Monday, April 19, 2010 at 5:04 p.m.

 

JG#24: Rick, I'm a bit frustrated with Jimmie.

RH: Jeff, I watched the race. I don't think he did anything wrong.

JG#24: Maybe not technically, but I think he is racing too hard. It's gonna lead to a crash sometime. Can't he at least be less aggressive when it doesn't matter about position?

RH: I'll talk with him. But the two of you need to work this out.

RH: And when exactly is position not important?

JG#24: I'll call him tomorrow. I think he's pressing too hard since he may miss a race for the baby's birth. Of all people, I know how important that is, but luck is going to run out. He cost me this race.

RH: I thought Stewart and Edwards caused the crash?!?

JG#24: I still think Jimmie was in the wrong. He's in on this. Maybe through Knaus.

RH: You think Jimmie paid Tony & Carl to crash you out???

JG#24: It is possible.

RH: Did you hit your head in that crash or something?

JG#24: Knaus is always up to something. And he seems to have all this information. Stewart has a few bad things in his closet. I'm sure Knaus knows how to use them.

RH: Knaus and Jimmie had nothing to do with your crash. Crashes happen in racing.

RH: As far as I'm concerned, this issue is closed. You boys can work it out.

JG#24: Fine. But if it continues, I'll be back to talk about it again. And I'll deal with it on track too.

RH: Give Ingrid my best. And give Ella a kiss for me.

JG#24: I will.

CK#48: Rick, we need to talk about the 24 team.

RH: Chad, what could you possibly be worrying about the 24 team for?

CK#48: Tomorrow I'll come and talk with you.

RH: I guess.

 

 

Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 7:10 p.m.

 

JG#24: DID YOU SEE WHAT JJ DID TO ME??!??!?!?!?!?!!!!!!

RH: Jeff, I'm sure that Jimmie has a reason.

JG#24: Rick, he's trying to take me out. He's trying to be the next driver to 5 Championships.

ily: Georgia, serif;">RH: And what's

JG#24: He plans to do it by crashing me every week so I can't get any points.

RH: I don't think that h

JG#24: You need to do something.

RH: Like

JG#24: As 48.48% owner, I think we should fire him.

RH: You're kidding right?

JG#24: No. He's pushed me too far this time.

RH: He's the reigning champion

JG#24: No one is above firing.

RH: Even you.

JG#24: I have a lifetime contract. So I am above that.

RH: We gave Jimmie one too.

DE#88: Mr. Hendrick, I was hoping we'd pull off the win, but maybe next week.

RH: Dale, I thought you looked great out there. I'm sure Lance will have some ideas for next time. A win is definitely on your horizon. Soon.

DE#88: Thanks. I think Lance and I are working well. But I'd still like to work with Chad, if that is ever a possibility.

RH: Keep working at it. I doubt Chad will be working with anyone else anytime soon.

JG#24: Well

RH: I don't think that Jimmie

JG#24: We need a spot for Kasey next year, let's give him the 48.

RH: So you want to fire Jimmie at the end of the Year????

JG#24: No, I want him fired right now.

RH: I'm not firing him now. Or later. We'll work out something for Kasey.

JG#24: Then let's fine him.

RH: Since when have we fined anyone for anything???

JG#24: We should have fined Knaus for all that cheating.

JG#24: See you let them get by with EVERYTHING.

RH: We didn't fine Ray when he was tinkering with things.

RH: To your benefit, I might add

JG#24: Ray never did half the stuff Chad has gotten by with, let alone what he's been caught doing.

RH: I don't think Chad cheats.

JG#24: And I KNOW Knaus has bugged our garage or something. He knows EVERYTHING

RH: Jeff, we share information across the teams.

JG#24: But he knows stuff we've never shared.

RH: You're keeping stuff from the team?!?

JG#24: I mean that Steve and I have secrets that no one else could know. Chad knows them. How could he do that?

RH: Chad does not have time to try to find out your secrets. Are you getting paranoid on me? Knaus is too busy innovating.

JG#24: I think he does more blackmailing and that hides the lack of innovation - and he steals from other teams.

RH: What are you talking about?

JG#24: The only way he didn't get a longer suspension last time was that he has something on either France or Helton. Maybe both.

RH: You think Chad is blackmailing Nascar????

JG#24: I'm not so sure that he isn't blackmailing you!

RH: Jeff, why don't you get some sleep an we'll talk about this in the morning?

JG#24: So you haven't ruled out firing Jimmie?

RH: I have ruled it out. You are going to have to suck it up and deal. Man up a little.

JG#24: I'm having the garage swept for bugs tomorrow. And I don't mean cockroaches.

RH: I'm sure you won't find anything.

RH: I'll talk to Jimmie again.

