But the sports most dedicated fans were (and are) still in the Southeast, and Southerners are loyal to the core to their heritage. He also had a Daytona 500 win and a Southern 500 victory among his 84 career wins. Just uncalled for. The 2019 Daytona 500 drew about 9 million viewers. After an early-race crash sparked by Ross Chastain parked Brennan Poole in Mondays Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway, Poole said Chastain probably needs to get his butt whooped.. They shut down the polls and went ahead with it anyway. I just feel like its not necessary. That run was obviously really bad we fell from first to seventh. He collected 105 series wins, second only to Richard Petty on the all-time list. The winner of the most awards is Bill Elliott with 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series. The No. In case you werent there or dont remember, in 2004 NASCAR welcomed their new series sponsor, Nextel (now Sprint), with a new playoff system called the Chase. Brennan Poole says Chastain probably needs his butt whooped. Days of Thunder, a 1990 movie starring Tom Cruise as a young up-and-coming driver vying for glory, introduced NASCAR to the big screen. Georgia drivers, car owners, mechanics, and speedways have long played an important role in the establishment, development, and growing popularity of the National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) sport. It's just special, Truex said. Even more so than in baseball, the on-screen product is affected with the layout of a track. That much thought went into it. Big brother poked his head in Ryans Toyota as he pulled it into victory lane. When you sign-up through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Why poll the fans if youre just going to ignore them? (It did.) (AP Photo/Jason Minto), A crew member on Bubba Wallace's team wipes water from a tire before the start of the NASCAR 400 auto race at Dover Motor Speedway Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Dover, Del. I mean, just a joke 80-something laps into a race? Photo credit: brandonzeman on Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA You need a Statista Account for unlimited access. NASCARs 2020 champion is also its most popular driverfor the first time since 1988. TN), 1-855-2CALLGA (IL), 1-800-270-7117 (MI). has developed and altered over the years, one constant has been the series ability to produce some of the most competent and competitive drivers in any motorsport. Joey Logano made numerous pit stops during the afternoon as he battled tire problems and finally parked with 14 laps to go after he hit the outside wall. But in a relatively short time, NASCAR corrected the car and the multiple issues with its design, and while the cars dont differ by manufacturer like they once did, at least were not seeing disastrously awful races just because of the cars construction. I tried to get to the top and search for clean air. I dont think it had anything to do with the track. NASCAR has been around for a longer time; it attracts a bigger audience, has more races, a longer season, and is more popular internationally than IndyCar. The Old North State is probably the the first place most people think of when they think of NASCAR. The cars already were mostly spec at that point, and the sport was doing just finebooming even. Younger brother Ryan Truex won the second-tier Xfinity Series race on Saturday for his first NASCAR victory across all three national series in 188 career starts. This Fastenal Mustang had good speed in it all day probably fifth to 10th is probably where we were going to be. Between 1997 and 2007, NASCAR added tracks in new markets: Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Chicago. Many of his most memorable appearances were in classic American cars, notably the 1983 action comedy Stroker Ace, in which he played an arrogant NASCAR champion racing a Ford Thunderbird. Jimmie Johnson As time passes, his accomplishments will be further revered. GEICO 500 Predictions: Brad Keselowski Could Claim First Win with Current Team, NOCO 400: Christopher Bell Is on a Roll as He Heads to NASCARs Shortest Track. We came with something a little bit different to try and help that. The 2019 Daytona 500 viewership was just 9 million. Through one week of voting action, here are the top 10 vote-getters in each series (alphabetical order): Cup Series: Christopher Bell Ryan Blaney Alex Bowman Kyle Busch Ross Chastain Chase Elliott. According to the source, 26.9 percent of the population in Charlotte, North Carolina had watched, attended, or. Jeff Gordon A four-time champion whose 93 career wins ranks third on the all-time list. Martin Truex Jr., center, jumps from his car after winning the NASCAR 400 auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Monday, May 1, 2023, in Dover, Del. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. And maybe this time, they will have learned from their mistakes. Nuggets vs Suns Game 2: Can The Suns Bounce Back? For any fan that needs racing to be dangerous, there are still four restrictor plate races on the schedule. So, I think it was the No. Were not far off here. As Juniors fortunes continued to trend downward even while driving for the strongest team in the sport, his fan base became turned off. Cale Yarborough Won three consecutive championships (1976-78). Gordon scored the most points overall of any driver in 2004, 2007, and 2014. NASCAR was plenty defiant resisting this idea at their peakbut these days, theyre not in a position to ignore displeased fans. Thanks to everybody that stuck with us, all our fans, Bass Pro Shops, Auto Owners, Resers, Toyota, TRD, all my personal sponsors. Drivers: NAME: NO. The finish was Chastains best of the year. Elliott picked up the win on a Monday last season at Dover Motor Speedway and he'll get another shot this year after rain again postponed Sunday's race. It just kind of sucks to tear up a car when youre getting an opportunity to be here on Sunday. Ill have to look at the replay. