Late Night NASCAR and Old Farts Like Me

I'm sure I've vented about this subject before on this blog, but a NASCAR race that doesn't end until after 11PM just isn't in my wheelhouse. Last nite's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was about as good as an Atlanta race can be; especially since it was under the lights.

But starting a 500 mile race at almost 8 PM makes no sense whatsoever!!! 500-milers last a minimum of 3.5 hours. This race was completed around 11:40PM just about 4 hours after it started (a fairly quick 500-miler).

This race should have started 2 hours earlier, around 6PM. Typically a 500 miler will take 4+ hours to run. NASCAR was fortunate that the Atlanta race had a whole lot of green-flag laps and finished in a decent amount of time. It could have easily have stretched until after midnight.

NASCAR and TV networks are all about TV program ratings. What NASCAR is NOT about is the NASCAR RACE FAN. NASCAR panders publicly to the race fan, but they make business decisions based on their pocket book (spelled $$). TV scheduling is a $$ type decision.

I don't think I'm alone in this complaint either. NASCAR fans don't want to be up after 11 PM watching a race and hoping it'll finish and also have time for some post-race interviews before midnight.

Consider rant/vent complete,
JD

PS - NASCAR isn't the only sport with 3+ hour TV products to adhere to this TV paradigm for scheduling. Basically it sucks. Something to do with getting folks in Southern California to watch the program. Like those folks actually care about NASCAR races...catch the attendance at the California Speedway race sometime...more folks visit the local county fair.

PPS - If you've read this blog at all, you also know that I never watch TV live, I TiVo all TV shows, including NASCAR races. In the case of NASCAR races, I delay watching until it's far enough into the race that I can skip most commercials. Last nite I had caught up to real time and it was 11PM...my bedtime. I caught Tony Stewart's victory while having a bagel this morning.

PPPS - This is fodder for a separate rant, but I still prefer FOX and TNT NASCAR coverage to the formulaic ESPN coverage. No show's good enough for ESPN..."We can make it better."