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I just like the fact that the NASCAR community is finally acknowledging they have a ratings/viewer/ fan base problem.
I personally see this as just another gimmick, extremely convoluted, instead of just going back to what they were doing when they didn't have a fan base problem. They are grasping for something that isnt there.
Firstly, nice job Labonte18 for making this concept much more visual. Heck you should send Denny the link to your bracket!
It is a gimmick, but so was the Winston Million, etc... and that is when racing was much better than now.
We have to face it that NASCAR will never go back to the good 'ole days when we "didn't have a fan base problem". NASCAR's most loyal base is getting up in years. Once that base is all taking their dirt naps, NASCAR will need a new fan base if they want to survive.
And the new/future fanbase just doesn't seem as interested in racing as their fathers/grand dads, etc... March Madness makes a LOT of money and gets a LOT of people watching (and betting on) the sport that normally would not.
If the bracket challenge would start in now, NASCAR's main competition would be the NBA Playoffs and the early part of MLB where hardly no one is watching.
For giggles.. I did 1997. That really wasn't as much fun as present, because.. Let's be honest.. In 1997 you only had about 10-12 cars that were competitive each week.
The winner wound up being the #4 seed, Mark Martin, defeating the #7 seed Jeff Burton. Martin had 5 top 10 finishes with 4 of them being top 5 finishes.
And, I'll mention that from about 22nd to 32nd in the standings, I had to fudge a little bit because I couldn't find the points standings for #22 to #32 after 10 races.. I got the top 21, but not past that. So, I filled in 22-32 based on the final points standings.
The surprises here were Kyle Petty making it to the final 4. In fact, the "Elite 8" matchup of #30 seed Rick Mast vs #22 Kyle Petty kinda surprised me. Hell, Kyle defeated Ward Burton and Dale Earnhardt.
Geoffrey Bodine made it in, but Jeff Burton basically got a first round bye because Bodine didn't run at the first race, Todd was in the #7 (And finished last, I believe)
Races were Charlotte, Dover, Pocono, Michigan and California.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by USNRET04
Firstly, nice job Labonte18 for making this concept much more visual. Heck you should send Denny the link to your bracket!
It is a gimmick, but so was the Winston Million, etc... and that is when racing was much better than now.
We have to face it that NASCAR will never go back to the good 'ole days when we "didn't have a fan base problem". NASCAR's most loyal base is getting up in years. Once that base is all taking their dirt naps, NASCAR will need a new fan base if they want to survive.
And the new/future fanbase just doesn't seem as interested in racing as their fathers/grand dads, etc... March Madness makes a LOT of money and gets a LOT of people watching (and betting on) the sport that normally would not.
If the bracket challenge would start in now, NASCAR's main competition would be the NBA Playoffs and the early part of MLB where hardly no one is watching.
The point I've tried to make is that NASCAR needs a new audience. At 63, I'm not the audience they want. The 18-34 age group is still king, but the amount of data that TV and advertisers, think Google, allows specified, targeted advertising.
NASCAR will, and must, change with the times if they want to survive. F1 is coming on strong in the US.
The bracket idea is certainly a gimmick, but so is the dirt race.
The point I've tried to make is that NASCAR needs a new audience. At 63, I'm not the audience they want. The 18-34 age group is still king, but the amount of data that TV and advertisers, think Google, allows specified, targeted advertising.
NASCAR will, and must, change with the times if they want to survive. F1 is coming on strong in the US.
The bracket idea is certainly a gimmick, but so is the dirt race.
The bracket is a way to bring in more gambling.. Which in turn, brings more eyes.. At least, that's the theory.
Sorry.. Just got around to updating this years bracket.
So.. This is kinda fascinating. The HIGHEST seed left alive is Denny who was the #10 seed.
We have #16 Chris Buscher vs #12 Brad Keselowski and #14 William Byron vs #10 Denny Hamlin as the final four at the Coke 600
Top Seed Christopher Bell was eliminated in round 2 by Buescher
#2 Ross Chastain was eliminated in round 3 by Denny
#3 Kevin Harvick was eliminated in round 2 by Byron
#4 Kyle Larson was eliminated in round 1 by Austin Dillon
#5 Kyle Busch was eliminated in round 1 by Ryan Preece
#6 Tyler Reddick was eliminated in round 3 by Byron
#7 MTJ was eliminated in round 2 by Hamlin
#8 Ryan Blaney was eliminated in round 2 by Aric Alimorla
#9 Alex Bowman forfeited which allowed Almirola to advance. Not subbing drivers into this, so no Josh Berry. Though, if Berry WERE in at the #9 seed..
He would have advanced instead of Almirola, which would put Berry vs Blaney at Kansas, which would have advanced Blaney, which would lead to Blaney vs Buescher at Darlington, and Blaney would have advanced into the final 4 in place of Buescher.
But.. If you don't run, you forfeit is the rule I went with. It's driver, not car.
So.. There's the final.. Chris Buescher is the winner.
Dale Jr is carrying this idea a bit as well, updating it on his podcast weekly.. Though, they just started when they decided to track it, they didn't run the same races that I did here.
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