Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR have Tank McNamara’s Attention

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

7 Responses to “Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR have Tank McNamara’s Attention”

1. Art Almond on March 14th, 2009 12:12 pm

   Awrlright Steve…

   Am I gonna have tahh have ahh TANK McNAMARA VS. TOAD THROWDOWN?
   Seems like all these cartoonist are tryin’ tahh git in ontha bandwagon!

2. Charlie Turner on March 14th, 2009 4:30 pm

   Don’t worry Art. Tank doesn’t know what he’s talkin’ about. He’s a sportswriter.

   And Steve-O….I’m not sure that a comic strip mention replaces 40,000 butts in the seats in Atlanta or California. I get your point, but the scale of comparison may be a little off.

3. Steve Wronkowicz on March 14th, 2009 9:42 pm

   No throw down necessary Art–Junior making the Tank toon is a lot like general sports talk shows talking NASCAR–they usually can’t get by their stick and ball bias.

4. Jimbo on March 16th, 2009 10:43 am

   Having followed NASCAR since the early 60’s when almost nobody in the media covered the sport, I see stuff that makes me wonder how “big” this sport really is. I have lived in North Carolina for 42 years, many of them in the Charlotte area. The media coverage in Charlotte is excellent. Almost every day, the media is talking about something NASCAR related. Since Charlotte is the “home” for most things NASCAR, it makes sense. Almost everyone involved in NASCAR is based in this area. They have the feeling that their sport is every bit as big and important as the NFL , the NBA , MLB or the NHL because they see it in the media every day. However, I have also lived in the Raleigh, NC area as well as in Towson, MD and Sarasota, FL. While living in these locations, I was hard pressed to find media attention for NASCAR. Most places gave coverage in the local newspapers and local TV news only for the results of the actual race. One day out of seven during the racing season. In comparison, all the other sports mentioned above had news items on a daily basis even when it was not during their regular season. I currently live outside of Raleigh. I get the Raleigh TV stations and the Fayetteville, NC newspaper. The NASCAR season is into its sixth week and other than a one paragraph mention or a 30 second TV comment on qualifying, the only coverage NASCAR gets in this area is the results of the race. If it’s like this in the “heart of NASCAR Country”, what must it be like in other areas. Having lived and traveled in other parts of the country, I can tell you it’s even worse. The powers that be will say I’m wrong because everywhere they go, the coverage is great. For 36 weeks a year, everyone involved in NASCAR is in the city where the race is being held. All the media is covering all aspects of the event for a week before and days after the race. In the minds of the NASCAR crowd, the coverage is balls to the wall every week. Their sport has to be the biggest, most important thing going based on what they see. The truth is, outside the spotlight that shines on each event, there is little to keep the everyday buzz going for the casual fan. These internet blogs only reach a few interested fans and do nothing to bring in anyone new. Most ads featuring drivers are only run during races so they are not reaching anyone not already watching. NASCAR is a lot less mainstream than we would like to think. My belief is that it has about the same number of hard core fans that actually know something about automobile racing as it did in the 60’s. All the rest that purport to be “fans” are really just driver groupies or people sampling the current sport de’jur.

5. Steve Wronkowicz on March 16th, 2009 6:55 pm

   Jimbo–

   Thanks for the comments. I have to agree with what you are saying. NASCAR’s TV audience does tend to get a little skewed. The original quote from Jayski showed that NASCAR Tv ratings were down but have consistantly beaten the competition of college basketball (until the NCAA tourny takes off), pro basketball, hockey (no brainers) and pro golf (without Tiger Woods). So while the numbers are good, they don’t come close to what the NFL pulls seventeen weeks of the year. And remember that NASCAR is always trying to compare itself to the NFL.

   I know exactly what you are saying about the lack of media coverage locally. Other than the prerequisite who won–who crashed story on the local news and in the local rag, rarely is there coverage of NASCAR. The two trips to MIS per year will garner a few sound bites and an article or two but its pretty darn rare to get anything more frequent. That is why it is interesting to see how someone like Hinds and Millar handle NASCAR when their focus is stick and ball ninety-nine percent of the time.

6. Charlie Turner on March 16th, 2009 9:52 pm

   Jimbo, your comment…

   “My belief is that it has about the same number of hard core fans that actually know something about automobile racing as it did in the 60’s. All the rest that purport to be “fans” are really just driver groupies or people sampling the current sport de’jur.”

   …is I think, probably pretty much right on for the “true racing fan” numbers. But the TV rating over the last few years seem to say there are alot more casual, NASCAR mon, diecast collector, fans than there ever were before the TV boom.

   Local coverage of auto racing, where I live hasn’t EVER changed. There never has BEEN any. I am a bit surprised that Raleigh N.C. has the same coverage as Toledo, OH. But we sell advertising on NASCAR based media properties and have to fight this perception all the time. I guess I shouldn’t be stunned.

   Thanks for your comment. I’m looking forward to hearing more of what you think.

7. Art Almond on March 18th, 2009 3:55 pm

   Jimbo…

   I have to say that I agree to an extent… of course my opinion may be somewhat skewed cuz I’m ahh long term fan. When I wuz growin’ up… the hard-core fans literally lived the sport… they drove and worked on the very cars that were raced on Sunday!

   Today…. the sport is about product marketing. I look at NASCAR Racin’ now as one big commercial… It will be up to US- the hard-core fans to demand the return of the passion that is described in Steve’s Blog….
   Earnhardt-Passion

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