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott looks on prior to a race on Oct. 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. It felt like weve been close a bunch of times, and we gave some away, thats for sure. It makes a world of difference watching on TV. Truex held strong on the outside lane Monday off the final restart to hold off runner-up Ross Chastain by a half-second. I was side-by-side with (. A Former Reporters Thoughts, fly into a catch fence and injure spectators, I really got the point across with this one, that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher, baseball exploded in popularity after the opening of Camden Yards, that didnt suffer a significant ratings drop, Collectors And Sons The CollX Sportscard App, Professional Cornhole Beyond The Parking Lot, Staying Green ex-Patriots Champion Jarvis Green, Terry Kath 1946-1978: The Heart of Chicago. Elliott picked up the win on a Monday last season at Dover Motor Speedway and he'll get another shot this year after rain again postponed Sunday's race. So its kind of pathetic. 43 Allegiant Chevy, you know, we were kind of back and forth on the balance throughout the day just trying to get some stuff better, but we came a long way from where we were in practice. NASCAR did (and still does) market the possibility of spectacular wrecks. I dont know. Bowman will miss at least the next three Cup races. NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award is awarded to the most popular NASCAR driver in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series every year since 1956. California sitting third from the bottom may raise a few eyebrows considering it hosts two Cup races and a number of drivers hail from the Golden State, including 7x champion Jimmie Johnson. And I said all that without even bringing up that profoundly irritating cartoon gopher. Bowlesy thinks there needs to be an element of risk for racing to be exciting; I dont tune in to races to see a car potentially fly into a catch fence and injure spectators. Chastain led 98 laps. Chastain won the second stage, finishing in front of Byron, Blaney, Truex Jr. and Hamlin. Im really proud of our group. Truex earned his first points since since September 2021 at Richmond. As soon as he ran into me, I just kind of got shoved into the corner, like way too deep, and then I was just immediately turned around. That's just going to be part of it here for a little while I think.". My car wasnt loose, and I didnt have a warning or anything. You can only download this statistic as a Premium user. However, NASCAR has developed rapidly in other parts of the United States, particularly in the north and west, with more races being held in those areas. After the race, Chastain said on FS1: I first have to say Im so sorry to Brennan and everybody at Rick Ware Racing. It feels nice to get one to come around our way, Truex said. In response to its rapidly growing popularity nationwide, NASCAR moved away from the Southeast fans who brought the sport to the dance, and began holding races in places like Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles. The numbers are based on proportion of searches rather than total searches, so the population of each state is accounted for in the data. (AP Photo/Jason Minto) Ford drivers benefited from the rain, with Ryan Blaney starting third, followed by Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Chase Briscoe, after qualifying was rained out. Chase Elliott missed so many races because of a broken leg that NASCAR's most popular driver likely needs to win one just to make the playoffs. Twelve of his 83 wins (14.5%) came in the sports marquee events. Chase Elliott missed so many races because of a broken leg that NASCAR's most popular driver likely needs to win one just to make the playoffs. It felt like weve been close a bunch of times, and we gave some away, thats for sure, Truex told Fox Sports. NASCAR is aggressively working to become a more diverse and inclusive sport, as evidenced by the recent outpouring of support for Bubba Wallace and the BLM movement. I can also dispute other reasons for it that I see being offered today. The broadcasts have also improved. I did not mean to do that at all, Chastain told his crew via radio. We knew we could do this, Truex said. He won four titles in that span and finished second in the points one year and third the other year. Another reason why NASCAR is losing popularity is due to the fact that there are just too many races. