NASCAR's Trouble At The Track!

 NASCAR may be under threat of accident, if its ruling France family could not find a way to share power with its largest groups.
 It was "NASCAR's Heidi Bowl" moment, and nobody cared. On November 9, with 34 laps to go at the end of season race at Phoenix International Raceway, ABC pre-emptive live their national coverage of the event in their regular broadcast cheesy reality show America's Funniest Home Videos.

Forty years ago, NBC tried the same trick when he cut off with a made for TV version of Heidi with an incredible last-minute return to the Oakland Raiders on new aircraft York. Angry East Coast viewers fried switch network in protest. But when NASCAR was insulted by ABC, only a few bloggers and commentators have been to this case.

Collective shoulders is just the latest sign that NASCAR has hit a wall. While still the second most watched sport after Soccer America - a season of 51-m control Daytona 500, is expected to pull in 17 million viewers - NASCAR will not stop the phenomenon of marketing it was.

Sport suffer declining sponsorship, participation and financial stability, and the roots of the problem runs deeper than many of the lousy economy. Ratings are falling faster than in other sports. Racing fans, many of whom can barely afford the high price of the ticket on the track, bored by the lack of drama, when they get there. Several of the largest drivers alike, clean-shaven white guys in tracksuits, and their cars, which is now cut to the same specifications, it is equally Cookie-cutter.

Races last season would have seen only two changes in care (boring, slow circles headed by the pace car), compared to three in 1990 and four in the dirt track 1970. Last year, one of the four races won the driver started the race in pole position, compared with one of the 10 earlier in this decade.

 NASCAR regular TV season ratings fell 21% as compared with their peak in 2005, a departure from up to five years, when they significantly outgrown all other professional sports in the audience. Although the cost of an advertisement of the National Football League broadcasts to 4% from 2005 to $ 2 billion, and costs have fallen by 16% Premier scheme's NASCAR Sprint Cup last year to $ 351 million, according to Nielsen.

Attendance at the track fell for the third consecutive year, on average, from 130000 to 118000 in the race, according to NASCAR. To fight the decline, International Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA - news - people), owner of the biggest track in the U.S. due to the price of about 15% of its seats for more than 40% in anticipation of the upcoming Daytona 500.
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Team owners and managers say it's time for a large renovation of the sport, which was tightly controlled for 60 years in the family of France. Property Frances' in NASCAR punished the body gives him power over the negotiation of all television rights and licensing deals and the widest powers to ensure the race-day rule. Thanks in part to 4.5 billion dollars in eight years of broadcasting was signed in 2005, punishing the body is more between $ 250 million and $ 300 million a year, at least $ 50 million more than the rich Racing Team.

Says three-time reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson: "It is best to NASCAR, the second best driver and the last thing the owner of the team."

The owners of the team take the lion's share of risk by investing heavily in people and equipment, but also to receive a pittance from the proceeds of transmission and none of the sale of tickets, which go mainly to track owners. It may cost $ 10 million to recruit Pilot and $ 25 million a year to race one car. Most teams raced two or three last years, and 90% of its operating budget came from corporate sponsors. Rich sponsorship deals signed during the fat years earlier this decade due to expire, and the new sponsor money dries. Domino's Pizza, sponsor of Michael Waltrip Racing, and Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK - news - people), one of the authors of Penske Racing, threw in the towel after last season. Also gone from the Coors Light team and tide.
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Sponsors are still committed to the sport, such as Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - news - people), Diageo (NYSE: DEO - news - people) and UPS (NYSE: UPS - news - people), are flocking to the winning team or your spending money on the road. The victory brings the money, and money power to win. Pulled from the haves nots. Four groups of rich racing filled all 12 positions in the pursuit of sport for the format of the playoffs in the Cup last year. Most of the 43 drivers in the Daytona 500 this weekend to start their engines knowing that they have a slim chance of breaking "Top 10. Some do not even bother to finish the race.

Teams folding, merging or taking Bailouts of plutocrats. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty, sold his small farm team in the last year in the private equity firm Boston Ventures, because he was unable to raise enough money sponsors. (Boston Ventures has recently sold the name of the Petty team owned by multimillionaire businessman George Gillett.) In 2007, Jack Roush sold half of his team's Fenway Sports Group, the company controlled by a company which owns the Boston Red Sox. Morgan-McLure Motorsports has closed its doors last year after 24 years on the circuit due to lack of sponsors. The same Bill Davis Racing.

Many owners of the team seeking to become a sports franchise system, similar to professional football and baseball. There will be a certain number of teams, maybe a dozen or so three to four cars each. All drivers will automatically qualify for every race on Sunday, so that corporations will know their brands will be represented in each race. United Parcel Service were upset in 2007 when it paid about $ 20 million to sponsor a driver who did not qualify in seven of 36 races.

