I know, I'm the only one that cares....

[Natalie]

But the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup season is over and I was wondering if anyone had any comments.

Jimmie Johnson (puke) won the title this year.
Dale Jr. rebounded from not making the Chase last year.
The Jeff Gordon "drive for five" took, yet, another nose dive.
Toyota comes in to Cup next year.
NBC is out, ABC/ESPN is in.

Anybody care to discuss?

[TrekSucksHard]

I hate NASCAR, I can't believe people watch a race in which cars just go round and round an oval- Talladega Nights made an excellent job of skewering that race and its fans.

[Adam54]

Yeah, but Nat likes it, and she's a sweetpea who bought me beers once. So don't be hatin. :)

Nat, I'm curious about two things, since the business side of sports interests me more than most anything else. But you knew that already.

1. Why is it a big deal that Toyota is coming to the Cup? I remember reading about how a lot of the purists think this is some sort of apocalyptic tragedy, but to me it just seems like another case of "Ford is better than Chevy is better than Honda!!!" fanboyism.

2. What kind of TV deal did the Disney group give 'em to get things away from NBC. Does this mean the Turner Channels/Fox/FX and all the others go away too?

Enlighten us, oh wise one.

Adam

[Droogie]

Actually I don't mind NASCAR, of course being a Formula I snob I prefer a few more turns on my race circuits. But I am really anxious to see how Toyota comes out swinging with their endless cash flow. Also I'm quite jacked about Jaun Pablo Montoya racing in the Cup and Busch next season. I don't think these guys will know what hit them (literally) once Mr Montoya finds his feet. He's at home on an oval (Indy 500 champ) and a road course (Formula 1 and Champ Car winner). Meet the "good ol' boy from Columbia.

[Natalie]

Yeah, but Nat likes it, and she's a sweetpea who bought me beers once. So don't be hatin. :)

Nat, I'm curious about two things, since the business side of sports interests me more than most anything else. But you knew that already.

1. Why is it a big deal that Toyota is coming to the Cup? I remember reading about how a lot of the purists think this is some sort of apocalyptic tragedy, but to me it just seems like another case of "Ford is better than Chevy is better than Honda!!!" fanboyism.

2. What kind of TV deal did the Disney group give 'em to get things away from NBC. Does this mean the Turner Channels/Fox/FX and all the others go away too?

Enlighten us, oh wise one.

Adam

Thanks, Adam!

The Toyota thing is two-fold. 1) They money they have is very threatening to American mfgers. They can dump masses in and Ford/Chevy/Dodge are worried about being priced out. 2) The whole idea of a Japanese mfger coming into the sport bothers traditionalists that have been upset with a lot of the changes Brian France has made over the years to broaden NASCAR's appeal to a wider (non-southern) audience.

It may still not be attractive to folks like TrekSucksHard and many other people in other parts of the country who haven't been exposed to it for as long as I have but numbers don't lie. NASCAR generates tons of money and is second only to the NFL in ratings. The expansion of the races to include markets like Northern Cali, Chicago, Mexico, and a potential track on Staten Island is downright offensive to some people who have watched the sport grow literally from backyard shops to prime time television. It is almost a sacriledge that there is no longer a race at Rockingham and the series' oldest race at Darlington on Labor Day was taken away.

2) ABC/ESPN made a sweet deal of something like $500M/yr for the rights to half of the season. FOX/FX will still have the first portion of the season starting with Daytona and Speedweeks. TNT will retain 6-7 races that I know of in the summer. ABC/ESPN gets the last part of the season leading up to and including the Chase for the Cup. With the ESPN brand there are more options for marketing and ESPN signed a deal to become the only outlet for NASCAR internationally.

If you really want to learn more about the complete deal (all the stuff I can't really explain) you can check out Jayski.com and they have a whole section on the TV deal and how it went down.