source:
Iain Shankland / paddocktalk.com
Fans on both sides have a strong opinion on their favourite series. That is -
the ones that are left with interest in either race series. Unfortunately, the
dispute between the IRL and Champ Car has only benefited NASCAR.
A good example of this is the baseball strike several years ago, it destroyed a
growing fan base. Enough people left the sport disgusted enough never to return.
The numbers are slowly coming back, but at what cost to the teams, the league
and the sport?
The NHL didn't learn from that, and you'll see more than a few marginal markets
either move or shut down once that ends. The NHL fans - more so in the U.S. than
Canada - will leave and never return.
The Champ Car vs. IRL split has done the same for fans of open wheel racing.
Neither series has a large fan base in comparison to other sports, and both
suffer badly in the all-important battle for TV ratings. Combined they aren't
even a blip on the radar compared to NASCAR.
Why?
I think the Networks and especially SpeedTV are responsible for NASCAR's
continued success, and keeping open-wheel down. Every time I turn on the TV,
SpeedTV has NASCAR pre-season on. I know it can't be, but it looks like it's on
24 hours a day! The IRL are doing their pre-season in Homestead this week and
I've seen nothing of that on TV. Not even a quick 10-second blurb. The same lack
of coverage is true of Champ Car.
NASCAR has always been big, but in the last 5-10 years it's become a behemoth.
Only the NFL is bigger in the United States. People who don't know a tie-rod
from a wheel-nut talk about NASCAR. Women are making up to 40% of the fans! Get
the women into the stands and they're dragging the rug-rats with them - a whole
new generation is growing up on NASCAR right before our eyes. Now, men don't
have to worry about the little woman allowing him to go to the races - she's
already got the minivan packed and the engine's running!