NASCAR was at one time the ultimate test of man and machine. An opportunity to showcase engineering greatness and innovation. A test of man’s endurance, and daring to push machine and sanity to the absolute limit. An ability to create an everlasting partnership between a driver and brand.
However, in the last 10-15 a sport loved by many has brought head-scratching rules and procedures and alienating its dwindling fanbase. From questionable political stances to sub-par branding. NASCAR has utterly failed at attracting a younger fanbase needed to sustain and grow the largest motorsport in the United States.
1. Eliminate the Charter System
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In 2016 NASCAR announced a Charter System that is equivalent to buying a team in the more traditional sports. A charter guarantees that car a spot in all Cup series events and a cut of the purse. 36 charters were awarded to all active teams with the ability to use them, lease them, or outright sell them with four slots open for owners who do not own a charter. NASCAR President Steve Phelps told the media at the press conference:
The Charter agreement is delivering stability and long-term value to existing team owners while providing a clear path for ownership in the NASCAR Cup Series. A healthy ownership structure ensures strong, competitive racing for our fans, which is a goal the industry collectively shares.
While it is understood why NASCAR elected to go with this change it goes against the very roots of NASCAR of bringing a car and crew and trying to make a living from it through mechanical engineering and racing. The Charter system turned NASCAR into a pay-to-play with no shot of earning a spot. Making the “Club” exclusive and expensive to get in.
The Charter System has had a negative disallowing people to break into the cup series. 15 time NASCAR’s most popular driver and Xfinity series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. voices grave concerns about the charter system on his podcast:
If it was a $10 Million charter buy in the Xfinity Series, I wouldn’t be in it. Carl Long and the guys, they came to show up and race this weekend [Cup race at Martinsville]. Is that realistic to be an open team, and come compete and financially be able to at least break even? I grew up in a NASCAR where if you wanted to build your Cup racing car, you built one, and you raced.
2. Get rid of the Stages
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In 2017 NASCAR implemented its top three series, stage racing. Each race would be split into three stages (four stages for the Coke 600). NASCAR implemented stage racing for several reasons. To increase competition, To incentivize racing hard all races, and to allow for commercial breaks under caution. All be it understandable stage racing took away strategy, especially on road courses.
Now instead of having a variety of strategies crew chiefs are stuck in just a few different options. Stage racing has cut the excitement factor in the first two stages down. With the knowledge that a guaranteed caution will come out, there is even less of a sense of urgency at the start of races. Drivers and teams will happily sacrifice a stage win for a CHANCE to win the race.
The stages have served their main purpose of allowing the TV broadcasts to go to commercials during caution laps as opposed to green flag laps but as I continue to mention what it replaces is not worth the trade-off. I would rather miss some more green flag racing to get the a larger mixed bag of strategy to see which strategy works.
3. Bring the Championship Race to the South East
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Ever since 2020 NASCAR’s Championship race has taken place at Phoenix Raceway. A track many NASCAR fans don’t like. the racing there has been subpar, passing is difficult and the car is more important than the driver. On top of that the core fanbase of NASCAR resides in the southeast and having the payoff 3,000 miles away allows the hardcore fanbase to attend and see potentially their favorite driver winning the championship.
If I had all the power in NASCAR without question I would move heaven and earth to get the championship race in a rotation between Darlington, Homestead, Bristol, and Martinville. All tracks that are more require more skill out of the driver.
Places fans love and will create more moments at these legendary tracks. Bring the big payoff of a championship race back in the home region of the country and reestablish themselves as the go-to sport in the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida.
With Goodyear finally finding the right compounds for these tracks wearing out quicker and forcing drivers to take care of their equipment throughout a run these tracks are becoming more and more desirable to host the second-largest race of the year. Once NASCAR gains popularity back in the home base then branch back out to suitable tracks around the country that provide great racing like Kansas Iowa or St. Louis.
4. Stop Alienating the NASCAR Fanbase
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NASCAR has a serious problem with the consistent alienation of its core fanbase. Most noticeable for some reason NASCAR had the idea to move the number of cars to make more room for sponsors. Not a single fan was on board with this but they went ahead anyway and changed a 70-year tradition of having the number on the door.
NASCAR has also moved the start time of races from 1 pm to now three or four pm Eastern time a few years ago. This move is even more puzzling in the last three months of the season when NASCAR runs up against the NFL.
With the NFL starting at 1 pm Eastern that potential consumer has already invested multiple hours into an NFL game and won’t switch the channel for the NASCAR race an unnecessary self-inflicted wound that anyone who’s watched a 30-second tik tok on marketing would be able to learn and fix.
NASCAR has also been attempting to make 1.5-mile tracks the center point of the schedule. NASCAR tried to no avail make Kentucky Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway good tracks(bigger track equals more seats). NASCAR fans want short tracks like Iowa Speedway and WWT Speedway. NASCAR smartly is beginning to cave adding WWT speedway and Iowa to the schedule and fan favorite North Wilkesboro for the all-star race.
5. Make The Cup Cars Closer To The Xfinity Cars
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With the changes throughout the years to the Cup cars consequently, they have made the NASCAR feeder series The Xfinity Series nearly irrelevant. The Xfinity series is meant to allow younger drivers to learn grow and master the craft in preparation for the cup series. At one time the learning curve was far smoother and we saw a rookie win once a year and be competitive in previous generations.
With the Cup car being so different from the Xfinity car it is nearly a whole different language and everything the driver learned in the Xfinity and Truck series is irrelevant. Now to develop a driver you have to get the driver to the Cup series as quickly as possible. In the early 2000s, it was beneficial to hold a driver in the Xfinity series for an extra year or two. Now it is equivalent to going to a Spanish class to learn French.
The development of a driver used to be 1-3 years in Xfinity and 1-2 years in Cup before entering their prime. Now it takes nearly three years if not longer for a Cup driver to break through in the best of circumstances.
It took the young Phenom William Byron two and half years to win a race and nearly five to really break out and win consistently. Make the Cup and Xfinity cars closer together and you can get that rookie splash and spice up the sport organically.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with my favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch. Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
