Hey NASCAR … Ready To Listen To Your Customers Yet ?

I’m over at the NYTimes reading the Sunday Edition like I do every Sunday and I see an article that basically says NASCAR’s attendance is down 14% 6 races into the season.The International Speedway Corp., who own 12 of the 22 tracks that NASCAR uses, which would lead you to believe that it’s WAY BEYOND a good ol’ boy thang, is down 19% revenue wise.

Here’s the sad part – neither of them know why it’s happening.

Let me be the loudest to tell ‘em.

You forgot who you were. Simple.

You tried to go Hollywood and Rodeo Drive. They may dress better, but they won’t pay your bills.

They don’t wear #20 T-shirts to church like we do.

They don’t get married in #24 T-shirts.

They don’t have a different #8 shirt for every day of the week.

Redneck’s have paid the bills for decades. Been there, bought the T-shirt and wore it to church. Every Sunday. And to wedding #3. And on the honeymoon.

Then they started to kill off races in places where there’d been races since the day they started, see Darlington, SC. and Labor Day.

They went together like redneck’s and NASCAR. Or used to.

Then they started to make the cars all look the same. See Car of Tomorrow. Too bad there won’t be any tomorrow’s if they don’t forget this Orwellianism.

You may say it’s for the safety of the drivers, and it may well be, but when the Ford’s look like the Chevy’s, which look like the Dodge’s which now look like the Toyota’s, you got a problem.

It doesn’t help matters any that the Toyota is the only one of those built on American soil.

By the way, I drive a Kentucky-built Camry. I live in Owensboro, Kentucky and love driving a car built by my brethren, some of whom are rednecks like me.

The Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge supporters can’t say that, unless they live on foreign soil… like Mexico or Canada.

Owensboro, Kentucky is the boyhood home to the Waltrip’s, the Green’s and Jeremy Mayfield, just in case you were wondering if I was an official NASCAR-watchin’ redneck or a faux-redneck.

For 50+ years, the manufacturer’s products looked different.

People were, and still could be, polarized around “their” cars.

Polarized people spend money.

I’m 44 years old and I was rootin’ against King Richard Petty and for David Pearson way back yonder in 1969, even as a 6 year old.

Hell, I’m a redneck. It’s what we do.

For all of those years, I kept up with NASCAR’s comin’s and goin’s.

I have not watched a race this year. May not.

It doesn’t appeal to me anymore, because there’s no polarization for or against a manufacturer.

They all look alike.

Even the tracks are all owned, or damned near it, by the same folks.

They all look the same.

NASCAR’s all about NASCAR and how they can fill their pockets.

They forgot who paid the bills. Polarized, screamin’ rednecks.

Also, you guys play too loose and easy with the rules, which you make up as needed, during a race.

Somebody way out front and lapping the field ? Throw a caution for something like “debris on the track”, and let everybody catch up, change tires and make adjustments.

Throw a caution with 10-15 laps to go, so we can have a close finish and make the people want to come back.

Do you think we don’t know you do that on purpose ? OMG ! We may be redneck’s, but even we ain’t that damn stupid and we’re tired of being treated like we’re that dumb.

If a driver or crew chief happens to call you out and speak the truth, haul him into the NASCAR “woodshed” and let him know that truth and honesty make work for Superman, but is frowned upon in “your” sport, which you privately own and run as you see fit.

I could go on and on with the Why’s and How Come’s, but you aren’t going to listen anyway.

It’s your game, you make the rules and always win.

Here’s your problem in a nutshell.

You tried to stray away from the redneck’s and now the redneck’s are staying away from you.

Me and thousands of other are voting with our feet and our wallets.

Simple.

Thanks to the NYTimes for the inspiration and to Steve Helber and the AP for the photo.

If you have an opinion about this topic, send it to me and I’ll publish it.

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