Is there a way to keep OEMs happy without sacrificing NASCAR’s best product?
Stop me if you’ve heard this already, but the online talk this week centered on NASCAR EVP John Probst’s comments regarding the proposed implementation of a crossover utility vehicle (CUV) body in what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
There are more than a few words to describe the fan reaction to his comments — horrible, no good, very bad, pitiful, disgusted, just to name a few — but I’m not here to decide on the merit of those comments or their reactions. As our resident Frontstretch academic, I’m here to theorize, hypothesize and pontificate for around 1,300 words a week, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.
What NASCAR has here is a rock-in-a-hard-place problem of its own creation, but not in terms of the types of cars fans see on the track each weekend. Instead, this problem has to do with NASCAR’s promise to bring more manufacturers into the sport as a whole, and as long as the cars are two-door sports cars and pickup trucks that don’t actually look like pickup trucks, that isn’t going to happen.
One look at the current automotive industry should tell all there is to know about the subject: People aren’t even buying sedans anymore, much less two-door sports cars. It’s always been more of a niche market than the average consumer-grade special on wheels, but in recent years, there really is no point in believing in any car company that doesn’t have a full line of SUVs and crossovers.
The trend is so strong, in fact, that many manufacturers don’t even have a car that would legally qualify to race in NASCAR under the current OEM rules package. This means NASCAR has to get creative in attracting other OEMs, whether through engine programs, rule changes or complete overhauls of the cars themselves. This is what could be defined as “a rock.”
Does that mean NASCAR should rush to fundamentally change its best on-track product, though? Absolutely not. That being said, starting a new series seems completely outside the realm of possibility given the current trajectory. Enter “hard place.”
Instead of worrying about bringing in new OEMs, NASCAR needs to focus on ensuring the OEMs already in the sport are happy in the immediate future. If they are, NASCAR can then incorporate the roadmap for a streaming-only, independent series featuring CUVs, but run it under the IMSA brand, which is more tailored to an online or stream-heavy audience rather than one that still watches traditional cable, such as the NASCAR fan base.
That way, the stock car side of the sport remains intact, and IMSA/NASCAR gets to bring in the CUV manufacturers it so desperately desires.
Stephen A. Smith baited NASCAR fans hard, but why did they fall for it?
Stephen A. Smith might be one of the most insufferable talking heads to ever hit the airwaves in the last few years, and this is coming from someone who used to cover the same sports. But there’s one thing about him that can never be argued: He’s very good at his job.
That job is to bait people into interactions with him and his platform through his rhetoric, and that’s exactly what happened earlier this week when he said that NASCAR drivers and professional golfers are not pro athletes. He put the bait out there, and NASCAR and golf fans alike walked right into it. But why?
Truth be told, the issue probably hit a little closer to home for NASCAR fans than golf fans. In the last few years, one has grown exponentially more than the other, and it’s not the sport this website is dedicated to talking about. For NASCAR, many of its fans still feel the need to prove its legitimacy to the uninitiated.
People outside the sport still need to be convinced that NASCAR is as professional as every other sport and then some, and that’s a tough sell when you’re constantly being punched down at by talking heads around the legacy media landscape.
NASCAR doesn’t have the glitz and glamour associated with golf. Nobody comes to the race track in a polo and a pair of khakis. It’s not a glamorous sport, and when its integrity is breached by someone who plainly doesn’t know much about it and doesn’t care to, it strikes a nerve. It’s as simple as that.
Does Chevrolet have all its eggs in the next Camaro’s basket?
In terms of whatever Chevrolet has going on in its program, most are at a loss for words. It’s a good thing I’m not most, though.
Truth be told, the best Chevrolets have speed. They just haven’t been able to put together many wins. The lone victory on the season remains Chase Elliott‘s at Martinsville, and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson still finds himself on a winless streak.
That being said, walk with me through this hypothetical. What if GM knew that a new Camaro body was coming soon, and they decided to start prepping for its implementation a bit early?
If you land outside the scope of the automotive news world, Chevy promised that a new Camaro will hit dealer lots next year, along with a few other new toys to add to the GM catalog. While most don’t expect a landmark difference between the Camaro that just went out of production and the new one, this does change a lot for the Chevrolet teams in the garage.
Having just implemented a new nose design that has obviously not aided in on-track performance, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that we’re already seeing GM experiment a bit with their setups and aero packages.
Who knows? Maybe Chevrolet is tanking for Fernando Mendoza, too. Oh, and I almost forgot. Chevy says that there will be no electric version. Huzzah.
Is Kyle Busch just mad, or are his NASCAR days numbered?
