The Decline of NASCAR: Lack of Promotions and Recognizable Stars
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 >> This Daytona 500, honestly, more people care about
00:08 the professional slap league than care about NASCAR.
00:14 Who in their right mind, the only reason that I brought up,
00:18 I said to you before the segment, I went, what is that, Daytona 500 this week?
00:24 Because you wouldn't know it even existed on the Earth if it wasn't for
00:29 you doing nine Daytona winners on Today in Carver High History.
00:36 What is the deal with this sport?
00:37 They don't promote it?
00:38 Who even knows where it's on?
00:41 >> I have been telling you this for years now,
00:44 cuz this started right around when I started working with you.
00:47 They have had a problem for a long time.
00:51 They have not created any new recognizable stars in their game.
00:59 And we welcome in our radio affiliates for
01:00 El Costa Costa to Thursday Series XM 159 and Sports Byline.
01:04 Great to have you with us.
01:05 They have no new recognizable stars.
01:07 Back in the day, and listen, I'm not saying 50 years ago, 20 years ago,
01:12 Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick.
01:19 Look, you could not be a racing fan and you knew who those people were.
01:24 You knew what they did.
01:26 You could say the name Dale Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., or Jeff Gordon, and
01:30 people would go, that's the NASCAR, he's a race car driver, he's whatever.
01:34 You couldn't pick these guys out of a lineup who are in NASCAR now.
01:37 And that- >> You could name one.
01:38 >> It's serious though.
01:39 That is their biggest problem.
01:42 They have no juice cuz they have nobody that anyone cares about, and
01:46 that's their issue.
01:47 >> And they have no PR.
01:49 They have no publicity.
01:51 They are not in the psyche of this country's sports scene.
01:57 I mean, honestly, when do you ever see them promoting NASCAR anywhere, ever?
02:04 Literally, it's dead.
02:07 And then they say there's 80 million NASCAR fans, my ass.
02:11 >> That's what they say, is that there's 80 million.
02:14 I probably don't either.
02:16 I just even wanted to look, who do they even have in this race?
02:21 It's actually locked, right?
02:22 Like Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Danny Hamlin, Joey Logano.
02:28 These guys are not household names.
02:30 They're just not.
02:31 They're not household names.
02:32 >> Those guys have all been known in the last ten years, and
02:36 no one gives a rat's ass about one of them.
02:38 >> Correct.
02:39 They've all been racing for a while.
02:42 But they have not broken that ceiling that all those people I mentioned before
02:47 did for this sport.
02:49 And if you went further back, Richard Petty, Dale Senior, etc.
02:53 Those are all people that broke the glass where they were popular to everyone,
02:58 not just NASCAR fans.
03:00 >> Who's the racist guy that got in trouble,
03:02 that he was the one that they threw out for a while.
03:05 And then he came back, and he's a really good driver.
03:08 And I can't even remember his name.
03:10 >> I don't remember his name either.
03:12 >> He's in this field.
03:14 >> Is that Austin Dillon?
03:18 >> No. >> No, it's not Austin Dillon, right?
03:20 I'm not sure who it is.
03:22 That's why we don't wanna name him.
03:23 >> Dillon Brothers, but there's a guy, and
03:26 it's no bad that we don't even know his name, that's how bad it is.
03:30 He was a driver that got thrown out for saying racist stuff.
03:35 And they banned him, and he went down, and he was racing dirt tracks.
03:39 And then he finally got admitted back into NASCAR, and he wins.
03:45 He's a great driver, but I don't even know his name.
03:49 That's how bad it is.
03:50 >> Kyle Larson?
03:51 >> That's him. >> Kyle Larson?
03:51 >> That's him.
03:52 >> I believe it's Kyle Larson.
03:53 >> And he's a great driver, but no one gives two shacks about him.
03:58 I couldn't even tell you his name.
04:00 You had to pull it out of the Google.
04:02 >> I had to search for it.
04:03 >> Yeah. >> Of course you did.
04:04 No one knows any of these guys.
04:06 People say that it's popular, and cricket is more popular.
04:10 >> Right, they like to put the numbers in your face that, yeah, but
04:14 X amount of people watch the Daytona 500.
04:16 >> No, they don't.
04:17 No, they don't.
04:18 >> I just don't feel like it's the same that it was when those other guys were
04:22 driving.
04:23 It just doesn't.
04:24 >> No one watches that race.
04:26 >> They don't.
04:27 >> They lie.
04:28 They lie.
04:29 Like here's me.
04:30 When that race is on, here's me like this.
04:32 I'm like, click.
04:33 [MUSIC]