Should NASCAR follow NFL to the UK?

[JHamilton]

I've had an even better idea. Bring Nascar over and have the Bears and Packers play in the infield at the same time. Only serve corndogs, fried snickers bars, and budweiser.

[R59]

Originally Posted by expaddockrunner

and the trucks at Mallory Park oval!

On the first rolling lap there would be a massive pile-up on the outside of Turn 1, all because of the "bump" caused by the camber of "The Elbow" which you would take the wrong way.

They tried running the V8 Eurocars over it and decided it was a very bad idea, and NASCAR Trucks are a LOT faster than Eurocars.

Rockingham as a track is more than adequate for NASCAR, the pitlane could be tweaked for 43 cars, the 38 boxes are IndyCar size boxes and are pretty big. They could be shortened by a foot or two each and you would get 43 down there no problem. They'd have to get the scoreboard working again though.....

The only issue is that it would need a SAFER barrier fitting. And who cares if it takes 10mins to change from oval to road course - when NASCAR run a cup event, that's it - the whole day for ONE race (which is up to 4hrs long).

They could run a European tour, Rockingam one weekend, Venray the next, and finish off at Eurospeedway for the last one. So we'd get 1.5mile speedway, 1km medium-high banked oval, and 2mile super speedway. Now THAT would be a tour!

But who's gonna pay for it. Bovril sponsored Imapala...... Tetley Tea sponsored Dodge Charger, Larsons Biscuits / Peniston Oil sponsored Toyota Camry......

[m1fcf]

Just a quick thought about Nascar around the world...

with the Higgs-Boson so near discovery, that kind of means the Large Hadron Collider is finished with...so.... why not take all the kit out, and run the Nascars round the largest covered oval in the world?

I'll get my coat

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by m1fcf

Just a quick thought about Nascar around the world...

with the Higgs-Boson so near discovery, that kind of means the Large Hadron Collider is finished with...so.... why not take all the kit out, and run the Nascars round the largest covered oval in the world?

I'll get my coat

If this means two pack racing than I prefer not...

[SteveR]

Originally Posted by FIRE

If this means two pack racing than I prefer not...

But just think of the fun if you split the pack in two and ran them in opposite directions. It would bring a whole new meaning to "Big Bang"

[duke_toaster]

Originally Posted by R59

They could run a European tour, Rockingam one weekend, Venray the next, and finish off at Eurospeedway for the last one. So we'd get 1.5mile speedway, 1km medium-high banked oval, and 2mile super speedway. Now THAT would be a tour!

Funnily enough, if you mention it like that, the thought of an actual NASCAR Insert Sponsor Here Europe Series actually starts to sound viable ...

[ascarmarshal]

Isn't the Racecar Series NASCAR sanctioned? This was mentioned on the RoC coverage on Eurosport. So it is a start here in Europe

[NaBUru38]

If Nascar ever races again outside North Amierca, I'm sure it will be in UAE or Qatar.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by ascarmarshal

Isn't the Racecar Series NASCAR sanctioned? This was mentioned on the RoC coverage on Eurosport. So it is a start here in Europe

It's FIA sanctioned and they use the same cars as NASCAR Canadian Tires Series.

[ascarmarshal]

Originally Posted by FIRE

It's FIA sanctioned and they use the same cars as NASCAR Canadian Tires Series.

The commentators on British Eurosport 2 for RoC did say it is the first non-American series to have official sanctioning from NASCAR

[FIRE]

Than they are wrong because there are already NASCAR series in Canada and Mexico.

[Paradise City]

I don't think there is much incentive really. NASCAR is the 'F1' in America in terms of profile, money and primetime TV.

Any NASCAR entrant in Europe would be at national level or at a niche level like sportscars, lucky to get a half hour highlights program on Ch4 or if live deep within the bowels of the Sky package. At best, such a series may survive but it'd be impossible to see it prospering. To get a DTM level of exposure would be the target to aim at I suppose.

