NASCAR, the ultimate blue collar spectator sport, appears to need a tune up. The sport with the deep country roots, the wonderful, colorful history written on the backroads of the southeast United States, the sport that has its stars return the embrace of its adoring fans like no other, has blown a gasket.The Daytona 500 is referred to as the Super Bowl of NASCAR. In the middle of February each year, nearly a quarter of a million people come together in Daytona, the place where NASCAR was invented by Bill France Sr., to celebrate speed and the drivers who dance with the devil for a living. I have had the privelege to witness this incredible spectacle in person five times. The last few years, unable to attend in person, I have successfully resold my precious tickets, Sprint Tower, Section B, Row 44, the most spectacular view of the most spectacular sporting venue that I have ever experienced.
From those seats I witnessed the awesome daredevil driving of Dale Earnhardt through the grass in a sports car race, I saw the tragic passing a few days later of the sport's icon, I've seen Tony Stewart go inverted at 185 mph on the backstretch like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, I watched Air Force One fly over the track and wave its wings at the fans, I've seen the F-16 flyover at night (and scare me right out of my seat), and more, much more.
I'm probably not going to experience that particular perspective again. The reason is that NASCAR has been priced right out of the action. Reselling my tickets this year at a substantial loss cost me a lot of money, as the economy's slowdown continues to take a toll. Several weeks ago, the Daytona International Speedway, having difficulty selling seats for the 500, cut the prices on remaining backstretch seats by 50%.
You can guess what that did to the resale market. Prices fell right off the table. The problem was very simple. Regular people, the people whom NASCAR proudly points to as its strength, can't afford to go to the races. Saturday night, the opening show of the racing season, the Bud Shootout at Daytona, was sparsely attended.
It's not just the price of admission, not by a long shot. The locals have all cashed in, in the past. If you can deal with the price of the tickets, you'll choke on accomodations. Hotel prices in Daytona TRIPLE during Speedweek. This year, a lot of those rooms are going empty.
The price of the ticket package for the four days of Speed Week, Thursday through Sunday, has escalated meteorically over the last ten years. The cost of hotel rooms has done likewise. The Daytona 500 ticket that I'm giving up, the Sunday ticket alone, is $350. The sponsoring car companies are hurting, people are being laid off from work in staggering numbers, and the greedy are now left to figure out how they'll respond.
My response : I'll watch it on TV. Maybe.
