The Fan Base IS Shrinking.

[Rollo75]

[B]The_Tigg[/B]:
That just proves the fan base is shrinking. When Iowa was built it was never meant to be on the cup schedule. The track president at the time and I had a long conversation, he said "Cup will never come here, we don't have the capacity or do all that's needed, we can barely handle Indy."
- The Tigg, via Shoutbox, 3rd Oct 2023

I actually think that this is a deeper issue than just NASCAR.

When I were a wee lad, my dad could run a family of four and pay a mortgage on a single income. In fact, in 1984, we moved houses up the street from No.21 to No.5 purely because he realised that due to the rate of expected wage increases, he could pay off a mortgage at a faster rate using inflated dollars. The point is that real wages peaked across the OECD in our about 1978 and have been on the slide ever since.

What does that mean?

1. People can not afford houses as easily.
1a. People like me have been locked out of the property market forever.
1b. That means that people pay more in real terms, just to put a roof over their heads.

2. Money is fungible; which means that every dollar is identical to every other dollar.
2a. If a dollar is used for something, it can not be used for something else.

3. Since 2008 and especially since 2018, auto makers have increasingly abandoned the small car market.
3a. As small cars aren't being sold by the "big" automakers, people by other things.
3b. This very much erodes brand loyalty.

1b + 2b + 3b = a general public, which neither has the money that it used to, nor the kids who would have cared about motorsport as much any more.

Tigg's observation is correct.

 

[The_Tigg]

Tigg's observation is correct.

 

[casssp]

1. People can not afford houses as easily.
1a. People like me have been locked out of the property market forever.
1b. That means that people pay more in real terms, just to put a roof over their heads.

2. Money is fungible; which means that every dollar is identical to every other dollar.
2a. If a dollar is used for something, it can not be used for something else.

3. Since 2008 and especially since 2018, auto makers have increasingly abandoned the small car market.
3a. As small cars aren't being sold by the "big" automakers, people by other things.
3b. This very much erodes brand loyalty

Around here, the income of the majority of the population cannot cover the costs that, let's say, normally could until the 90s. Income and purchasing power have definitely fallen.

Regarding cars, yes, most people are now choosing to buy used cars and repair them, instead to buy a brand new. Sometimes I think I'm in 2005, because there are a lot of cars from 90s and early 2000s that I've seen on the road nowadays.

 

[Cola83]

Hasn't everything gotten more expensive these days.... Price of a new car, gasoline, food and clothing, Taxes, etc etc... @casssp is correct, income hasn't increased to the rate of inflation and like @Rollo75 said, my son doesn't care one thing for motorsports.

 

[readytowrestle]

“This is a dream come true,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, Iowa Speedway’s co-founder and designer. “This track was built with the intent of hosting a NASCAR Cup Series race one day, and to finally see it come together is a testament to the tenacity of the great race fans in Iowa.”

https://www.jayski.com/2023/10/03/iowa-speedway-expected-to-get-2024-cup-series-race/

 

[The_Tigg]

I was one of the first few hundred "civilians" to walk the track, even before a race car set a tire on it, my feet were on it. I talked to the track president way back in 2006, we had a nice long conversation about where they were going with the track and Cup was never in the picture for several reasons.

I'm sure things have changed in the last 15 years or so, but I feel Cup will not go over well with this new car. I saw the original C.O.T. test at Iowa and the test drivers who came and talked to those spectating said the Cup car didn't have enough down force to hold the track in the corners, they were on the gas less at Iowa then they are at any other track.

As for what Rusty said you can take it at that, as one who's also spoken with Rusty, he's not near as smart as most think he is. When asked to design the track he was given perimeters to follow, he didn't, the track that was asked for was bigger and would accommodate Cup and more. Why do you think he's never designed another track since.