Chase Elliott is a man of few words, however, after the viewership for NASCAR tanked this season, he finally spoke his mind on how NASCAR should not compete with America’s number one sport. Soon many fans also reiterated the Hendrick Motorsport driver’s thoughts regarding the playoff timings.
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During a media appearance, Elliott stated, “36, 45, 50 races, I don’t think it matters how many races we have but I don’t see any reason in competing against NFL football when that starts. In my opinion, that’s not a battle we’re ever going to win. I think we should be smart about that.”
NASCAR’s viewership took a sharp 8.8% drop during last weekend’s race at Talladega, scoring an average of 2.827 million in viewerships. This was a significant drop compared to the previous season’s race at the same venue, where 23XI Racing’s driver, Bubba Wallace, come home to a historic win. The average viewership last year was 3.10 million. Where does the main problem seem to lie? Well as stated by Elliott, NASCAR’s efforts to schedule the playoffs at the same time as the NFL season seem to be the problem. Pitching NASCAR against America’s biggest sport is a move that is most certainly bound to fail.
NASCAR fans reiterate Chase Elliott’s thought that NASCAR should not compete with NFL
Fans reiterated that the scheduling was a major part of the downfall of viewerships. Moreover, they also stated NASCAR was required to begin promoting their races better.
USA Today via Reuters
Jun 12, 2022; Sonoma, California, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (9) races during the NASCAR Toyota – Save Mart 350 event at Sonoma Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Some even called for NASCAR to get rid of the playoff system entirely, and instead just keep the stage racing and a points system. Doing that would perhaps shorten the season and make it more appealing since it would not clash with the prime NFL or college football season.
NASCAR needs to seriously look at ending their season before the NFL starts theirs. Or atleast run the last couple races on Saturday night so as not to compete. They will never win against multiple NFL games happening at the same time.
— Russ (@Russm2002) October 4, 2022
They need to start promoting the races better !!!
— NASCARGUY22YT🇺🇸🏁🏎 (@2Nascarguy22) October 4, 2022
Competing with the NFL will always lead to lower ratings💀 Most nascar fans probably have a favorite nfl team
— Baker (@BakersCardPage) October 4, 2022
Playoffs need to end before or after the first couple weeks of NFL or college football. If we move it back or no weeks off for the drivers so it ends before the ratings get destroyed by the number 1 sport in the USA.
— Jacob young ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 (@Jacobyoung456) October 4, 2022
we need to kill off the playoffs keep stage racing and the points
— Zachariah Hall (@Sheepbot05) October 4, 2022
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Do you agree that NASCAR should start considering its stance to compete against the NFL season? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
Written by
Edited by
Nizamul Haque Bhuyan