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| NASCAR President, Steve Phelps (Google Images) |
Well aware that the fan base is more than a little curious about the direction the sport is heading, NASCAR President Steve Phelps stopped by SiriusXM Speedway on Tuesday afternoon to speak with host Dave Moody about a wide array of subjects and help put some fans fears about the state of the sport and it's future to rest.
But before discussing what lies ahead, Phelps spoke about NASCAR's present and how the aero and engine changes made for 2019 have been successful and had a positive impact on competition in the eyes of the sanctioning body.
“If you listen to the fan base, or you’re watching on television, or listening on the radio, and the excitement of the announcers, I think it’s been an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the racing product. So, from that perspective, I think it’s been fantastic," he stated.
Phelps went on to explain that other important metrics, such as social media traffic and television ratings, have been trending in a positive, upward direction. "I would say, if you look at the first half of the season, and as we head down the stretch here to the playoffs, we’ve been very pleased with what we’ve seen," he said.
As far as at-track attendance, Phelps explained that, following a sold out Daytona 500 and greater fan presence at four of the five races that followed, attendance took a bit of a dip through the spring. However, that has proved to be the exception rather than the rule as we approach the playoffs.
"We’ve been either flat or up almost every race that we’ve had," the president explained. " The All-Star Race was up, the (Coca-Cola) 600 was up, we had a couple of weather issues obviously. But Sonoma was a sellout. If you look at kind of the 'eyeball test,' I think you would say yes, it looks like things are positive in that direction, and our racetracks have worked really hard on that. We’ve worked hard with out racetracks as well and we’ve had our drivers do significantly more promotion to try to drive both ticket sales, as well as ratings, and it’s working.”
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| The 2019 Daytona 500 was a sellout (Google Images) |
Naysayers have made the case for years now that NASCAR is in trouble because television ratings are down. Well, according to Phelps, ratings so far this year have been up 3%. While this may not sound like a huge increase, the sanctioning body is happy with what they've seen through the Fox portion of the season, and are looking for more positive news as NBC grabs the broadcasting baton.
Phelps also explained that, while gaining that 3% increase has been a struggle, NASCAR is not alone in that fight.
"If you’re going to look at all sports, and we have all this research that we look at, all sports for the first half of the year was down 9%. And so, for us being +3, we’re 12 points to the good. That’s a pretty good metric," he stated.
Phelps again credited the closer competition on the track, as well as some of the story lines that have developed this year and the sport's younger drivers taking root among fans, for the ratings increase. "Those are all positive things for this sport, and I think that’s why we’re seeing an increase in metrics, both from a television standpoint and what we’re doing, trending on the attendance side as well," said Phelps.
The conversation then shifted to the future of the sport, and how the current race car's truck arm rear suspension and internally cammed, push rod driven V8 engine have made it a bit archaic compared to their showroom counterparts. For that reason, NASCAR has been developing what has become known as their Gen-7 car. This new iteration of stock car will also increase brand identity and individual body styling for each of the manufacturers.
"Do I think that having increased body style and some of the chassis things that we’re looking at, will have the car be more relevant and more like the showroom counterpart? Yes, I think that will be a good thing. If I’m a fan, do I care? I care because, really for two reasons: one, the body styling is going to be more like the showroom car. So, to me, to have it more 'stock' and look like that showroom car is a really important thing for us, and our fans tell us the same thing," Phelps stated.
"As it relates to the engine, which is the second piece of it, the new engine won’t have push rod technology. It will have, most likely, some form of electrification," he continued. "We’re working right now with our OEM partners to determine what that is going to be. A lot of healthy debate about what it should be. But we’re excited about the direction that it’s going, and I think this kind of Gen-7 body style, chassis, and then Gen-7 engine, is something that, ultimately, is going to be very good for this sport. But again, to me it comes back to why should I care as a fan? You’re going to care as a fan because the racing is going to be better and the car is going to look cooler and more stock.”
Moody then brought up the elephant in the room. The phrase "some form of electrification" has caused more than a few race fans to worry that NASCAR would be shifting towards a Formula E-style of racing that would replace the roar of engines with the woosh of cars gliding down the frontstrech at Daytona.
