Over the past several weeks Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal has reported on two separate occasions of a possible idea on the table to quiet the engines.
.@NASCAR is considering making cars quieter, sources say, a move that could make it easier to talk more during races https://t.co/WogRt3fuhc pic.twitter.com/vvlNl4zOKo
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) March 6, 2017
Execs noted quieter cars could also:
-Reduce chances of hurting young fans’ eardrums
-Help touring series not run afoul of noise ordinances— Adam Stern (@A_S12) March 6, 2017
The overall idea hasn’t been specifically laid on how this would be accomplished but the overall idea behind it is to pull in more millennials as while creating a more social atmosphere allowing fans around the track to interact and talk more.
While I like the idea of looking at areas to allow more social engagement with fans at the track especially with a new premier series sponsor coming on board in 2017.
The overall aspect of quieting down the engines doesn’t seem to be the right fit in auto racing.
Look at it like this, many fans tell others who have never been the sights and sounds of a NASCAR race are some of the reasons they go. Others it’s the social atmosphere and friendship in the campgrounds on the weekends.
If you start taking out the sights and sounds you are replacing it with the social atmosphere that already exists not only in the campgrounds and tailgating areas but the engagement areas, tweet-ups and various other social events that take place before and after the race around the track.
Let’s also take a look at the new premier series sponsor Monster Energy. This past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway they had a fan engagement area with fans filling the area to see loud motorcycles and trucks doing burnouts and stunts to loud music.
At Charlotte Motor Speedway the series sponsor for the past several years has put on the Carolina Rebellion with acts such as Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed and Five Finger Death Punch just to name a few. Now let’s think about that a multi-day rock concert filled with the millennials rocking along to Monster Energy musicians with the volume turned up to 11.
No one seemed to mind there and I’ve seen this first hand with these bands playing to 20,000 plus crowds of all ages with smoke, fire and pyro in full effect and screaming fans wanting more.
Auto racing and the sensory sound produced by 800 plus horse power engines when they crank up every weekend produces a heart pounding, adrenaline pumping thrill ride as cars race just inches from one another.
Let’s hear the cars roar and rumble through the stands on the weekends.
