[B]The_Tigg[/B]:
That just proves the fan base is shrinking. When Iowa was built it was never meant to be on the cup schedule. The track president at the time and I had a long conversation, he said "Cup will never come here, we don't have the capacity or do all that's needed, we can barely handle Indy."
- The Tigg, via Shoutbox, 3rd Oct 2023
I actually think that this is a deeper issue than just NASCAR.
When I were a wee lad, my dad could run a family of four and pay a mortgage on a single income. In fact, in 1984, we moved houses up the street from No.21 to No.5 purely because he realised that due to the rate of expected wage increases, he could pay off a mortgage at a faster rate using inflated dollars. The point is that real wages peaked across the OECD in our about 1978 and have been on the slide ever since.
What does that mean?
1. People can not afford houses as easily.
1a. People like me have been locked out of the property market forever.
1b. That means that people pay more in real terms, just to put a roof over their heads.
2. Money is fungible; which means that every dollar is identical to every other dollar.
2a. If a dollar is used for something, it can not be used for something else.
3. Since 2008 and especially since 2018, auto makers have increasingly abandoned the small car market.
3a. As small cars aren't being sold by the "big" automakers, people by other things.
3b. This very much erodes brand loyalty.
1b + 2b + 3b = a general public, which neither has the money that it used to, nor the kids who would have cared about motorsport as much any more.
Tigg's observation is correct.
That just proves the fan base is shrinking. When Iowa was built it was never meant to be on the cup schedule. The track president at the time and I had a long conversation, he said "Cup will never come here, we don't have the capacity or do all that's needed, we can barely handle Indy."
- The Tigg, via Shoutbox, 3rd Oct 2023
I actually think that this is a deeper issue than just NASCAR.
When I were a wee lad, my dad could run a family of four and pay a mortgage on a single income. In fact, in 1984, we moved houses up the street from No.21 to No.5 purely because he realised that due to the rate of expected wage increases, he could pay off a mortgage at a faster rate using inflated dollars. The point is that real wages peaked across the OECD in our about 1978 and have been on the slide ever since.
What does that mean?
1. People can not afford houses as easily.
1a. People like me have been locked out of the property market forever.
1b. That means that people pay more in real terms, just to put a roof over their heads.
2. Money is fungible; which means that every dollar is identical to every other dollar.
2a. If a dollar is used for something, it can not be used for something else.
3. Since 2008 and especially since 2018, auto makers have increasingly abandoned the small car market.
3a. As small cars aren't being sold by the "big" automakers, people by other things.
3b. This very much erodes brand loyalty.
1b + 2b + 3b = a general public, which neither has the money that it used to, nor the kids who would have cared about motorsport as much any more.
Tigg's observation is correct.