How to fix NASCAR, by team owner Jay Robinson

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NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner Jay Robinson has a pretty slick idea for helping turn around the rut the sport seems to be in. Now, brace yourself, for it’s a little out there. But I think it deserves a listen.

Robinson’s idea is simple, yet profound. You ready yet? Here goes:

Increase the fields in all three national series to 65. No, that’s not a misprint. Sixty-five. That’s 22 more than the fields for Sprint Cup and Nationwide and 29 more than the current Camping World Truck Series field.

Sixty-five. Yes, that’s a lot. But let’s give Robinson a chance to explain.

“I’ve been going to NASCAR races since 1963,” Robinson says. “I know what was successful in the past, I know what contributed to me being a race fan. I saw the reactions other people had to it.”

And what’s that? Racing. Passing. Battling.

“The core of the issue is the show,” Robinson says. “The show’s not good enough. The show that they continue to put on each week – and with the tweaks they’ve made in the rules over the last several years – has gone the wrong direction. The show has diminished.”

How would 65 entries help the show? Several reasons, Robinson says. The extra cars and trucks on the track make more opportunities for passing and create more hazards on the track for everyone to maneuver around.

As part of the increase in fields, Robinson would remove the minimum-speed rule. He said he used to love watching the leaders try to pass a much slower car back in the day and thinks that would create more excitement today.

Would there be more accidents? Perhaps. But that doesn’t necessarily create a danger problem. The new model Cup car has taken a lot of the risk out for drivers.

“I don’t think we’ve got a danger problem right now,” Robinson says. “In fact, I think it’s safer for the drivers on the track than it is for the crew to drive to the track from their motels. I would submit to you that there’s been more injuries in crews driving to the track from their motels than there has been on the track.”

Robinson isn’t suggesting that more accidents create more excitement; rather, it’s the possibility of more crashes because of more cars that would create the excitement.

Where would the extra entries come from? Robinson, for one, says he’d put two cars on the track tomorrow if the rules were changed. And he believes plenty of other owners would join the show, too.

There are plenty of other reasons, he says, why 65 entries would help the sport.

“The show is not being bought by the fans,” Robinson says. “I’ve been to Daytona every year since 1976. This is the first year I remember, in the summer, the back grandstands were closed. … There were such poor ticket sales, they couldn’t even open the [back] grandstands.

“But starting 65 cars, you could open the grandstands. They’d have something to promote. You’d have more things happening on the track, the action level goes up, the interest level goes up, more sponsors are involved.

“Don’t forget, the more involvement you’ve got from various groups, the more fans you’ve got in the stands, the more [TV] audience. If you own a company that sponsors a race car, and that company has 10,000 employees, a bunch of them are going to watch that race because they’re sponsoring it. A good many are probably going to come to that race.

“Everything gets better with more sponsors. You can’t get more sponsors without more fans. You can’t get more fans unless you put on a show they want to see. The fans have spoken loud and clear. Look at any grandstand you want to all year.”

But the economy is the reason why fans are staying away, we’re told.

Then why was The World Series virtually sold out? Why do the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers sell out?

“The economy ain’t great in Wisconsin,” Robinson says. “I’ve been there, I’ve seen it. They’ve got a show, though. They’ve got the Green Bay Packers, and it’s real, and [fans] come to that.”

Robinson isn’t making this suggestion on a whim. He has put some thought into it.

“I’ve got a pretty good understanding of the business from all sides of it,” Robinson says. “I’m close with some of the vendors. I know what struggles they face, what challenges they face. I know first-hand what we face to try to sell sponsorships and some of the issues with that.”

The increase in fields is a positive for everyone, Robinson says, even for the guys at the front who have to dodge more slower cars.

“Not that I want to see a bunch of people get hurt. I don’t,” Robinson says. “But the idea that we’ve got to protect these fast cars by making all the cars run the same speed so they won’t pass them too fast – it’s killing the show.”

Even those teams at the front of the field will have access to more sponsors, Robinson says.

“I want to see a better show,” Robinson adds. “Maybe I’m a fan of Scott Speed or Robby Gordon or Bobby Labonte. Maybe that gives those guys a better chance to win a race. It’s just not a given that you show up in the 48 car [of four-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson] and you’re going to win. Maybe it levels the playing field.”

Maybe it does.

~Scene Daily

I think it would be something interesting to see/try at least once...

Yep once!
Can you see 65 cars at Daytona/Talledeaga or Bristol ? OMG!!!!
I honestly don't think that's the answer.

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But the economy is the reason why fans are staying away, we’re told.

The economy is just part of the problem. There are other reasons then just that.

I honestly can't see NASCAR going back to that many cars in one race. Not with today's plate package, or short tracks.

I tend to believe some of the drivers whom have attitudes turn a lot of fans away also, and a lot of the top proven drivers today have attitude problems, with the exception of Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.

There is no way fields are ever going to be that size again. It's already bad enough with the 5 or so stark and park teams. Could you imagine 25 of them in a race? No way, no way.