Bristol Motor Speedway is NASCAR’s thunder dome—a half-mile crucible of speed, chaos, and raw emotion. Its high banks have hosted epic battles, from fender-banging duels to post-race confrontations, all fueled by fans who make the Tennessee night electric. For drivers like Denny Hamlin and legends like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bristol is short-track racing’s soul. But this past Sunday’s race felt like a funeral.
“What we have to understand is that the parity is what is making it so hard to pass,” Denny Hamlin said to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It’s making it so hard to get near each other to crash which is what some fans are there to see, which is more action. It’s a tough problem.”
Empty seats, lifeless action, and a wave of fan frustration have raised a chilling question. Could NASCAR’s short tracks, starting with Bristol, be on the brink of fading away? Social media posts echoed Hamlin’s anger, with #FixNASCAR trending as users demanded accountability and better racing.
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer addressed this, again on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “If you look at our product that we put on the racetrack, we’re constantly looking at that and what we can do to improve it,” he said. “I don’t want our fans to lose sight that we have great racing at our superspeedways. We have great racing at our intermediate tracks.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose love for NASCAR is etched in its history, saw the crisis through a wider lens. On his Dale Jr. Download podcast, he warned, “Drivers, listen, we can sit here and complain and say we think we know what needs to happen. We may be right, we may be wrong any given day sitting here in this room. Drivers, owners, fans even, right, can say what they want. You can get all up in a roar and it might not really move the needle in terms of real change. It might not really get NASCAR’s attention, but when they see the business models struggling, then they’ll have to make a change, they’ll want to make a change because they own tracks too, right?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Empty seats and falling ratings are the loudest signal to NASCAR that the short-track package, plagued by aerodynamic flaws and tires that don’t wear enough, is broken. But Bristol isn’t just any track—it’s a cornerstone, and its struggles are a wake-up call. The fear is real: NASCAR might sidestep short tracks instead of fixing them. Rather than tweaking the cars—say, softer tires for more grip loss or aero changes for tighter racing—they could pivot to bigger ovals or street courses. Dale Jr.’s plea is simple: don’t abandon Bristol. Fans share that dread. On X, one wrote, “Bristol was my first race. It’s gotta stay wild.” Another demanded, “Give us tires that wear out!”
“To Denny’s point, hopefully it drives a change to improve where we need to improve, which would be the short track package. It is needed to improve for quite a while. There’s no real debate there. Hopefully, we make changes to fix that because it was once our golden egg. Man, can’t wait to go to Martinsville, we’re always going to see something. I can’t wait to go to Bristol, we’re always going to see something, always going to get something fun out of that. Hopefully, they make the change to improve short track racing and not just move away from it,” concluded Junior.
Marcus Smith, Bristol’s promoter, is a polarizing figure. Some praise his modernization efforts; others, as Dale Jr. acknowledged, see him chasing profits over racing quality. But the empty grandstands don’t lie. NASCAR, which owns tracks, feels the revenue pinch too. Drivers can protest, fans can rage, but as Dale Jr. said, it’s the business struggle, driven by fan turnout, that’ll force action.
The short-track package needs an overhaul to restore the chaos fans crave. Bristol’s legacy—tailgates, packed coolers, and victory lane roars—hangs in the balance. Let’s hope fans’ voices push NASCAR to save its short-track heart.
CARS Tour’s Big Leap with FOX
The CARS Tour is on fire, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beaming with pride! Since he, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Justin Marks took over in 2023, this Late Model series has been stealing hearts. Now, a massive FOX Sports deal has everyone buzzing, but it’s not without some worries.
The May 16th race at North Wilkesboro Speedway will air on FS1, with Dale Jr., Harvick, and Eric Brennan calling the action. “The opportunity to work with FOX is a great chance to put our sport in front of a different audience while simultaneously still being on Flo. So if you are watching on FOX that weekend, if you wanna watch it on Flo, it’s still the same broadcast… It’s great for us.” Dale Jr. told Matt Weaver. But FOX’s recent NASCAR and IndyCar coverage blunders—like missing Daytona’s Thunderbirds flyover or cutting to commercials during key moments—have fans nervous.
A shaky broadcast could hurt the Tour’s growing fan base. Still, the positives are huge! Dale Jr. shared, “I’m hearing our teams are getting a lot of interest from sponsors.” That’s a game-changer for the series. And let’s not forget FloRacing’s role. They’re pumping $200,000 into the Throwback 225 at Hickory, with $50,000 to the Late Model Stock winner. Connor Hall, a CARS Tour star, said, “Without FloRacing, I don’t think this thing would be growing at the rate it is.” Rival Ryan Millington’s so pumped he’s building a new car for it!
Drivers like Doug Barnes Jr. are over the moon. “First the FOX deal and now a $50k to win race… that’s more than Martinsville, isn’t it?” he said. Dale Jr. dreams of making big purses normal seems to be coming true now.
The CARS Tour’s growth is unstoppable, but will FOX deliver? What do you think, fans?
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