The owners of the team will take a stake in the punishment of the body, greater proportion of national income from broadcasters and sponsors, and may take as football and baseball team owners to do anything against this rate to invest in the drivers and technologies that could make them better and more exciting groups of Sport. NASCAR is trying to expand internationally, but some teams can not afford a trip to California, not to mention Mexico or Canada.

"It does not work NASCAR, to tell us that we can spend and how to conduct our business," said Richard Petty, who also is considering franchising as a great way to promote fan loyalty. "Green Bay Packers could lose their quarterback," says Petty. "This does not mean that they lose their fans." He said Ty Norris, general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing, "Franchising is crucial and should be one of the main topics for NASCAR."

Firmly stood in the way of this idea is the family of France, who built the NASCAR circuit from southern factories in the $ 2 billion marketing phenomenon in the lives of two generations. Man responsible for these days, Brian Z. France, 45-year-old grandson of NASCAR founder William France Lead

Brian France was the executive director of NASCAR in 2003, and after the death of his father, Bill Jr., in 2007, inherited the 18,75% of shares in the body of sanctions in the amount of approximately $ 300 million. His sister Lesa France Kennedy belongs to another 18,75%, while his uncle, James C. France, 36%. Uncle Jim is also Executive Director of the International Speedway, the largest owner of this sport and operator of racetracks, with profit of $ 135 million last year on revenue of $ 777 million.

For years, owners of rival track accuse Francis lock other tracks with the dates of obtaining lucrative race. Antitrust suit against International Speedway was dropped a year ago, U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky.

Brian France said that his opposition to franchising stems from something sublime than personal interests. "We are different than the carrot and sports," he says. In his view, franchising is a sure way to kill the base concept of NASCAR (a myth at this point), that any driver can appear on the track and win on any Sunday.

"Franchise system is likely to create a system that values the franchise more than necessary to perform each week at the racetrack," said Brian France. This, of course, is contrary to all NASCAR was founded on. "

Says H.A. (Humpy) Wheeler, former president of Lowe Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, "Franchising is one that has been kicked around for some time. NASCAR is not like the idea. This is a control question.

To preserve the illusion of track open to all comers, France took a few steps to support the lesser of one-and two-car teams. Team owner George Gillett was not impressed. "I have seen no evidence does not appear that the presence of four groups on the machine affected in any way negatively on the quality of racing," said Gillett.

With Brian France took over, NASCAR ordered changes intended to make the sport safer and more fan-Friendly. Drivers are required to spend more time on the autographs before the race. Sport, of course, safer. There were no deaths since Dale Earnhardt Sr. S in 2001.
 But many other reforms, Brian France went down badly, and emphasize how the owners of the team believe that it is out of touch. While his father, Brian, Bill Jr., was comfortable to work on the engine and has organized an annual picnic fishing with a team owner, Brian France, more than at home sharply marketing deals in his office above Manhattan's Park Avenue Tower.

The largest purchase of real estate, Bill was $ 600,000 bought homes in Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1999. Brian bought 10.7 million pad on Central Park West in New York. He also created a new green initiative of NASCAR, which includes a hybrid car rates. Admiration, but the preservation of the environment is not quite central importance in NASCAR creed.

After coming to NASCAR in 2003, France has also found time to work marketing consultancy he co-founded, Brand Sense Partners in Los Angeles, which is considered one of his achievements launch Britney Spears perfume line. Not quite techie stuff.

The most critical change in NASCAR, Brian France was under the car of the future program, which requires teams to race cars with identical specifications. The program was designed to eliminate opportunities more wealthy teams to gain an advantage hired individual machines are suitable for different directions. Some teams belonging to 20 options for each car they fled.

Despite its good intentions, the car tomorrow program received a hostile reception. The owners of the team saw a $ 100 million up front cost (sportwide) to create a completely new racing cars as an unfair burden, even if it is long-term savings by reducing the number of options. The drivers were frank about the new car inferior processing and aerodynamics. New cars and fury of many die-hard fans of NASCAR, because the amount of creativity and technology that makes each car different was reduced.

Such unintended consequences that can grasp a more recent move to NASCAR to limit the time on the track. NASCAR said the limits would reduce costs for small teams, but they are also in favor of the rich teams who could afford to build a complex of garages off the rails. Hendrick Motorsports has a 600,000-square-foot garage in Charlotte, North Carolina, with 2.2 million dynamometer for testing engines and 3-D lithography printer that can spit out a custom part design.

With days NASCAR growth weakens, Francis faced with some tough choices. They may relinquish control and share more on TV and licensing money by restoring the image of NASCAR in a very successful NFL. Or they can hang on the family business, and tinker at the margins, to keep some competitive racing.

Jimmie Johnson, Brit racer in the Cookie-cutter machine, which today won a Sprint Cup Cookie-cutter three consecutive years, knows this better than anyone else. "In a conversation with NASCAR and time around them, they do not care. At the same time, nothing has changed in 60 years to create value for the owner of the team."