RH: I'm sure this will all smooth over soon.

JG#24: Whatever.

CK#48: Has Gordo come whining yet?

RH: What do you want Chad.

CK#48: We're still on the same page, right? Nothing happens to Jimmie & I. Or else.

RH: Chad, first off, you and Jimmie are great together. Why would I change things?

CK#48: But we are still on the same page.

RH: Yes, Chad, we are.

 

 

 

 

 

Weird Happenings:  Daytona had potholes; Vegas had phantom caution lights.  First the lights did not go out when they were supposed to at the end of the caution, then the lights came on when Nascar had not thrown a caution.  What's next?  Deer jumping the fence?  Floods?  Pace Car stalling on the track?  More potholes?

Pit Row Shenanigans:  Did Jeff Gordon's crew start gassing before the car was in the pit box?  Or did Nascar make the right call?  Let the conspiracy theories  begin...

Inter-company feuds:  Jamie McMurray crashed into his new teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.  Apparently McMurray didn't get the memo that JPM will carry a grudge.  Montoya already voiced his displeasure to the media.  Love to be a fly on the wall at Earnhardt-Ganassi tomorrow.

Don't drink the Water:  Do you think Dale Jr. is worried about Danica in the garage?  As a married woman, she shouldn't drink the water in the garage as pregnancy is sweeping through.  At this point in her career, a nine month hiatus would be detrimental.

Jimmie Johnson:  Jimmie is back to his winning ways.  He usually does well at the beginning and end of the season.  Who is going to challenge him for the Championship?

 

 

Nascar race TV viewership is down for the whole year.  A brief review of Nascar history shows that the Chase was created to generate more TV viewership, more at track attendance and to generate excitement for the sport.  Brian France instituted the Chase after Matt Kenseth won the Championship with a runaway points lead.

This year it does not appear to be working.   In theory, home viewership should be up:  with the economy the way it is, at track attendance should be down as more people stay home to watch the races.

So why are the numbers falling?  There are several reasons, some which Nascar cannot fix, but others that could be tweaked to gain back viewers.

Things Nascar Can Fix:

1.  Overhype of the Chase. Starting with the Daytona 500, all we hear about is the Chase.  The NFL does not hype the Super Bowl this way throughout the year, MLB doesn't hype the World Series this way,  and neither should Nascar.  We all know it is coming.  And we all know that it is too early to talk about in the first couple races.  Knock it off.  In fact, it should not be hyped until we are within 3 races of the Chase's start, and then only sparingly. Save the PR until we have a field set.

2.  Overhype during the Chase.  Watching the first race in the Chase, the announcers act like every lap is vitally important in the Chase.  "If Gordon doesn't pass Stewart soon, he'll drop all the way to third in the Chase." And it's lap #3!  When something catastrophic happens, then let us know how it impacts the Chase.

3.  Ignoring Non-Chase drivers.  While the drivers having the best year are in the Chase and are likely to be up front, there still are 30 other guys out there.  Talk about them, and not just when they (nearly) crash into a Chaser.

4.  Tweak the Rules to get into the Chase.  I'm fine with an arbitrary number of drivers, but let's look at the line.  Change the rule to top 12 plus any race winning drivers within 100 points of #12.  Some years this may be no one, and others it may be a couple guys.  But if a team pulled it together enough to be within 100 points of the top 12 AND won a race, let them in.  

5.  Uniform Start times:  I applaud Nascar for deciding on uniform start times.  I think they may actually listen to the fans once in a while.  

6.  Fix the schedule:  We have too many races.  Trim a few by adding a rotation of tracks - instead of 2 races per year, Track #1 gets one race plus one race in odd years.  Track #2 gets the other race in even numbered years.  The Chase races should include a bigger variety of tracks.  Why not Sonoma? Bristol? Richmond? 

Things Nascar Can't Fix:

1.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s past few seasons have not gone well.  Despite the high hopes after his signing at Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Jr. has failed to deliver consistent finishes and wins.  That hurts viewership when your most popular driver isn't in the Championship.  Do you think Michael Jordan would have been as legendary if he had never played in the Championship games?  The same applies here.

2.  Jimmie Johnson's domination.  Johnson has schooled the field each of the past three years.  Before that, he was in contention up until the last race.  Frankly, many long time fans I know are bored with the Chase because they expect Johnson to win it all.  They are not excited about the Chase.  Maybe when Johnson retires they will be back.

3. Football:  Probably the biggest thief of viewers is football.  College and NFL games lure away marginal & dedicated fans.

Nascar needs to look at its product and make a few changes.  Otherwise, the decline of viewers will lead to a decrease in revenue as the TV package will not be worth as much as it did a few years ago.