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    Nobody Is Watching NASCAR’s Most Important Races Of The Year

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    By Zach Dean

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    Nobody Is Watching NASCAR's Most Important Races Of The Year

    If NASCAR holds an elimination playoff race, but nobody is around to watch it, does it even count? Yes, I know this is an evergreen blog at this point, but I don’t make the rules — or the numbers. The data doesn’t lie. Never does. And when the data is as bad as this when it comes to NASCAR viewership, I have to write about it. I don’t love it. I don’t take joy in it. But, fair is fair, and I have to be fair here. I’m nothing if not a man of integrity. So, let’s dive in. The numbers are IN for last Saturday’s playoff elimination race at Bristol, and they are brutal. Just brutal: NASCAR continues to shoot itself in the foot Thoughts? First impressions? Couple things … 1. The good: NASCAR was No. 2 on cable last weekend. Good work all around! Now, to be fair, that’s cable. Not network. Big difference. Huge difference. 2. The bad: Averaging 1.5 million viewers for the Bristol night race is disgusting. That number would’ve been unfathomable a decade ago. Maybe even five years ago. The Bristol night race has historically been one of the best races on the schedule. Of course, that was back when it was an August race. Folks loved this race. We loved it. We looked forward to it all summer. Frankly it was in the perfect spot on the schedule. Right before football season. Right at the end of the Dog Days of Summer. Perfect. But, years ago, NASCAR moved it to this September date in the first round of the playoffs, and it’s been a disaster. Just a disaster. We all know why, too. Because NASCAR decided to put it up against college football. Why? I have no idea. NASCAR’s biggest race of the season to date (minus the Daytona 500) went up against Florida-LSU and Texas A&M-Notre Dame. One was on ABC. The other was on NBC. NASCAR was on USA. Good luck! Look, NASCAR will never compete with the NFL or college football. Duh. Nobody can. Both are kings, and will remain kings in America despite what the Libs tell us! But, there are certainly ways to alleviate the pain here, and that includes 1) putting the Bristol race back in August, and 2) stop putting Saturday night races on the schedule. Fans love Saturday night racing, but they just don’t work. Folks don’t watch. Did you watch last Saturday night, with those two other college football games happening at the same time? Come on. Probably not. It’s a disservice to the fans. It’s a disservice to the drivers. And it’s a disservice to the teams. Folks have been shouting all summer about NASCAR’s flawed playoff system, and I get it. There are kinks that need to be worked out, certainly. But I contend that until NASCAR shortens its season – meaning it ends when football begins – nothing else will matter. Stop going up against football. Stop racing on Saturday nights. And move the damn Bristol night race back to where it belongs. Sound good? Good! As you were.

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