascar is full of B.S. full of corporate greed.
Want a street circuit? How about an Indycar collab in St. Pete? Or Nashville? The course is already there.
This guy says that there are no international oval tracks, I guess he's never heard of the Lausitzring in Germany. Rockingham speedway in the United Kingdom is still there too, and it wouldn't take much to get it back in racing form if they wanted.
Don't for twin ring.
@@horsefly1020 Yeah, absolutely! Twin ring motegi even has nascar history with Mike skinner winning an exhibition race there. Australia has an oval too at Calder park "the thunder dome".
@@NikeHM69 Australia also has Bathurst… which is 100x more significant.
Eurospeedway is a possibility but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any safer barriers. Rockingham has been closed unfortunately
I hope the Chicago Street race is a big flop. You’ve already got Chicago land and you’re going to a city with one of the highest crime rates in the USA. I just hope no one gets hurt while being there for the race.
Just put lights at Talladega. Also imagine if those tracks were actually built in Staten Island, Bremerton, and Aurora
I personally thought the LA clash was boring and I hated it! I’ve watched Nascar since 1990 and it’s so sad to see stuff like this!
May not agree with him, but kudos for coming on the podcast. Not hiding away like most NASCAR bosses do…
I believe Junior's already has like last year Steve Phelps and even has had Mike helton
The idea of a street race to me is ok, just not a Chicago. The logistics of it will be a nightmare with it being 4th of July weekend and not only that but the city itself is a disaster with crime and generally unsafe. If NASCAR wants to race In the Chicago market, they should have just stayed at Chicagoland and not disturb the people that live there and create a fustercluck for the locals come race weekend. Again, love the idea of a steer course but I don’t think it should be in downtown Chicago.
i think Nascar should look at racing the street course at Long Beach Ca week before or week after Fontana , mid April is when IRL races there, so the track is pretty much set up anyways
But the preparations for the Long Beach Grand Prix starts somewhere around March, I believe
@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT right after fontana too
Nascar the new F1 series. Go back to your roots Nascar. I have been a fan since the early 70's . Real men with real cars.
Yep .
Imagine being given the task of adding races in the Chicago and LA markets and deciding to ignore the Cup series racetrack in Chicago in favor of a street course, and ignoring the street course in Long Beach in favor of a temporary racetrack in a stadium. Brilliant.
This dude just OOZES "corporate speak." Been in corp environments for 13 years myself.
NASCAR is a corporate business if you didn't know and that's why Steve Phelps is president
Ben Kennedy is the Mark Davis of NASCAR.
Absolutely.
A risk? it's completely stupid
At least they rewarded one of our safer cities with this race.
😂😂😂
Adelaide's Parklands Circuit comes back to life this December for the Adelaide 500 and V8 Supercars after being dropped for 2021. Fantastic street circuit on the edge of the CBD, the atmosphere around the event is electric. The circuit is set up for each year and then removed afterwards, huge crowds and a party atmosphere with concert's inside the circuit when on track action ends. Take a look at this icon of Australian motorsport NASCAR... 😎
Trying new things is great, except when the actual racing isn't very good because the track design doesn't allow it. The Coliseum sucked, Street courses suck. There's going to be lots of contact and I guess that'll drive "excitement", it just isn't good racing. As a driver, I would have to question if I wanted to be in the series for anything other than money because rovals and street courses are not road courses and don't allow for good racing.
LA DOESN'T HAVE THE MOST FANS FOR NASCAR LMFAO! 🤣 The Southern states IS and WILL ALWAYS BE Nascar's biggest market and fans.
The ONLY reason LA, New York, and Chicago “have the most fans” is because they are the most densely populated areas. It’s the same as elections. Those areas end up controlling the entire country. A mass congregation of people who are too timid and afraid to think for themselves and don’t know how to live in a rural, less populated area. That’s why “just looking at the data” is a flawed approach.
The barriers with fencing is a huge cost, and then after the race where do you store it?!
It obvious the word has come down from NASCAR to all related entities to strongly enforce the position that going to Chicago is safe. I've heard multiple times on SXM when a fan has questioned the safety of going to Chicago (which is a fair question if you watch the news at all) the segment host will go into a short spiel that sounds like it's scripted. Something like "Chicago is no more dangerous than any other big city (not the own they think it is) and questioning the safety is bigoted" followed by a hang up. Seems like a more nuanced response would be better, following Ben Kennedy's discussion here noting Chicago is a big city and the racecourse is going to be far from the reported issues. that the location has hosted other large venues, like lollapalooza, without incident and the event has the full focus of the city's event planners.
"Safe"???? Haha. Safe like Bagdad turn of the century.
@@FantasySportsZen or New York or Los Angeles or Minneapolis etc. etc.
at least theres only one lug nut to take off when they leave the racecars on blocks when they steal the wheels! lol
Oh wow original
@@Cam42Worm not sure how they figure their best market is in one of the worse crime cities in the country..... pretty stupide if you ask me!
