Big challenges ahead

By Bob Margolis, Yahoo! Sports
December 6, 2006

As NASCAR closes the book on the 2006 season and turns its full attention to 2007 and beyond, a gaze into our crystal ball shows a less-than-clear future.

America's biggest and most popular motor sport faces several important challenges – including what some perceive are two of the most critical in its history.

THE BIG TWO

Car of Tomorrow
After years of development, NASCAR's all-new and designed-to-be-safer stock car has finally been deemed ready for prime time. Thousands of developmental hours, critical input from teams and several hundred laps have gone into producing the next generation of stock cars.

Nextel Cup teams have already spent millions to build an infrastructure to assemble the new car, although it still faces strong criticism from within the Cup garage.

NASCAR officials stand by the new car and say that there is no turning back. However, the proof will be in its on-track performance.

The new car makes its debut on March 25, 2007, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Circle that date as the start of a new era in NASCAR.

Declining television ratings/Sinking attendance figures
Lower television ratings for many key races in 2006 have some NASCAR officials concerned, but they're nowhere near panic mode. That decline, coupled with empty grandstand seats in markets like Charlotte, Texas and Talladega, has them searching for answers.

Some may be obvious.

Watching a NASCAR race broadcast, which admittedly can be a boring affair, has become even more difficult. The constant bombardment of television commercials (usually every five minutes) has made it nearly impossible for even the most diehard fans, much less the casual fan, to watch a race in its entirety.

Ticket prices have steadily increased over the past five years and now the average cost of a NASCAR weekend for a family of four has easily surpassed that of any other major sports activity. However, creative ticket pricing, such as free or greatly reduced admission to fans under 15 or over 60, could help soften the blow to the family's pocketbook and encourage more fans to fight the crowds and traffic to see a race in person.

Despite the flat or declining television ratings and the apparent drop in attendance, NASCAR officials see this as part of the natural cycle of growth of the sport and wave off any serious concern.