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News bits from the motorsports world.
Paul Tracy: “I can’t watch a NASCAR race on TV without taking a three-hour nap in the middle of it”
Paul Tracy talked with Martin Rogers at Yahoo! Sports about NASCAR, and the crazy Canadian pulled no punches, calling NASCAR boring and contrived.
“I can’t watch a NASCAR race on TV without taking a three-hour nap in the middle of it,” Tracy said. “I have been to races. It is too long and too loud. I don’t really like it. NASCAR is having some trouble with its ratings because it just goes on for such a long time. The exciting part is just the last 25 or 30 laps. In [IndyCar], it is a race from the start to the finish.”
Tracy also touted the fan-friendly aspect of INDYCAR as well:
“For us it is different, fans can see a car and a driver and shake a driver’s hand; the paddock is open. The fans can be three feet from the car and mingle with their favorite driver and that is what makes Indy cool. You can’t do that in NASCAR.”
Fan access at INDYCAR races is pretty outstanding. I shot the above photo with my cheapy camera at Long Beach this year, while Paul was signing autographs for the fans. However, I think part of the reason INDYCAR can even offer this is due to the fact that their drivers just aren’t as famous as NASCAR and F1 drivers. If they let the fans into the Paddock at a NASCAR race, it would probably be mayhem.
But kudos to INDYCAR for taking advantage of an opportunity to rebuild the fan base.
I’m not sure that Tracy’s comments about race length are totally spot on. Yes, some NASCAR races are too long, and should be shortened to 400 miles. But I think most INDYCAR races are a bit too short. I would never spend $1,000 for airline tickets, hotel, and race passes to go to an INDYCAR oval race. Some of their 225 mile races are over in less than two hours. It just isn’t worth the travel to go to an event that is so short.