@@glendederick7270 NASCAR was built on crime. NASCAR started back during Prohibition with drivers racing to beat each other sneaking alcohol and especially moonshine to people wanting to buy it from them. A lot of times outrunning the law as well as each other
@@glendederick7270 because it’s a big market
@@Cam42Worm id like to see the numbers on that!
To many road courses now! Don’t need more . Here is a idea, build a short track!!!
gen7 doesn't have enough horsepower to put on a good show at a flat short track.
The huge problem with Chicago would be finding enough smooth pavement to have a race on. It’s rough enough in a street car, you would have to wear a mouth guard in a race car to have any teeth left by the end of the race. 😂
I really liked the video. I will need to listen to the podcast. Something I'm curious about, is NASCAR having people from their group visit other street races from other promotions? The first one I think of is F1. There isn't a bigger circus.
NASCAR did have people at the Miami F1 race to understand logistics and looking to possibly pair an IMSA race with F1 in the future.
I think it's great to try new things. Why not? You have to do something different to attract new fans. NASCAR can't continue to do the same old thing and survive. In my opinion if you want to attract new fans and keep them, you cannot have the intentional wrecking of another car/driver and there be no punishment. As we saw in in Austin this year when Chastain wrecked two cars to get the win. That's not racing, that's demolition derby. If a new fan sat and watched that race for two hours and was getting into it because it had been a good race and then suddenly a driver intentionally wrecks two other cars to win, many won't turn on another race. Just look at the stands for many NASCAR races in traditionally areas where there is a lot of support. They're not packed. You have some of the greatest drivers in the world and they don't have to play rockem socke robots.
The criminal element is just chomping at the bit to see NASCAR fans come to Chicago. I have a bad feeling about this and I do not support it in any way.
Should have asked him to explain how ripping out the temporary track at the Coliseum every year and sending literally tons and tons of asphalt to the landfill fits in NASCAR's "green initiative" that they keep bragging about. 🤷
I bet you there's nothing that went to the landfill. The asphalt wasn't even that thick since it was only temporary and that can be recycled same with gravel. The dirt has probably been used for something else or stored and ready for this year
Won’t be able to race cause won’t none of the cars have wheels left on them they’ll all get stolen overnight in the highest crime rate city in the USA 🤦🏻♂️
Wanna go race at Chicago, go to freaking Chicagoland Raceway!!!!
NASCAR is about oval racing... I really dunno what these guys running NASCAR are on since a few years now
I don't know even one nascar fan that wants to go to a place like Chicago with all the crime and their mayor
All the crime in Chicago is on the Southside not downtown
Why didn’t you call him out on what a crappy place Chicago is?
If the layout is the same as IRacing it's going to suck. It's all 90 degree turns.
I think having Jr as the voice of the people who want classic NASCAR racing is a good thing. But there's some things they need to change also the traditional 7/4 @ Daytona The Brickyard The all star should be a destination all series of NASCAR in a week of races at a different track every year and make the championship race a different track
I hope NASCAR doesn't get caught in the middle of Chicago Politics
The question Nascar should be asking is does the fan want to see those venues? When fans can't afford to go to those races. Then starts watching instead of attending. Fans are more likely to walk away.
I know bs when i see it,This is exactly why nascar is a joke....the people of chicago dont want it, as far as runing in la, most of folks that went do not give a blank about nascar, they were for the concert
So, is this guy one of the people who decided that we don't get a proper Brickyard 400 anymore?
I feel like he showed his hand when he mentioned the aerial shots we will be seeing on NBC next year. This is all about spectacle to this guy and not actual good racing.
Funny how all the major nascar podcasts had NASCAR execs defending NASCAR.
I believe he is just a computer nerd. He doesn't know what the fans want. Bring back the old tracks. Should explore Laguna seca. Loved that track on Gran Turismo
if you have any questions why NASCAR is dying , look no further than this guy. Lets go race thru the streets of the biggest crime infested city in america cause its fun on a video game. THE OVER/UNDER OF CARS STRUCK BY RANDOM GUNFIRE IS 3!!!
Chicago is not that bad unless it's the south side and they're not racing the streets in the south side of Chicago it's downtown Chicago
Every big city has crime, Chicago has millions of tourists every year. The police/security presence for the race will be massive.
I'll be hunting or fishing those days. How stupid is Nascar? Nascar, said this much !
Chicago crime is way out of control . Why would you put the fans and drivers at risk ? The criminals will smash and grab your cars while you are watching the race . Who's the idiot that came up with this ? Edit to add . My 45 years of watching and buying NASCAR stuff is over . If it ain't broke , don't try to fix it .
His momma is Lesa FRANCE Kennedy.
Nepotism at its worst.
