Over the past couple of decades NASCAR has emerged as America's favorite racing series. How it got there is an amazing, one of which is largely based the Daytona International Speedway, site of Sunday's infamous Daytona 500.
This year's edition marks the 50th running of "The Great American Race" and there is no denying the race's spot at the top of the heap. Still, it is interesting to note that NASCAR starts their season with the biggest event, yet every other major professional sport (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) does it in just reverse. Many people get all revved up early in the season about NASCAR, but 36 weeks later only the extreme diehards are tuning in.
It was only in recent years that NASCAR added the "Chase for the Cup" to bring higher interest to the season's final 10 races. In the end, it hasn't mattered much. There could be four drivers within spittin' distance of each other on the last race of the year, the TV draw would not match the one that the season's first race will bring.
There is no doubt that the buzz around NASCAR has somewhat leveled out. Don't kid yourself, it has come a long way in the number of fans but it is not growing at nearly the rate it was just five years ago. The problem is that NASCAR does great to grab these fans in early in the year for the big race, but then can't retain them. Many of the people that jumped on the bandwagon just a short time ago are starting to jump off!
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