I'm only barely aware of this Race car series.

[ascarmarshal]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Than they are wrong because there are already NASCAR series in Canada and Mexico.

Canada and Mexico are North America

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

If Nascar ever races again outside North Amierca, I'm sure it will be in UAE or Qatar.

There have been rumours of a big oval being built near Niagara Falls in Southern Ontario; though I haven't heard much lately.

NASCAR is a big sport here in Canada and if you built a track near the US border and a tourist destination, it could work. Mind you, attendance has been down.

Now, I believe it was money from the mideast rumoured to be behind the project.

[chunder]

I think the only likelihood of NASCAR ever racing in Europe would be Nationwide or Trucks, it would never be Cup.

The oval tracks are not right over here, and if they went anywhere for an official round it would be Japan for Toyota.

I think Canada is a good idea, as someone said, near the border.

I very much doubt Middle East as they are obssessed with F1 and nothing else because of Bernie. I can't see NASCAR going somewhere like that as they are blue collar and that isn't the Middle East in any way at all.

I would personally love to see a round at somewhere like Brands or Silverstone in my lifetime but don't think it will happen, it's just too linked to its home country.

And besides what incentives are there for them to come? People can watch from here, buy stuff from here? 30 years ago before the internet was the right time, to expose it as they did with CART at Brands, not now though sadly.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

No, NASCAR has it's dominant market in North America, a Canadian race would be a really good idea though. Doubt they will pull a CART and do a European swing when they have so much popularity in the United States. Nearly everything motorsports-related in the United States is centered around NASCAR, and F1 with it's financial backers will realise this when they race the Austin GP on the same day as the NASCAR finale. Only one race a year, the Indianapolis 500, comes anywhere near the kind of attention nascar gets in the U.S.

Could they come to the UK? Yes. Do they really NEED to come to the UK? No.

[Clive Brown]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

Nearly everything motorsports-related in the United States is centered around NASCAR, and F1 with it's financial backers will realise this when they race the Austin GP on the same day as the NASCAR finale.

I'm unconvinced. I love NASCAR despite all its obvious faults, and wouldn't cross the road to watch a GP, but I do think that the two markets are virtually independent one of the other. In any case, I don't think that actual paid attendance at a GP is of any real importance to those who sanction these events.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

I'm unconvinced. I love NASCAR despite all its obvious faults, and wouldn't cross the road to watch a GP, but I do think that the two markets are virtually independent one of the other. In any case, I don't think that actual paid attendance at a GP is of any real importance to those who sanction these events.

Was talking about the United States media and potential sponsor attention, especially television, nothing to do with attendance or the local success of the Austin event.

[Clive Brown]

I think it will be virtually ignored by the media in the USA, so we're singing from the same songsheet here!

That doesn't, though, mean that the Austin GP won't be considered as a success on a Global basis....

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by chunder

I think the only likelihood of NASCAR ever racing in Europe would be Nationwide or Trucks, it would never be Cup.

The oval tracks are not right over here, and if they went anywhere for an official round it would be Japan for Toyota.

I think Canada is a good idea, as someone said, near the border.

I very much doubt Middle East as they are obssessed with F1 and nothing else because of Bernie. I can't see NASCAR going somewhere like that as they are blue collar and that isn't the Middle East in any way at all.

I would personally love to see a round at somewhere like Brands or Silverstone in my lifetime but don't think it will happen, it's just too linked to its home country.

And besides what incentives are there for them to come? People can watch from here, buy stuff from here? 30 years ago before the internet was the right time, to expose it as they did with CART at Brands, not now though sadly.