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? The 2023 IndyCar schedule includes 17 races, starting on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in March, and finishing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 10. In 2008 Kyle Busch smoked the field for the first 26 races, winning eight of them and setting the NASCAR world on fire with his brash and unapologetic racing style. The IndyCar racing season is held over 5 months and consists of 17 total races. Long run was pretty good. DOVER, Del. NASCAR's popularity has declined dramatically since its peak in the early 2000s. Darrell Waltrip Claimed three titles, winning them in a five-year period in the 1980s. Since this is a non-ideological blog, I wont get into the things that the NFL, NBA and MLB have recently done to drive away a significant portion of their fanbases. Weve led laps. Labor Day is in Darlington where it belongs, and Darlington is hosting two events again. However, by the time NASCAR was peaking in the early 2000s, there already wasnt much manufacturer identity left. 2007: NASCAR expands the field of drivers in the Chase from 10 to 12. Commission, a sports betting vendor registration, under registration number #100400, issued by the Director It has happened with other sports. Ill never forget seeing Elliott Sadlers terrifying end-over-end crash at Talladega in 2003 and seeing it again in every single ad for Talladega races for the next 3-4 years. I was critical of the Chase in plenty of columns, but I felt like I really got the point across with this one about it. While NASCAR scrambles to address its national (and global) popularity problem, we wanted to look at exactly where its core fanbase is. The award has been administered by the NMPA and presented annually by the . Go figure. He earned his 32nd career Cup victory and became the 10th driver to win four or more Cup races at Dover. Gragson joked, Im gonna put it right on black, baby, as he flashed an autographed $100 bill from fellow NASCAR driver Austin Dillon as part the payout for the bet that the Legacy Motor Club driver would get a bowl cut. In response to its rapidly growing popularity nationwide, NASCAR moved away from the Southeast fans who brought the sport to the dance, and began holding races in places like Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles. It was just a big day for us. Photo credit: Zach Catanzareti Photo on Visualhunt / CC BY-SA unsubscribe link. "Clerks" filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith was scheduled to serve as grand marshal for Sunday's race and give the command for drivers to star their engines. Unfortunately, as the track built up rubber and I got in dirty air, we just couldnt find the grip we needed. Dynasties like Johnsons arent bad for a sportunless the sport doesnt know how to market them. Who had a bad race: Noah Gragson crashed on the backstretch 29 laps into the race and couldnt reach the minimum speed to stay on track. 3 (Austin Dillon), just got to the outside and its not like I can go anywhere or give him any more room than what I had. It took quite a few years of longtime fans bitching about that, but NASCAR did finally move the Labor Day Southern 500 back to Darlington. Gordon wasnt the only driver who turned in a spectacular season-long performance only to have it nullified. He raced me hard but clean. A Former Reporters Thoughts, Copyright 2023 A Great Number of Things. There were often timesand Im not exaggerating thiswhen a viewer would see maybe five laps of racing, a two-minute break, and then just two more laps of racing before another break. Photo credit: wjarrettc on Visual hunt / CC BY Bubba Wallace won the fall race at the track. One of the best things about NASCAR is the level of access that average fans have. Jimmie won a lot. Obviously, we were pretty off there from when we unloaded, but we got quite a bit better, quite a bit closer, but we just needed to get the balance. Johnson has competed in 666 races since winning his debut race at the UAW-GM Quality 500 in Charlotte, with 83 wins and 370 top-ten finishes. Chastain was second, Ryan Blaney third, William Byron fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth. I dont often see NASCARs ill-conceived playoff idea as a reason people cite for the decline of NASCAR in articles I read these days, but I promise you, that was not the case when I covered the sport. Auto Racing Drivers on ESPN.com. It is best known for organizing stock-car racing. 3, rolled out of the gas and just got ran over. Craftsman Truck Series. 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, WV), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-522-4700 (NV), 1-800-522-4700 But plate racing still sucksnot only do plates produce multi-car crashes every event, they pervert the standings because of it. He did win the Clash at the Coliseum exhibition race in February. If any single event hastened the decline of NASCAR, it was Indy 2008. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. The ceremony presenting the award is called the NASCAR Awards Banquet, and it is held in Nashville, Tennessee in November of each year. We fired off so well and had a ton of speed. Martin knows how to get to victory lane at Dover. In addition, the current playoff format, while far from perfect, isnt nearly as unpalatable as the Chase was. IndyCar and NASCAR are two popular auto racing series based in the United States. I think it was a really solid day for the No. Its just been a disappointing year overall. Truex, who won for the 32nd times in the Cup Series, held the lead despite the tire disadvantage. Registration issued by the Sports Wagering Committee of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. Im also someone who became a disenchanted former fan myself. By virtue of his fathers untimely passing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. instantly found himself with a larger fan base than any three drivers in NASCAR. (Chastain). In that time, I witnessed the beginning of the sports