The Reason NASCAR is Running Races at Tracks Where Fans Aren't Allowed
For the first time in the history of Michigan International Speedway, which opened way back in 1968, the track is hosting major-league racing without fans this weekend.
More specifically, the NASCAR Cup Series is racing in Brooklyn, Michigan, Aug. 8-9, and the races are being held behind closed doors. Same with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series on Friday night. No fans.
The weekend is producing very little economic impact to the local community, and even less buzz in the local community.
Yes, that's a big deal.
According to a University of Michigan study published in 2014 (the most recent such comprehensive study we could get our hands on), the speedway generates $414 million in total economic activity annually. While admittedly attendance has dropped at MIS since 2014, it's safe to say that the two NASCAR race weekends contribute a big chunk of that economic activity.
MIS also pays, according to that 2014 study, some $2.4 million in local property taxes and $8 million in state sales and use taxes.
This year, it's one race weekend and no fans to impact the Michigan economy or help the track pay the bills. The COVID-19 pandemic claimed the traditional June weekend and made this weekend a doubleheader that includes the traditional August race along with the June race thrown in as a bonus.
That second race is not a bonus race, however, for race-hungry, ticket-buying fans. No race day traffic. For race fans in the region and MIS season-ticket holders who want to watch NASCAR, it's just another weekend of watching the races at home on the flat screen. Yes, that's even for fans, like me, who live just 20 minutes from the track.
There's also virtually no buzz in the region about NASCAR coming to down. No billboards. Very little mention on local radio and TV promoting the speedway's activities. No one's buying tickets. There's no unusually large runs on beer and firewood in the area (MIS boasts nearly 9,000 campsites on its 1,400 acres).
There is, not surprisingly, no problem social distancing in the area hotels and restaurants (OK, that's a good thing).
I'm not even sure all my own neighbors here in Jackson, located about about 18 miles from MIS, know that NASCAR is in town.
So, what's the point? Why is NASCAR intent on bringing its traveling circus on the road to some of these tracks that aren't even opening the front gates or opening them to very limited numbers of fans?
If the grandstands are going to be closed to the fans, why not just run all the intermediate or big oval races at, say, Charlotte Motor Speedway (a 1.5-mile oval near the race shops of most of the teams) or at Daytona International Speedway (a 2.5-mile oval located across the street from the NASCAR home office in Daytona Beach, Fla.)?
Would the fans at home—even loyal MIS ticket holders this weekend—watching on TV care if NASCAR passed on racing at places like Michigan during the pandemic? Would most fans even notice? Most fans would understand. The teams and the series might even save some money by playing in their own sandbox instead of loading up the haulers and bringing the gear and personnel some 600 miles from the race shops in North Carolina to Brooklyn (Michigan's Brooklyn).
At the risk of being "that get-off-my-lawn guy," I had to ask Daryl Wolfe, executive vice president and chief operations and sales officer of NASCAR about the thinking behind taking the NASCAR Cup Series on the road during a pandemic.
Autoweek: With no fans in the stands, what’s in it for a speedway like Michigan to host a major racing series during a pandemic?
NASCAR's Daryl Wolfe, executive vice president and chief operations and sales officer: First and foremost, there’s no question that our fans are the reason we race and we certainly miss having them at the track on a weekly basis. NASCAR is threaded into the fabric of every community in which we race.
Each of our tracks has its own personality and unique attributes, and our fans love seeing their favorite drivers navigate each of them throughout the season. Additionally, it’s very important that we continue to race in these different communities and have the opportunity to connect with our fans there, even if it isn’t in person. Whether it’s through the media, on social channels or through virtual engagement initiatives on race day, racing in each market provides a unique opportunity to keep building those relationships.
Autoweek: What financial benefit does at track like MIS get from hosting a race in 2020 without fans? If the track is not getting any fan revenue, seems like it be cheaper for the track to just “opt out” and just wait for NASCAR to come back next year.
NASCAR's Wolfe: Being able to race at as many venues as possible is a benefit for everyone involved in the sport: the fans, tracks, teams, drivers, corporate partners and media partners. As mentioned, even if it’s not in person, it allows us to continue the relationships with our fans in those areas, bring them the sport they love and hopefully continue the cycle of creating new fans for the future.
In addition, when we’re able to safely and responsibly host a major event like a NASCAR race, it brings an added positive focus to those areas as people tune-in to watch from around the world. Finally, each race track has relationships with business partners, sponsors and other organizations in their particular community. Bringing a NASCAR race to the area allows them to foster those relationships and continue to bring value to those partners even in a challenging year like 2020.
Autoweek: Why not just run all the mile-and-a-half, 2-mile oval races at the same venue? Do the fans really care or the teams even really want to travel halfway across the country to race at MIS if there’s no fans? Why not just run all the intermediate oval races at, say, Charlotte, near the team’s shops? Maybe just run the big-oval races at Daytona International Speedway?
NASCAR's Wolfe: As an industry, we are committed to providing the best possible racing for our fans and maintaining the integrity of our 2020 championship season. Being able to race on a diverse set of race tracks helps to deliver against that goal.
Whether it’s the high-speed, side-by-side racing at a two-mile track like Michigan; the bumping and banging at a short track like Bristol or Martinsville; the endurance and rich history of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; or the twists and turns of the Daytona Road Course next weekend—these different styles of racing provide a new strategy, create new storylines and add to the drama of the best drivers in the world competing for a NASCAR championship.