Maybe Citroën could launch a NASCAR assault and pour some money into a European race. Visit Dubai Citroën Racing with big C5's, Loeb/Sarrazin/Minassian driving. That'd go over well in the states, I'm sure. Or maybe Vauxhall, to get a Rockingham race

[Paradise City]

If NASCAR is brought to Europe the initiative needs to come from someone influential within Europe. CART arrived because of the imagination of a European entrepreneur who liked American oval-style and who could arrange deals so Rockingham could be built and premier races could be staged there. It also helped that Indy chassis had been built in England for many years so a strong commercial relationship with Europe was already embedded.

That European connection with NASCAR could've come from Dietrich Mateschitz. He could've made it happen if the NASCAR audience had of connected with the Red Bull target demographic. It didn't, Mateschitz has lost interest now and its difficult to see from where a European connection could be made.

Maybe something could come from the DTM-France family connection. They do have an oval sitting there in Germany. With a roadcourse, a dose of imagination maybe they can make a double header for one of the NASCAR series' a few years down the line.

[Thaw Daggerslash]

They could do, but...

I don't think it'd succeed.

Clearly, NASCAR is one of the most pouplar forms of racing in the world, all motorsport fans whether they like it or not know what NASCAR is. Yet, I doubt it'd get much publicity or a decent crowd turn out.

The problem is, the motorsport interest in the UK is already dominated by F1. MotoGP and BTCC get a look in, indeed, BTCC's viewing figures have really picked up recently, but the BTCC never makes the sports bulletins on the news nearly as much as F1 does. Heck, sometimes it's a miracle that F1 even gets a mention on the sports bulletins.

Therefore, aside from the true petrol heads, nobody in the UK knows of NASCAR. You talk of the NFL - it's the same thing. Sure, interest has picked up in the UK for that, but I've never heard anyone having a conversation about it, or again, it getting much coverage for most the year in the media. It's more a casual interest to those who follow it have more than anything.

UK has F1 and BTCC, and any other motorsport is lucky to get a mention. BTCC comfortably trounced the WTCC at Donington this season in terms of spectator numbers. That makes me think NASCAR wouldn't really do that much better. It's very American, and I don't think many in the UK would warm to it easily.

Clearly there's a substantial amount of interest in the UK for motorsport. F1 at Silverstone is always a sell out, and the crowds at BTCC are always very strong too. The connection between them is that both series have been promoted very well and have been on free to view channels that everyone has access to. NASCAR would need the same - coverage on one of the main channels, make a real big promotion about a race in the UK taking place, all of which would no doubt take several years to get a decent crowd to see it, or as is often the case, a strong crowd for the first year and then much less every year after.

Aside from maybe a few lines in the sports section of a paper, I doubt it would generate much interest or really improve the reputation of the sport here. It'd be nice to see, but it would most likely be a big waste of time and money.

[Jacques Rabbit]

Originally Posted by Thaw Daggerslash

They could do, but...

I don't think it'd succeed.

That's a contradiction to NASCAR's management. If it won't succeed, they can't, and don't, do it.

I'm not convinced it would be a failure. The crowd in Montréal is fantastic beyond comprehension, especially considering it's a Nationwide race. I never thought attendance was poor at Mexico City, either; certainly better than the Champ Car races. How did the exhibitions in Japan and Australia do in terms of crowd? I can't remember...

The point is that if NASCAR did it, it would be successful, because they wouldn't do it if it weren't going to succeed, and maybe that's why they never have. NASCAR would make sure there was media attention. NASCAR would make sure there was TV coverage and massive promotion. NASCAR would never leave those balls in another's court; they got successful by making sure they didn't have to rely on people to determine if their event was big or not...they told everyone it was damn big and then they backed it up.

I don't think NASCAR is ever going to race in Europe, though. If they really wanted to, I believe they could find a way to make it work. They'd sign big enough sponsors to do enough promotion and get themselves out in the media and get a few "local" drivers and all that and be fine. I'm not talking about NASCAR being popular in Europe; I just mean selling enough attendance for the one event every year, like the NFL does (it's not popular, but people go to it once a year).