slide into near-extinction. Everyone did a good job on pit road, kept track position, worked hard on-track, and its a solid one. Bell is second, three points behind Chastain. The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. Determined to rebound from a winless season, Truex opened his 18th full season with an exhibition victory in the Busch Light Clash in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. If you want to attribute the decline of NASCAR to arrogant leadership, look no further than that single act. This is a carousel. For all the latest tips, predictions and special offers directly into your inbox once a week. Chastain, who has often been criticized for rough driving, was the central character in a Lap 81 crash. Others claim that money has corrupted the sport and made it an elitist pay-to-play sport. But for whatever reason, Junior not only didnt measure up to his fathers formidable reputation, he rarely even established himself as a contender. He held the series record for victories until son Richard topped his mark. 2023 NASCAR Driver Points Standings. It seems to be something he does a lot recently. possesses a Vendor Minor sports betting license from the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission (account Photo credit: Ford Racing on VisualHunt / CC BY The race will start at 11 a.m. (Central time) on the concrete-mile track. 9. It was that simple. Its unfortunate to be out of the race this early at a race track that we normally run very well at.. NBC reported Monday that its broadcast of the NASCAR Cup championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida drew an average of 3.759 million viewers, its best audience for its half of the. We then plotted the data on a map to help to visualize the most popular regions across the country. $3 for 3 Months . Photo credit: sidehike on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA Larson returned to the track many laps down after repairs. It was no longer just a southern sport. There was a new breed of driver, epitomized. But it was a never ending source of irritation to see five laps of racing followed by a several minute commercial break, which was then followed by another minute of a wide angle shot of the venue and This race is being brought to you by .. Burt Reynolds was perhaps the most successful in merging his movie career with NASCAR. (It wasnt a tough call to make, if you actually looked at her results instead of her figure.). This was a really good day. I think I won.. Ryan Truex, Martins younger brother, won Saturdays Xfinity Series race at Dover. Solid top-10 day drove back through. He finished first or second in the points 10 times in his career. The Patriots domination was great for the NFL. Learn more >. Gragson hasnt finished better than 30th in any of his last five races. 48 Ally Chevy team. Those lucky fans may even get to brush shoulders with movie stars and music giants on occasion. Bobby Allison Finished second in the points five times before winning the 1983 championship. Photo credit: PresidenBertho on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-SA Live race coverage and the latest NASCAR news, results, schedules, and race highlights from ESPN Well take our Sunseeker Resorts Chevy off to Kansas next week and move on from here., Daniel Suarez Finished 35th: The conditions were perfect. Who had a good race: Martin Truex Jr. battled for the lead in the final stage and stayed out front despite a late-race caution that bunched the field. Fans can vote for a single driver once daily at NASCAR.com/MostPopularDriver or on the NASCAR Mobile App. Races are run on downtown streets, road courses and oval speedways. (CO, Many observers consider Dawsonville one of the birthplaces of NASCAR. We will work hard and try to get better., Brad Keselowski Finished 8th:We had a good recovery. AGE DISTRIBUTION NASCAR fans are just as likely as the U.S. population to be 18-44 (98 index vs. U.S population). In that race, caution flags were flown almost every ten laps for tire wear, as Jimmie Johnson limped to a victory. "Dale Jr. wins NASCAR's Most Popular Driver, reveals wedding date", "Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins NASCAR Most Popular Driver award for 15th time", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NASCAR%27s_Most_Popular_Driver_Award&oldid=1144724865, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. XFINITY Series. Use Ask Statista Research Service, among those who have watched, attended or listened to a NASCAR race, Most valuable sport event brands worldwide 2019, Racing teams of NASCAR ranked by team value 2019, Average TV audience of NASCAR Cup Series 2022, Average U.S. TV audience of NASCAR races 2019. It was a mistake on my part. Ended up ninth with the late restart and had a lap-down car racing us pretty hard. All votes shared by fans on Facebook and/or Twitter count double. Elliott has raced only four times this season and missed six races with a broken left tibia that he suffered in a March 3 snowboarding accident. The time has come. You couldnt entirely blame NASCAR for no longer holding events in places like North Wilkesboro or Rockingham or even Darlington, which lost a race on the schedule for several years. Yes, a team can still dominate all season and lose a championship to a flat tire, but at least its not just an artificial points reset. All rights reserved. The race was Pooles first Cup start of the season. Print Headline: NASCAR at Dover moved to today. He was at his best in the big races. The 2017 Cup champion has the blueprint on how to win at the Monster Mile on a Monday. I wasnt the only one who noticedas this blog posts comments demonstrated. Photo credit: tequilamike on Visual hunt / CC BY His 84 wins are tied with Darrell Waltrip for fourth on the all-time list. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. Jimmie Johnson As time passes, his accomplishments will be further revered. The number of people living in that category decreased to 2.92 million in 2019. It seems likely that his five consecutive championships will join the mark of Richard Petty's 200 Cup wins as records that will never be broken. We all know what Im talking about. 8. But just a great call by James (crew chief James Small) to take two and then was able to get a pretty good restart and get (Dave) Blaney there. Sponsored by Hamburger Helper in 2010, it was also sponsored by Wheaties in 2011. Rebel Penguin ApS 2023 (a subsidiary of Gaming Innovation Group Inc.) If that contributed to NASCARs decline, however, that is on NASCAR. NASCAR possessed one of the greatest dynasties in the history of sports during Jimmies reign. On Dec. 14, 1947, Bill France Sr. organized a meeting of drivers, officials and promoters at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, to discuss the future of stock car racing. William Byron (24) races down the back stretch during the NASCAR 400 auto race at Dover Motor Speedway Monday, May 1, 2023, in Dover, Del. Watch videos, and stay up-to-date with everything NASCAR. DOVER, Del. He won the Coca-Cola 600 five times. With the current playoff point structure, drivers are also somewhat rewarded for strong season-long performances as wellwhile the Chase completely disregarded excellence during the season. Some argue that the retirement of its high profile drivers has had a big impact, with the new generation of drivers failing to break through into mainstream sports fame. Among his 83 career wins were four Daytona 500s and five Southern 500s. Share of NASCAR fans in the United States in 2018, by city [Graph]. It didnt help that a hugely popular driver underperformed, but that shouldnt have caused this much of a free fall. Kyle Larson is the 5-1 favorite to win, per FanDuel Sportsbook. Surprisingly, there are no active NASCAR tracks in the Mountain State, but that doesnt seem to dampen the locals enthusiasm for the sport. All our emails include an Weve led laps. But, being on the front row gave us a shot to win. 4. Access to this and all other statistics on 80,000 topics from, Show sources information 117656-1, Just looking for a little more, and I felt like we were pretty close. You only have access to basic statistics. Poole left the race. Im thankful for all of the guys efforts on our No. Photo credit: sarahstierch on Visualhunt.com / CC BY Daniel Suarez lost control on Lap 36 and slapped the outside wall. First, I want to say so sorry to Brennan Poole and everybody at Rick Ware Racing. The NASCAR season is held over 9 months . I was side-by-side with the No. , NASCAR supporters consider themselves to be some of the most patriotic sports fans in the world. As the son of one of the greatest racecar drivers in history, Junior also had an impossible standard to live up to. But more importantly, the racing isnt anywhere near as exciting at the cookie cutters, as I so eloquently explained here. But just a great call by James (crew chief James Small) to take two and then was able to get a pretty good restart and get (Dave) Blaney there. Im not buying the its too safe bit as a cause for the decline of NASCAR. Weve dominated races, and it just would never all come together. Dover is a 1-mile track, and 11 laps does not take long. ET. Last year's weather for the 500 was almost equally bad, with the conclusion of the race postponed until Monday evening. Truex raced to his first NASCAR Cup win on June 4, 2007, at Dover and 12 years later used another rainout to take the checkered flag on May 6, 2019. According to a recent UC Davis research, NASCAR supporters consider themselves to be some of the most patriotic sports fans in the world. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the second-most awards (15) and holds the longest streak, winning the award in 2003 and every year until his retirement in 2017.[1][2]. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. It got us on the front row. Jerseyball Millvilles Mike Trout and Aaron Cox, Precision Pistol Shooting For Greatness, The Power of Fun Dave Raymond, The Original Phillie Phanatic. In addition, the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the fact that the majority of NASCAR teams are based out of Charlotte, or nearby, makes North Carolina the unofficial home of NASCAR for many. It rewards winning and risk taking, where the Chase rewarded points racing and avoiding risk. Proud of the effort. 1? You could say it was NASCARs New Coke, except Coca-Cola was smart enough to change the formula back in response to furious customer backlash. I think it did for the majority of the race, but just got too loose., Denny Hamlin Finished 5th: Our car was really fast. There are still 11 races on intermediate tracks, but its finally moving in the right direction. Some say I lost a bet, Gragson said. The Cup Series returns Aug. 8 at Watkins Glen International (3 p.m. Yes, sports ratings as a whole are down, but NASCAR's fall is alarming: Daytona 500 viewership from 2001 to 2009 ranged from 16 to 19 million..
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