Thursday, April 16, 2009

Does anybody really know what time it is?

There has been a lot of talk about starting times for NASCAR races over the past few years, and in some cases things are entirely out of hand. I've said before I think the television audience is considered way too much more than the live audience sometimes, and as a general rule I still think that's true.

This weekend's races at Phoenix International Raceway, however, offer and interesting case study. Friday night's Nationwide race won't begin until sometime after 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, which is awfully late for a televised race for viewers in the East. Saturday night's Cup race starts around 8:40 p.m. Eastern. Both races will probably end within a few minutes on either side of midnight, which is a little later than some the Cup races at Richmond, Darlington and Charlotte will wind up but not all that much different.

The problem for me, as somebody who'll be watching on television this week, is that starts that late give viewers in the East a lot of reasons not to watch. You pretty much have to either plan to do something earlier and get home for the race or just wait around for what will seem like a long time before anything starts.

But, there's another side of this. If you're somebody who is actually going to the track at Phoenix to watch the race, the times make a lot of sense.

Take the Nationwide race. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Phoenix time. If you work until 4 or 5, you could still get out to the track in time to see the green flag. Saturday's race starts at 5:30, which means you get to see the race and can be back home before 2 or 3 in the morning.

NASCAR fans who live out West deserve the chance to see races, too. And those who buy tickets have a right to see the race at a reasonable time.

Yeah, an 8:40 start is hard on reporters who have Eastern time zone deadlines. That's one reason I am not going. Jim Utter is there for the Observer and if you can barely get one story in part of your Sunday morning press run there's really no reason to pay to have two people there. Jim might well be the only daily newspaper writer from the eastern two-thirds of the United States who attends the Subway Fresh Fit 500. That's not all good for NASCAR, but that's an entirely different topic.

The way the sun sets over Turn 1 at Phoenix it might even be better to start the races a little later, but NASCAR needs as much of a television audience as it can get, especially for the Cup race.

It's a delicate balance figuring out when to drop the green flag, and the balance is even harder to strike when you're racing out West.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes, it would be nice if the Local
Track Time would determine the green
flag. but it doesn't work that way.
ESPN/FOX/etc. promise the advertisers
a number...and they have to deliver.
if you paid for 3 but got 2, would
you ask for a refund or credit?
(no, you can't ask for a bailout)

Anonymous said...

There was a pretty interesting piece on ThatsRacin in an F1 article about one of this year's F1 late start times. Pretty much a strong controversy there on that start time too. West coast races starting late are not a problem for me. It's the East coast 3:47pm things that are a joke. That means, just like Daytona this year, that likely summer late evening thunderstorms creep in and delay the race for 90 mins. By the time you add fake cautions and red flags for clean up (not track drying) for wrecks and the always green white checker the race ends at 8-9pm Sunday eve. That's just not the right thing to do. It's just not. Poole you are correct. Too much hoyploy for TV audiences and not enough for fans in the stands. And hey we have seen the TV audience steadily DECREASE even with the late times. Pretty soon NA$CAR is gonna have to REALLY care about the fans in the stands because when they leave and TV is down to a 2.7 rating for Cup, well Brian Z can cut the lights out because it's done.

Mike Hutton said...

1PM local time for day races, 7PM local time for night races. Period. The end. Let TV figure out how to cover it, not dictate it. And by these starting times, I mean green flag in the air, cars on their way to Turn 1.

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of the television vievers live east of the "Mississippi." That needs to be concidered. NASCAR needs to share more of the television money with the track owners.

Anonymous said...

As an east coast dweller, the late start time don't make me very happy at all.
Add to that what many still consider the dull racing we get as the drivers and teams figure out the new POS NASCAR makes everybody use and I have to ask, why stay up to watch? Can just wait until the next day, watch a few highlite clips and likely enjoy just as much action as if I had watched the whole event.
SET A START TIME AND STICK WITH IT! TV AND THOSE ATTENDENING WILL ADJUST. Jumping back and forth is almons as bad as how NASCAR enforces the rules. One thing one week, another the next!
Remineds me of when we were searchig all over the TV to see what channel had the race this week-end. At least that has gotten more stable.

Anonymous said...

can't stay up even on a weekend for a race that will begin just shy of 9pm and will not be concluded until after midnight.

DirtTrackRacing said...

I am a long time fan of NASCAR, but I will be at my local track watching more exciting racing Saturday night.....

Herdman90 said...

Local start times are the proper way to go. I'll watch whatever the hour, as (I suspect) would most eastern NASCAR fans. I feel more for the westerners, who have to manage watching races at 9am, when they have morning chores/church to consider.

Anonymous said...

So you'll be watching from home tomorrow night?

If you watch the pre-race show, wait til you see what FOX has made of that Digger thing! I'm so sick seeing the crap on him (and his "friends") each week that I'm looking forward to June, when FOX no longer is broadcasting the Cup races!

Holleracha said...

Because of the budget crunch I sold the motorhome And will watch all races on TV. I like to spend my summer days outside and my Saturday nites At Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway watching short track racin' the way it all outta be. To boot its only $10! The DVR is omly $5 bucks xtra a month. Figure it out for yourself!!

Anonymous said...

TIVO

VCR

Stop whining

Nuff said

Unknown said...

One poster noted that most of the viewers are east of the Mississippi. While I certainly can't verify this, it is very, very likely. Case in point - NASCAR car sponsor UPS placed their U.S. distribution hub in Louisville, KY many years ago. Reason? Most of the population is east of the Mississippi, therefore they minimize their shipping efforts by being geographically well-positioned. That's just one reason they located there, but I think you get my point.
Of somewhat related importance, and what really chaps my behind relative to NASCAR race coverage, is that it is really difficult to ascertain when the green flag will drop on any given race. NASCAR wants the viewing public to believe that they are a major sport, but they seem awfully reluctant to publicize when the drop of the green is to occur. When one tunes in for an NFL game, or NBA, or NHL, or MLB the start times are usually very close to the air time. NASCAR has (consciously?) made such a grey area of pre-race shows, race broadcast, green flag time that viewers are forced to watch a bunch of self-serving sponsor plug interviews and puff pieces if they want to ensure that they won't miss the heavily under-publicized drop of the green flag. So...NASCAR...if you really want to believe that you are a "major" sport, start acting like one!

Anonymous said...

Consider this: If, as NASCAR or TV claims, the time changes have attracted MORE West Coast viewers, how many does that mean NASCAR has LOST on the East since ratings are FALLING ?????????

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is time for 2 divisions, East and West and the top finishers in the division come together for a 5 race playoff at the end.

GinaV24 said...

I think that "local" time should dictate the start time of the race. I agree that 1 p.m. for a day race and 7 p.m. for a night race should be standard - and that should be when the green flag drops, not having the TV talking heads still doing their thing. It would make it possible for East Coast and those who live further West to have a chance to enjoy the races then. It's a pain when you go to a race and have to leave so early to get their to park and then have to wait around for HOURS for the race to start because the TV people want it to be so.

Monkeesfan said...

What evidence is there that these later start times have attracted more fans out west when it isn't that strong a racing demographic to start with?

Anonymous said...

For those of you that are saying use 1 PM local time for day and 7 PM local time for night, I assume you really DO mean LOCAL time. In that case the PHX race is starting at 5:40. If it started at 7 then it would be 10 EDT. Now if you mean 1 and 7 eastern time that just isn't gonna happen. Quit whining. I plan to watch tonight and if you can't stay up til midnight on a weekend you have bigger issues than the start time of a NASCAR race!

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