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| Overall, NASCAR has been satisfied with the results the 2019 rules package has provided (Google Images) |
"What I can say is we’re not racing electric cars. That’s not what we’re interested in doing. So, the cars will continue to sound like our stock cars, our current cars," he explained. "It’s just, the architecture of that engine is going to have some type of electrification in it, some type of battery storing device that allows this combustible engine to create additional horsepower and make it more relevant to what our existing manufacturers have in their vehicles today. That’s what this is meant to be. We are not going to be an E series that’s running electric cars around the racetrack. That’s not something we are interested in doing. That’s not what NASCAR is. That’s not part of our DNA. So, we will never get there, and we don’t want to get there."
However, Phelps stated that this type of change is essential for car manufacturers to keep their stock cars relevant to those in their showroom. "If I’m an OEM and I can talk about that to people who are buying my cars and say that this race car goes 200 mph in the Coke 600, you’re racing for 4.5 hours on this engine, and it’s relevant to another engine that they’re trying to sell in the showroom, that’s important to them. And I think it’s important to us, and I think it creates more relevance for the fan as well," explained Phelps.
There have also been rumors that NASCAR has been in discussions with new manufactures who might be interested in joining the sport. As it turns out, the sport is in fact in talks with some new automakers, and the idea of an updated, Gen-7 race car has played a major role in that.
"As it relates to new OEMs who might come into the sport, yes, we are in discussions with a half dozen right now, at varying stages of levels of talks with them," stated Phelps. "The body style is important to them, the engine is a must. So, we wouldn’t be having these discussions with our current engine architecture. No new OEM wants to come in and run that block V8, with push rod technology. They just don’t want to do it. So, when they hear about us talking about the direction we want to take this new vehicle they get very excited about it."
When could the sport see a new brand join Chevy, Ford, and Toyota on the track?
"Hard to say when we would have a new OEM, if we’re able to close things up and get something signed how quickly they’d be on the racetrack," Phelps explained. "It’s going to take a while, it’s not an easy thing to do. You just can’t flip a switch, like a new sponsor, and you just have a new paint scheme out that you can do or wrap a car. This takes a significant amount of time. So I would say, maybe 2022, if it’s going to be engine and body style. So, the new body is coming out in 2021, I would say the earliest we’d be able to get a new engine would be 2022, maybe 2023."
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| The "Tricky Triangle" at Pocono Raceway will host a double-header weekend next season (Google Images) |
"We wanted to try and test it with a track, (Pocono) raised their hands and said 'hey, listen, given our camping, we think we can have a blowout weekend with these two cup dates being on the same weekend, and then companion events that go with it,'" said Phelps. "So, do I think that other tracks are looking at it? For sure. I know we’re looking at it, I know our broadcast partners are looking at it, and I think it’s going to be a phenomenal weekend for them, I really do."
The maiden Pocono double-header is just one of a few changes taking place next year. Indy will move to Fourth of July weekend, Daytona will move to the final regular season event, and short track racing will play a more prominent role in the playoffs. So, as these sanctioning agreements expire, does Phelps see any major schedule shakeups on the horizon?
"I do not see our season contracting in terms of the number of events that going to run in 2021. I just don’t see that. I think that our existing fan base likes the length of the schedule," he stated. "There are certainly those in the sport that, you know, the season is a long one, right? 36 points paying events, plus the two exhibitions. So, I don’t see a contraction in the number of races.
"Whether in 2021 we pull the season up further, so we pulled it a week from ‘19 to ‘20, whether we pull it up further it’s hard to say. I do think that, again, our fan base likes racing into November and, you know, the first, second, third week are all potential options for us moving forward in ’21. I do not think we’re going to have significant pullback to what those dates are. I could be wrong. As I’ve said before, everything is on the table, but based on the conversations that we’re having with our broadcast partners, our fans, our teams, our OEMs I think that, again, the length of the season, in terms of the number of races, as well as when we start and finish, it’s going to remain roughly the same, if I had to guess.”
It's always refreshing to hear high-level decision makers like Phelps take to the airwaves to have an honest discussion about the direction of the sport. NASCAR is very unique, and very fortunate, in that regard.
Change can be difficult, but it sounds like there is a lot on the horizon for NASCAR Nation to get excited about. While many things still need confirmation, Phelps' comments have made things a bit less murky. Hopefully, they also assuaged the fears of fans who thought pit crews would soon be plugging extension cords into their race cars instead of gas cans.
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