Not all stars get a storybook ending. Some never get to ride off into the sunset. They simply hang around for a bit too long, and by the time they do call it quits, a different person leaves the sport than the one who was at the top of it.
It would appear that’s where Kyle Busch is headed. It’s worth noting here that this is not nearly as much his fault as it is Richard Childress Racing and the team around him, but at the end of the day, there’s one driver in each seat, and his teammate has gotten it done more than him the last two years.
But it appears that Busch has entered an “old man yelling at the sky” phase, and it isn’t the best look. After firing back at Denny Hamlin for giving his thoughts on Actions Detrimental last week, Busch went on Sean Hannity’s show earlier this week to give his side. The response? Not great.
It begs the question, then, of whether Busch’s NASCAR days are numbered. It’s more than apparent he wants out of RCR, and I’d be shocked if he makes it the full season with them. However, where he goes after that will more than likely be his final stop. So, what teams will be looking for a *checks notes* aging driver who was really good once upon a time but hasn’t won a race in years?
Not many, I’d wager. There probably won’t be a ride into the sunset. There probably won’t be a storybook ending. There may not even be a farewell tour. All there will be is Busch, in a car in the back half of the field, surrounded by fans who still throw those Mars candy merch shirts on each weekend. Such is the nature of the sport.
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
There are precious few sedans and muscle cars. Partially due to federal fiat but mostly due to consumer choice. If “win on Sunday, buy on Monday” is to mean anything then crossovers make sense. Of course, “there’s nothing stock about a stock car” and the whole idea that anything nascar races is a sedan, muscle car, or pickup truck is silly.
I agree Mike, but the only reason OEM’s are interested is because they can still sell the fact that a company that supports a winning race car program has more expertise than one that doesn’t win.
When did you ever see a two-door front engine rear wheel drive Taurus on the road? What dealerships sold them on Monday?
Funny you mention it, I want a late 90’s Taurus SHO worse than oxygen. Those were FWD but did have V8s oddly enough, produced by Yamaha and Cosworth.
Twenty years ago the Nascar demographic aligned perfectly with the full size truck demographic. Manufacturers wanted a Truck Series. Current OEM’s are
interested in, but not demanding, a small CUV. The EV’s Nascar and them created are a great look at the concept. It could be electric or a 4 cylinder turbo as every manufacturer on the planet has one. The problem for the current OEM’s is the cost to finance it. Ford, Chevy and Toyota are dumping money into Formula 1. They just lost billions on over-investing on EV’s because it was becoming a law that they had to. New president: new thinking with regard to EV’s. Billions in losses.
Relative to Cup, O’Reilly’s team race for peanuts…their total purse is 15% of what the Cup purse is.
I would also hope that Nascar has done their homework to understand if the US customer base for this type car has any interest at all in racing. I do agree that no other manufacturer is very interested in developing a pushrod V8. Stellantis still has one in the product line up so there remains some relevance.
I like the idea of coupling this to IMSA except manufacturers are leaving IMSA because of poor ratings and high costs.
If a ‘generic’ car (like the Gen 7) approach is taken, Nascar needs a better Purchasing and Quality Assurance Team than they used in the reduced cost Gen 7 that costs 50% more than the ‘expensive car’ it replaced. (Don’t ask suppliers to amortize their tooling into piece cost…it ruined the Gen 7 costs.) And it will be up to Nascar to figure out how to fund the tooling…like maybe a deal with the title supplier (or the France family).
This was a necessary step that should have been done to the Gen 7. Nascar has to quit “listening to the fans” and trying to make whoever yells loudest happy. John Probst is actually showing some leadership skills. I applaud him. Time to dig deeper and figure out how to make it happen.
My friend, that is arguably the most informative comment I’ve seen posted on Frontstretch.
Thanks for taking the time to write this. I learned a couple of things, including IMSA seeing net loss of manufacturers, and Toyota increasing their involvement in F1. As is my habit, I immediately opened another tab to confirm and learn from your notes. The IMSA bit surprised me, and I’ll admit I was skeptical until researching further.
Sincerely, thanks for taking the time to write such an enlightening comment. I enjoy nearly all forms of motor racing, as well as seeing the ebbs and flows throughout the sport.
I think this is a very informative post. Thanks for the response, John. We’re in the same place as far as shifting manufacturers’ wants. Thinking out loud here, I wonder what a product would look like using NASCAR branding to bring fans over to the IMSA product. I would think adding a lower series option, using the CUV, with lesser overhead and the potential to tap into the NASCAR fan base, would be intriguing to most manufacturers, but I don’t have my hands on that data to make a firm claim one way or another.
We agree on the G7 parts debacle. It was and always has been a crap shoot, and a bit of a farce to make the car “cheaper.”