I'm excited for the street course. I think it will be a spectacle. I just hope the racing is okay
Agreed! I just hope it’s long and wide, with great city landscapes and plenty of “video game-like” vistas…
Aerial drone TV coverage, over-water bridge and downtown track sections covered by drone cameras…make it good, like an F1 concept…
I think it will race well. It’s wide as a street course and stock cars do well with narrower RCs. I just don’t think Chicago is the place to do this. If they didn’t already have the short track I’d say do it in Nashville.
Eric - No disrespect intended, just genuine curiosity, but are you located in the US? Wondering if NASCAR street racing is especially appealing to the international audience.
I’m located in the US, age 30, can’t wait for street racing. Good Racing to me isn’t 3-4 deep on every wide turn in a speedway. I want to see them have to fight for every spot in every turn.
@@stratolestele7611 I am not from the US. I prefer oval racing over any kind of racing. I do feel though like most people worldwide prefer turning right and left but thats just my opinion
should be looking at expanding into other countries, like canada and mexico
There's the possibilities of that in 2024 from what Phelps said. The 2024 schedule is looking to be even more different than anything seen yet
No thanks you globalist took. Keep NASCAR here and the NFL
Garage 56 is the best promotion for NASCAR IN YEARS
Are Kevlar driver suits going to be required for the Chicago race? Nothing could go wrong in Chicago 😬
They just raced in St. Louis and everything went fine... You guys need to stop being afraid of everything.
They're not racing the south side of Chicago downtown Chicago is not an issue it's the south side
@@ad206 it was meant to be a joke about how Chicago is a cesspool.
@@ad206 Gateway is alone across the river from StLouis and East StLouis which is more deadly is speedster but some massive land mass barriers
@@johnhaas2523 it is these days not long ago but now a problem
Stray bullets is something nascar drivers usually don't have to worry about. the added element of danger of racing in chigafastan might be fun. Look out for the homeless guy wandering into the track asking for spare change.
Chiraq baby!!!
Little known fact; The Taliban is currently building a 3/4 mile oval just southwest of Kabul and nascar is planning an exhibition race in fall of -24, just to please the increasing large Muslim population of the United States.
I don’t watch any road course series. So does NASCAR want to be IMSA. Never missed a race till they started changing NASCAR’s identity. Watching less and less every year.
everyone says to get the new fans....the old fans were once new at one point. so why don't they just do what they did to attract them then?? if it worked before I feel like it would work again.
More interested in going international than catering to us veteran fans.
Wait! Chicagoland Speedway is now a parking lot for semis since you closed it down. If you cared about #3 Chicago NASCAR would be utilizing that racetrack. Not ignoring us for years then throwing us a bone with a road course in downtown Chicago. Do you know about crime in Chicago!? Do you know how many fans you lost and continue to hemorrhage?! Check your seats, no ads in seats means no fans
It is not a parking lot at all and has been kept up to the point it wouldn't take much to get it in racing condition at all
@@johnhaas2523 cars from a local Auto Auction are housed there as well as parked semi trucks. Local news helicopters have flown over and shown this on the news on a regular basis. Also if you drive by it, you will see the semis
Japan is the strongest foreign investor in NASCAR!!
Toyota Racing Development- All 3 Series
Twin Motegi Oval Speedway 🇯🇵
Denso Starters
Yet NASCAR never goes after that market!!
Why not?
They did go to Japan. Packed the house if I remember right. 1996 and 97. I think one was oval and the other was a road course, but not sure. Rusty won one of them.
This is gonna be epic!!!never seen them in person
Almost universal fan input that they should run at Road America, so NASCAR says "let's do a sh@t show street race in Chicago instead." Brilliant. Mike's question is perfect- How do you hear EVERYONE ON EARTH telling you this is stupid and do it anyway (paraphrasing)? Ben says "Um, well, this might be a disaster but...blah blah blah."
I'm all about data, but it only gets you so far. Sometimes you have to listen to outside opinions. Yeah, maybe the data points you to Chicago, but I dunno if a big ol stock car can get around a chicago street course. It's not an F1 car that can turn on a dime and accelerate like a banshee, it's a big, bulky monster. If you think martinsville is boring now, wait til Chicago next year. With the set up of that track next year (Chicago), thats all it's gonna be is a bunch of Martinsville straights with 90 degree corners. Also, go where there are fans. You're not F1, stop trying to be F1 and be NASCAR.
@Mr.Babkok we'll see, but I'm not holding my breath.
LA having the biggest fan base is hard to believe. Fontana from what I can remember had tons of empty seats in recent past. If I remember correctly that’s one of the reasons they left Fontana because the attendance wasn’t there. His data he is providing doesn’t add up.
The the LA Coliseum seems like another gimmick grasping at straws rather than doing the obvious thing to bring make millions of fans like getting rid of playoffs and stage racing and put sheetmetal back on the cars. How about after every race they have a demolition derby with the remaining cars. That would be a better idea.