Rainbows and Lollipops to Trots

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

My motor racing passion isn’t NASCAR. But I’ve always been a big fan of the night race at Bristol. My boat was floated by everything about it.

When 160,000 fans cheered you could feel the breeze. But Saturday night was empty seats and fans disengaged. Nothing seemed special about one of the most unique nights on the NASCAR calendar. Even the cut down in the manufactured playoff didn’t help.

So how do the drivers respond? They blast the cars. Blast the competition. And blast each other. One of NASCAR’s biggest partners in business griped and complained when they’re bathed in lights and cameras.

Even one of the headlines from the weekend talked about a driver “getting the trots” in his win.

NASCAR must ask itself: “If our partners don’t care about the show, why should the paying customers?” And I’m talking about the bucks in the board room. The fans in the stands. And the customers on the couch.

Ten years ago the NASCAR business was rainbows and lollipops. Now, it’s about the trots.

Peace.