NASCAR’S NEW ERA
Elliott’s title, addition of Jordan as team co-owner are a big part of change
There is no doubt NASCAR has started a new era heralded, of course, by Chase Elliott’s Cup Series championship.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old driver set a clear marker on the stock-car timeline with his victory and title at Phoenix Raceway.
With the addition of Michael Jordan as a team co-owner, coupled with the retirements of Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer and many other things happening, NASCAR is rounding second base in its interior/exterior renovation.
The game plan is to hold on to as many old-school fans as possible while building a brand which appeals to those in the coveted beer-drinking, taco-eating 18-to35 demographic.
While COVID-19 hasn’t done any favors for anybody, it did allow NASCAR to become the first“league” to reactivate in the spring (the only game in town) and permitted the sanctioning body to experiment with scheduling, such as adding two additional doubleheader Cup weekends.
Practice and qualifying were eliminated, creating an environment embraced by some teams (Kevin Harvick’s nine wins) and not others (Kyle Busch barely got one win). The list goes on and on. More change is on the way.
We’ve seen these big swings in the past, such as when the Cup Series went from 48 races in 1971 to 31 in ‘72, all staged on asphalt; a simplified points system was put in place; and Winston came charging in with its marketing budget to be an entitlement sponsor.
Armed with a 2021 schedule featuring more road courses (welcome COTA) and short tracks and the prospect of a newgeneration car in 2022, NASCAR is beyond the setting the table for the future; it’s already serving heavy hors d’oeuvres.
NASCAR is on the clock. Television money has helped hold the racing package together this season. The $8 billion TV contract NASCAR has with Fox and NBC ends in 2024.
The negotiating process will begin in 2022. Here’s hoping the “new NASCAR” has a foothold by that time.
First gear
Here is some good news for the sport. Despite the season being significantly affected by coronavirus, NBC Sports matched its viewership numbers from the 2019 campaign, headlined by a 3% viewership gain for races airing on the NBC broadcast network.
The season was capped by Chase Elliott’s first Cup Series championship on NBC last Sunday, which produced a Total Audience Delivery of 3.093 million viewers.
Viewership peaked at 4.087 million views as Elliott crossed the finish line for his win.
Second gear
Car owner Rick Hendrick boasts an all-time record 13 NASCAR Cup Series championships with four drivers, most recently with Elliott.
But did you know Hendrick had to wait quite a while to get title No.1? He started the team in 1984 but didn’t win his first crown as a car owner until 1995 with Jeff Gordon.
Third gear
NASCAR’s current youth movement can be found in the stat book. The average age of this year’s crop of NASCAR national series champions is 23. Elliott was 24. Xfinity champ Austin Cindric is 22 while Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series trophy winner Sheldon Creed is 23.
Fourth gear
Even if Denny Hamlin did not win the championship, his team is riding a huge crest of momentum. “No one has won more than we have over the last two years,” he said. “(Winning) the Daytona 500 and (qualifying for) the final four two years in a row; I’m pretty proud of what this team is doing and what we are building toward.”