Racing must try harder in tough times

Major racing series are far from dead. They’re just a little under the weather.

The cloudy financial climate and excessively wet weather have contributed to a drop of about 15 percent in attendance and television ratings for NASCAR Sprint Cup, IndyCars and NHRA.

That’s a bad trend, but it’s still mostly sunny in the racing world — even if Richard Petty says Dodge is about a month behind on payments to his namesake race team.

Considering Chevrolet started 16 of 43 cars in Sunday’s Cup race, those teams must be concerned about their future after General Motors filed for bankruptcy Monday.

The dour economy, especially in the auto industry, has forced race teams, tracks and the rest of us to readjust our finances. But the best teams always will show up.

Now the fans need to be the primary focus. Most racing facilities have offered discounts on tickets and food after lagging advance sales became alarming, but they can and must do more to keep fans interested.

Here’s a short list of changes worth making:

• SHORTER RACES — Laps should be reduced for all Cup races except the Daytona 500 and a few others to ensure none lasts longer than three hours, barring a rain delay. This will help TV viewership.

The duration of IndyCar and NHRA events isn’t a problem, except drag racing on TV needs a radical change of production that cuts shows from three to two hours and focuses more on action in the pits than four-second runs.

• THE BEST RACE — In NASCAR, start by letting the 43 fastest in qualifying race instead of rewarding the top 35 in owners’ points with guaranteed spots.

Fortunately, NASCAR announced Thursday it will begin putting the fastest cars at the front of the pack on restarts.

In NHRA, most nitro teams post their fastest times in Friday night qualifying sessions. The series needs to also run at night on Saturdays for the fourth and final session to prevent the day from being almost meaningless. Racing fans like nighttime nitro racing with flames spewing from exhaust headers.

What IndyCar needs is more than a half dozen cars having a chance to win.

• OVERBEARING PLUGS — Before TV cameras roll and interviews begin: Jeff Gordon has a Pepsi before he gets out of his car; drivers with Coca-Cola deals contest for who can take the most sips of Coke on camera; Tony Stewart has an Old Spice towel placed over a shoulder; and Carl Edwards not only holds a Vitamin Water bottle but works the brand’s name into interviews.

Drivers spewing sponsors is part of racing, but the game has degenerated into a whorish pastime.

• START TIMES — Starting times should be 10 a.m. (1 p.m. Eastern) for Sunday races and 5 p.m. (8 p.m.) on Saturdays.

Folks on the West Coast are accustomed to early times for TV sports, and if NASCAR follows the three-hour formula, races would finish at reasonable times.

Most important, consistent starting times would make it easier for fans to keep up.

Were I writing a book instead of a column, we could delve into other issues.

Racing will survive because Americans still love cars, speed and celebrities.

But as discretionary dollars become more rare among the country’s working class — the core demographic for all racing series — the series must improve their product and track owners should make events more affordable.

That trend began this year. It should be only the start.

Jeff Wolf’s motor sports column is published Friday. He can be reached at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit Wolf’s motor sports blog at lvrj.com/blogs/heavypedal/ throughout the week.