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I think it’s safe to say the 2009 season was one of the most unpredictable seasons we have seen in quite some time. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch were no where to be found in regards to dethroning Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin came out of nowhere to have the best season of his career, both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski won races as rookies, and Dale Earnhardt Jr….well, you know the rest.

But for all the positives, feel good stories, and manufactured story lines 2009 gave us it seemed the sport went backwards rather than forward.

Despite what the talking heads and candy coated comments tell us, things are not what they appear. The racing has become below average at best, the same guys are dominating, new fans are not flocking to the sport like they used to, and Internet sites and message boards speak more about what’s wrong with the sport rather than what’s right. Regardless of the spin they put on it, NASCAR is in trouble. It’s become a shell of its former self and it’s desperately clinging to an image and reputation that it no longer owns. The bottom line: NASCAR has lost its identity.

Where did it go wrong?

When you step back and start to dissect the current state of the sport, there are several factors to consider. With that in mind, we sat down and compiled a short list of hot button topics that we feel is holding the sport back rather than moving it forward:

• The Economy Crutch/Excuse-It’s no secret the economy is in the tank. People are barely getting by and most of America is struggling just to make ends meet. But the economy isn’t as hard on the sport as one may assume. Granted ticket sales are down and attendance numbers are at the lowest it’s been in years, but fans are still coming and fans are still spending money when they come to the track. Instead one could make the argument NASCAR has become a victim of its own success and its inability to live up to lofty expectations more so than blaming a crippled economy.

• Below Average Racing -It’s been said here, and in other places as well, that the quality of racing we are seeing week to week is nothing to write home about. Though safe, the COT has done more to hurt the racing rather than help it. NASCAR’s decision to go to a low-budget, multi-purpose race car is eerily similar to what caused the split between CART and IRL back in 1995. Open-wheel racing is still struggling to heal the wounds from that fall-out. With that being said, door-to-door, hard nosed racing has seemingly taken a back seat to laptops, calculators, and geometric equations. The end result is clean air sensitive and an over-engineered style of racing that has left fans unsatisfied and uninterested. Basically you’ve told the drivers that their role isn’t as prominent as it used to be. It’s why races today are won from atop the pit box rather than out on the track.

• The Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series Is Dying On The Vine -When it comes to the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series it’s all about one thing – the sponsors. NASCAR’s version of the minor leagues has become more about sponsorship exposure and the almighty dollar rather than driver development. The young, up and coming drivers aren’t getting the chance they deserve to hone their skills because most can’t find the money to land them a big time ride. The days of discovering that “diamond in the rough” every Friday or Saturday night have been replaced by the saturation of Sprint Cup Series drivers in the series’ best rides. Look, I get it; Cup drivers put butts in the seats. But seeing the Cup guys running full-time schedules backed by Sprint Cup budgets is doing more harm than good. It’s a sad state of affairs when track promoters and sponsors would rather put a big name driver behind the wheel for exposure purposes rather than give the series a chance to help and develop the future prospects of the sport.

• NASCAR Needs To Loosen Its Grip -By placing drivers in a box on the track, overloading them with rules and procedures off of it, and limiting how they act/talk in the heat of the moment NASCAR is doing more to hurt the sport than help it. So I plead to you NASCAR….Let the drivers be themselves! Let the heroes, villains and underdogs develop naturally, not forcefully. The fans want drivers who exude the spirit of David Pearson, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Buddy Baker. Let a driver’s true personality come out on the track rather than in front of the camera or by the direction of his team’s PR manager. Get rid of these silly fines, pointless penalties and meaningless probation periods and give the control back to the drivers. Drivers need to be themselves, not some Public Relations robot who mince their words to avoid the wrath of NASCAR. What happened to freedom of speech? If my memory is correct, the brightest days in NASCAR occurred when a driver spoke their mind when asked the tough question. But I guess that all died in February of 2001.

• The fans Are Becoming Less Of A Priority -The more power the sponsors have, the more control they have over the sport. And who has the most to lose when that happens? You guessed it, the fans. It’s sad to say, but the fans have been placed on the back-burner in the grand scheme of things. It hasn’t happened on purpose but it’s happening nonetheless. The focus has shifted away from fans and seems to be more about pre-determined story lines, sponsorship exposure, and padding pockets rather than attending to the needs of the average race fan. Huge mistake.  

Let’s not kid ourselves anymore, the excitement and popularity that NASCAR carried into this early part of this decade has all but dwindled away. Regardless of what Brian France, Mike Helton, and the network executives want you to believe, things are not what they appear. They may not be pushing the panic button yet, but I promise you someone already has their finger on it. And it’s that very reason why NASCAR needs to roll up its sleeves, get back to basics and help rebuild a sport and a culture that’s lost its way.

Until then, the product on the track will continue to get worse, seats will continue to stay empty, ratings will continue to drop, and eventually sponsors will leave. At that point it may not matter if changes have been made or not, fans may not be around to take notice one way or another.

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