But I don't see them ever having a need to try. At the end of the day, the Daytona 500 is behind only the F1 races in world-wide television viewership (ahead of MotoGP, WRC, Le Mans, Indy 500, everything else). And that's almost exclusively from the American audience (literally like 99% of their total). There's no incentive to make the teams pay a lot of money to go overseas to put on a cute little show.

[Thaw Daggerslash]

Originally Posted by Jacques Rabbit

That's a contradiction to NASCAR's management. If it won't succeed, they can't, and don't, do it.

I'm not convinced it would be a failure. The crowd in Montréal is fantastic beyond comprehension, especially considering it's a Nationwide race. I never thought attendance was poor at Mexico City, either; certainly better than the Champ Car races. How did the exhibitions in Japan and Australia do in terms of crowd? I can't remember...

The point is that if NASCAR did it, it would be successful, because they wouldn't do it if it weren't going to succeed, and maybe that's why they never have. NASCAR would make sure there was media attention. NASCAR would make sure there was TV coverage and massive promotion. NASCAR would never leave those balls in another's court; they got successful by making sure they didn't have to rely on people to determine if their event was big or not...they told everyone it was damn big and then they backed it up.

I don't think NASCAR is ever going to race in Europe, though. If they really wanted to, I believe they could find a way to make it work. They'd sign big enough sponsors to do enough promotion and get themselves out in the media and get a few "local" drivers and all that and be fine. I'm not talking about NASCAR being popular in Europe; I just mean selling enough attendance for the one event every year, like the NFL does (it's not popular, but people go to it once a year).

But I don't see them ever having a need to try. At the end of the day, the Daytona 500 is behind only the F1 races in world-wide television viewership (ahead of MotoGP, WRC, Le Mans, Indy 500, everything else). And that's almost exclusively from the American audience (literally like 99% of their total). There's no incentive to make the teams pay a lot of money to go overseas to put on a cute little show.

I see what you mean, and I agree.

I guess what I was trying to say in a consise way is that it'd have to be worth it. For the cost of sending all the cars, equipment, etc, etc overseas to Europe, anything less that full grand stands would make it a bit of a wasted trip.

Don't get me wrong, there's potential interest there for such an event. As I said earlier, the UK has a big interest in motorsport, as seen at F1, BTCC, the British round of the MotoGP and WRC, heck, even events like Goodwood and the Silverstone Classic that drew 80,000 spectators show how strong the interest for motor racing is in the UK.

It's just those levels that aren't really well marketed like WTCC or the GTs don't get as big as crowd as they should, and that's something that NASCAR wouldn't have to fall into. The Red Bull home run in Milton Keynes drew a very large crowd, and there they were running a NASCAR alongside the F1 cars, and events like that will no doubt increase the image of NASCAR here.

So it could be worth a try, but it's very difficult to know how successful it'd really be.

[chunder]

From my point of view living in the UK I see two things...

I see the NFL game here sells out in days at Wembley. NFL hardly gets any coverage in the UK now, Compared to the 80's when it was a live event and Channel 4 got bit numbers involved.

There was an NBA game ehre recently and that sold out in seconds. NBA gets no coverage at all in the UK from what I know of!

These things tell you that NASCAR is bound to be a sleeper, NFL gets no coverage yet NFL knew they could sell out Wembley hence they came. Same with NBA.

But, NASCAR is so utterly American, far mroe than NFL and NBA, it is baseball, no one here gets why the Yanks like it!

And that is your problem, I am not a massive NASCAR fan, or a baseball fan, but could you sell out Wembley or Rockingham for either?

I am not sure, it would need a huge marketing push and people like Gordon, Earnhardt et al to come over and push it.

And that aint happening. Look at the Lewis Smoke thing Mobil did, it was awesome, you need these guy to get into each otehr a bit more too. Marketing is not just handing out leaflets, look at Ken Block, thousands of people would go and watch him, and he is not even that good a rally driver!