Earlier Start Time

[turboplus661]

Here is part of the press release from speedwaymedia



"San Bernardino County, Calif. (Jan. 6, 2010) – Race fans asked for a noon start time for the Auto Club 500 NSCS race and Auto Club Speedway and NASCAR listened. So noon it is for NASCAR’s West Coast Premiere – the Auto Club 500 – at Auto Club Speedway on February 21, 2010 thanks to the many fans that took advantage of a first-time ever chance to cast their vote to help determine the start of Auto Club Speedway’s February event.

Back in October, Auto Club Speedway gave race fans across the country the choice to choose either a noon or a 4:30 p.m. (both times PT) start time for the Auto Club 500, the West Coast Premiere of NASCAR on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010. "

Now that's early !!

 

[Kevin_McAdams]

I love the early start times, it's gonna be nice to have the race start at 1 EST in the east and the rest around 3:30 EST, which isn't SO bad.

 

[MattSRD28]

I love the early start times, it's gonna be nice to have the race start at 1 EST in the east and the rest around 3:30 EST, which isn't SO bad.

So what if you don't live in the eastern time zone?


...people do, you know.

 

[John Gregorio]

Then we watch the race at 10 AM Matt!

 

[ColoRadio]

I'm all for the races on the west coast starting early considering I'm on the west coast

 

[MattSRD28]

Then we watch the race at 10 AM Matt!

Yeah. That'll grow the audience.

It's not like there's a whole lot of people out doing something about that time on Sunday mornings or anything. :err:

We did this back in the 1990s and there's a reason why they moved up start times. I just hope that Fox, ESPN, & TNT have replays that a primetime Pacific time zone audience can watch because otherwise they'll basically lose whoever in this time zone started watching NASCAR in the past 13 years or so.

 

[Janitor Dave]

Yeah. That'll grow the audience.

It's not like there's a whole lot of people out doing something about that time on Sunday mornings or anything. :err:

We did this back in the 1990s and there's a reason why they moved up start times. I just hope that Fox, ESPN, & TNT have replays that a primetime Pacific time zone audience can watch because otherwise they'll basically lose whoever in this time zone started watching NASCAR in the past 13 years or so.

Right, but you have to remember that NASCAR has been an east coast racing organization for the longest time, thus that's pretty much where the majority of the fan base is.

I wish that they could come up with some sort of middle ground between the two, then people wouldn't have to have these debates :err: .

 

[instantCLASSIC]

I don't mind the early start times at all. I know that the NFL starts @ 11AM here so I make sure I'm ready to watch it at 11. I'm not complaining one bit about the new start times. I just wish I had cable. lol (can't get FOX over the air here)

 

[Fisha695]

I like the way F1 does it (well did it before they decided to try the "move times around to try and suit a certain audience like NASCAR does" way of thinking). Basically each race started around 2pm Track time.

If NASCAR would take something like that, say have the green flag drop at 1:30 local time for the day races that'd solve all the problems. If you are a fan then you'd turn in at whatever time the race is on to watch it.

 

[ColoRadio]

While working in Japan I would set my alarm to 0100 so I would be able to watch the races live on AFN. I agree - if you have a big enough interest you'd watch it whenever it airs. And if it's too inconvenient you could always watch the highlight reel. Or in many cases you could record it on a DVR. I also agree with a standard starting time. Just start all day races at noon, and all night races at the same time. Would solve the problem by creating the same problem on the other coast.. Then nobody can complain.

 

[MattSRD28]

Right, but you have to remember that NASCAR has been an east coast racing organization for the longest time, thus that's pretty much where the majority of the fan base is.

Yeah, except if NASCAR restricted itself to the southeast USA, it would not survive as a major sport.

You're basically saying that it's fine to alienate part of NASCAR's fan base, as long as the majority isn't alienated. Why do you want NASCAR to lose fans at all? NASCAR needs to be gaining fans. Showing preference to fans in one part of the country while ignoring fans in another part of the country isn't exactly a great way to gain fans that NASCAR needs in order to survive in the future.

Just start all day races at noon, and all night races at the same time. Would solve the problem by creating the same problem on the other coast.. Then nobody can complain.

Well, actually everyone would complain if that happened.

Look don't get me wrong here. I'm totally for setting alarms and doing whatever a person has to do in order to watch a race. Any fan with a strong desire to watch the race would do that, I would think. We're not talking about those people. Those people would watch NASCAR at 1am if they had to. We're talking about the casual sports fan who we should be trying to bring into the NASCAR fold. NASCAR shouldn't be only trying to attract one time zone's fans, and ignoring another's.

If you look at the present plan to standardize start times, it TOTALLY favors Eastern time zone fans. 1pm Eastern start times for races that take place in the Eastern time zone, 3pm Eastern start times for races that are held in the Pacific time zone, and 7:30pm Eastern start times for night races. Sounds great for Eastern time zone people! Mid-afternoon start times, and then primetime start times for night races? Couldn't ask for a more convenient setup there.

So what does that look like for fans like me in the Pacific time zone? Well we get 11am start times for Eastern races, NOON start times for races that happen here, and a very awkward 4:30pm start times for night races. Now, if NASCAR presented that exact time scheme to fans in the Eastern time zone, do you think fans there would like it? I doubt it. So why do we get stuck with it? Why does NASCAR want to alienate & marginalize an audience that includes the #2 media market in the USA? Why are we made to DVR, set alarms, and otherwise put out extra effort that Eastern fans would balk about having to make if they had to make it, just to watch NASCAR? Why are we made to feel like chopped liver for the convenience of east coast fans? Give it time. As the season progresses, I guarantee you that that's exactlyhow fans in the Pacific time zone will feel, and the Pacific time zone NASCAR audience will shrink.

All the additional convenience in the world means nothing, IMO, if it means you have to shrink your audience in order to achieve it.

 

[ColoRadio]

Well, actually everyone would complain if that happened.

Hahaha! That's what I should have written. Very valid point. I don't worry too much about when they decide to start the races (as far as a time zone issue) but I'm not a big fan of the races that start in the day and end at night. I'll continue catching as many races as I can when I can..

 

[Kevin_McAdams]

They're trying to not only compete with NFL, but also go back to an old school setting. I remember when the Pepsi 400 started at 10 AM EST. Even though there are races in the west coast, NASCAR almost never focuses their times to their time zone. If that were the case, then people in the east coast would have to wait until 3 PM for every east coast race, which makes no sense. And like the original post said that fans wanted California to start at Noon, not 4:30. I love the new start times, and id love it more if I lived in the west coast. Waking up to the command would be awesome.