you're very right - but as a seriously OLD guy (58 next tuesday) nascar fan 55 of those years, seriously poor (going to take in my comcast stuff after 35 years a loyal customer - they refuse to budge and give a poor guy elements so I can at least continue email, simple internet, basic home phone, basic channels - even threaten to bill me for early termination (after 35 years - so much for every call ending in thank you for being a rare 35 year loyal customer) anyway I remember BILL France - the original. He founded nascar, built the daytona and talladega tracks. (and bought up others of course - why not, they own track's, make the rules, set the schedule, and of course give themselves first dibs, and cherry on top, private family held since the beginning - only sport like it in the world (forget motorsports - any pro sports) where a family owns, runs, sets rules, gives themselves the best of the best, passes out fines, and hands it down to a grandson that never followed nascar in the first place and when he made the news it was usually for TMZ type reasons instead of nascar reasons. This guy - Brian - well the shortsightedness is far deeper - att (uverse) no longer has fs2 and either dish or direct tv I forget which - also doesnt. Bill france Junior cut the deal then with tnn (the nashville network, a race on tbs, several on over the air tv, the remainder to espn the original. Back then espn also had nhra, world of outlaws, sprint cars and the copper classic, midgets, thursday night thunder, and carried tthe original nascar truck series - held in the off nascar season - every race at phoenix - and called winter heat - effectively a beta test for what now is camping world trucks (tomorrow night at eldora). Bill Junior was different than senior but he grew up following daddy and tho softer ran nascar - and all ancillary stuff - with the same iron hand. The networks didnt dictate nascar- nascar dictated the networks. All before cell phones, smart phones, the internet, and yet even with the inbred nature of the sport took it in the late 80's early 90's so far it reached the magic kingdom - equal to then for one brief season surpassing even nfl the nba or major league baseball. Problem is they didnt stay at it, then bill junior got sick quickly and died. brian inherited a sport like a golden spoon and his lack of knowledge showed early on. He obviously knows a lot more now, but his business savvy is why stands are empty and this battle goes on - his heart still isnt truly in nascar. he's rarely at a race, often will attend a lemans race in france when a major nascar race is on here, he jet sets overseas plenty. Wth his sister they basically run a sport with mike helton a former track manager the day to day guy. Fox came in, less and less races on free tv and espn who were aces in the 80s and 90s for all auto racing, soon auto racing got bumped so much it was a matter of time....2014 was the end for espn for anything nascar on any level. Speed got swallowed up by fox who already had the waltrips cornballing it up on sundays on fox. Along comes comcast who promised the sun moon and stars to nascar fans. SINCE the fox half season is over, so far nbc has not entirely failed - I am as cynical as it gets - their efforts have been worthy. BUt comcast owns nbc - so that part is easy. Back on the ranch camping world and still much other practices qualifying or other stuff and various other former speed car shows and now other sports - more and more dumped to fs2 that so few get anywhere. How fox justifies a dead network is baffling - ;lost of shows - zero neilson share - no one can get the channel. I wonder is all their advertising the seedy viagra and such type commercials - they cant possibly have major contracts for ads - no way to quantify an audience. Comcast xfinity - the racers love them - they filled the race cars and garages and pits with technology - at least year one - 2015. The on air talent - on nbc sports - ie comcast employee's - say what is going to be acceptable to comcast - whether it is reality depends on perspective. So NO one has a fans back. I'm a fan council member. I have learned after years doing so, it is platitudes - nascar can say we give fans a voice. That they dont make any changes or act on any input - so what - long as they feel we are given a voice - job done. And so it goes - all parties are guilty. even fans - I will walk away soon as I buy a walmart tv antenna - almost did last week - but the walmart electronics guy kept going to the backroom every time he spotted a potential customer (I made sure to talk to the manager at check out - and left without the antenna and coax I intended to buy. I will watch eldora, and indy this weekend, I will buy an antenna, I will talk to att about getting their landline service and net zero about cheap mobile hot spot Internet I can run my tower off of, and then go to the comcast office in schaumburg illinois early august and simply say heres your stuff - goodbye. Customers threaten to walk away - I have, now I have no choice. Someone said this will never end - that is almost guaranteed fact. No party has any interest in changing status quo. Nascar is oblivious to eroding market share and merchandise fall off. Comcast - well have you ever seen comcast LOWER your bill - obviously they dont care (with all respect to comcast teds). Fox - we know all the fox jokes - so brian france will stay rich and clueless, comcast rich, fox rich and fans, nascar or otherwise, will more likely win the mega millions lotto before they get fox sports - in the standard line up or even an extra price add on. Three years and counting - it is more dead than my late father who passed two decades ago, my wife two years ago or my murdered daughter last year or beloved cat two months ago. I will be on antenna tv and scraping by but having no regrets - as nascar isnt going back to network tv ever. This is everyones fault - nascar, fox, comcast,.the other carriers, att - and yes - us the fans - cuz we complain, btu we stay. thre ONLY way this changes is comcast profits falling off a cliff by fans cutting the cable - lots of talk, it is trendy but it rarely happens - except losers like me that have no financial choice anymore. No one is minding the ship - and despite providing a 26 page forum just to placate us with an illusion and an official comcast paid mod - you might as well write this in graffiti as it makes the same amount of difference. No one is going to change - this ever. I am so confident if I was morbid I'd have put on my headstone - see I told you fox sports 2 would never be added to any carrier.
