The Nationwide Series: Five Bucks?

Topics:  NASCAR Nationwide Series Opinions expressed by Bill Crittenden are not official policies or positions of The Crittenden Automotive Library. You can read more about the Library's goals, mission, policies, and operations on the About Us page.

Bill Crittenden
August 12, 2013

Don't underestimate or overvalue a minor-league team.

I've spent $40 on one Camping World Truck Series ticket at Milwaukee and never more than ten bucks each for good seats to see the Blackhawks AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs.  $40 seems a lot to spend when the big stars of the night are Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson, and a lot of seats were still empty at race time.  My son didn't care that Kane or Toews wasn't playing at our hockey outing, he enjoyed the game and is now a happy little hockey fan.

Running the Nationwide Series less for profit an more for development may lead to a better bottom line in the long run.

A lot of movie theaters near where I live show an older kids movie once a week for a buck a ticket.  The film doesn't cost as much to show as a first-run film but the dollar sometimes doesn't cover the costs of the film being shown.  But the theater makes money on concessions and builds goodwill with the community.

$5 Nationwide Series tickets, a price that even a big family without much money can afford, would allow such families that can't afford Cup tickets to bring their kids to the track.  Kids would get more exposure to the sport (I might not be a fan today if it weren't for all those nights in the cheap seats with my dad at Rockford & Wilmot), and Nationwide Insurance would get much more exposure as a sponsor, both leading in the long run in to potentially more money for NASCAR in merchandising and increased sponsorship value as well as the tracks that can sell $5 Pepsis to a capacity crowd.  The increased exposure would also help the teams sell their sponsorships, keeping the field healthy and full.

It would also be less embarrassing on television to see some of the stars of NASCAR race in front of so many empty seats.

Just consider it, as a series geared towards developing drivers and talent, also a series geared towards developing fans!