Is Dale Earnhardt Jr getting too big for NASCAR?
Sales of official NASCAR souvenirs and merchandise were down in 2007 – someone in NASCAR said that was due to Dale Jr switching teams, and fans that stopped buying his No. 8 merchandise.
TV ratings were down in 2007 – many blamed that on Junior’s failure to win a race.
Interest in the Chase was down in 2007 – can we blame Junior because he wasn’t in it?
The truth is you can’t blame Earnhardt for lackluster souvenir sales. While overall sales were down, Junior’s sales were actually up.
While TV ratings continue to decline, it’s not just NASCAR that is taking a beating. Virtually all sports are suffering declining ratings. Maybe it’s due to more coverage on the internet and the availability of all NASCAR races on Sirius satellite radio.
Would more people have tuned in to the Chase if Dale Jr were in it? Probably.
But one man cannot carry NASCAR. No sport can afford to have a single player be their entire draw.
Dale Jr doesn’t need to change anything. He just needs to race. Everyone else just needs to cut him some slack. Enough with the hype, let’s get back to racing.
posted by RacingWin at
10:13 AM
3 Comments:
No, you can't blame Dale Jr. for the decline in ratings........anybody that thinks so is giving him way too much power. Nor do I believe the ratings or interest in the Chase would be up if he were in it. The Chase became boring because HMS had it with a lock after two races. Not because of HMS, but because Jimmy and Jeff are (it kills me to say it) two of the best drivers in NASCAR, especially in '07. I think fans give Jr. waaaay too much power. He is, basically, just another driver, albeit a very popular one. If NASCAR wants to blame anybody for the decline in ratings, they need to look to: a. themselves b. the broadcasters. I was looking forward to ESPN getting back into NASCAR broadcasting, but this "explaining" every thought and piece of the car got just plain ridiculous.
I think Junior just needs to race. Thats what his fans want from him and thats all we expect of him. Sure I surf for Junior stories, yes I was less interested if he was out of the race, but poor race viewing is due to poor race coverage! Fortunately I'm in fantasy leagues therefore watched anyways.
I can't speak for everyone else, but I watch the races only with the radio on. Why? Because the radio covers more of all the drivers, instead of force feeding us Dale Jr and Jimmie and Jeff. That's all we hear about. The 3 J's. So, I'd say yes, Jr is partly responsible for lower ratings because well, all the non-Jr fans are just sick of always hearing about him. And if they don't interview him after the race, the Jr Nation sends nasty grams to all the Networks.
And do Jr fans really truly only want him to race? I've read his message boards. After watching them drool over every little piece of merchandise that HMS put out.
Jr doesn't just want to race. He wants to be a merchandising king, so if that's what he wants, he can also take the blame. The reason why sales are down for everyone else? Because MA are too busy pandering to Jr Nation to make decent merchandise for the other drivers. As is evident with them being able to produce new merchandise for the #88 at a moment's notice, but everyone else has to wait until into March and April of the new season to receive new stuff.
Jr Nation wants to control the NASCAR world, then let Jr shoulder the responsibility of keeping it afloat.
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