Spencer Neff

Twitter:@NeffOnSports11

Thank you for reading and I hope your week is going well. After the last race in Charlotte, many fans have voiced displeasure with the current state of NASCAR. While upset fans are nothing new, the decline in fan interest is always worth noting. Having that in mind, here are some ideas to help rejuvenate the sport.

10. Running Multiple Series on One Day: Part of the NFL’s success has been its ability to make people’s lives revolve around the games on Sunday. Like the NFL has done with Sundays during the fall, NASCAR could benefit greatly by adding as much racing to the schedule during Saturdays and Sundays to keep fans engaged in the events.

9. Connect with its Heritage : Like many sports, NASCAR has tried to bring itself into the new age. One of its biggest issues though, is the loss of longtime fans. Being able to show its roots, like last month at Darlington, will allow fans to connect with an earlier era of racing and give new fans a better understanding of NASCAR’s history.

8. Embracing Fantasy: Though Fantasy Auto Racing has been popular, including a new partnership with DraftKings, there is a huge segment of fans who may not be able to grasp the concept in NASCAR. Being able to increase promotion for fantasy games during the week leading up to the races will attract the younger demographic which NASCAR has often missed.

7. Weeknight Racing: Eldora Speedway’s Wednesday night Truck race in July has been tremendously popular. With only baseball to compete with during middle of the schedule, having some races on week nights could help attract more attention to the sport while football is out of the public eye.

6. Shorter Races: Fans have often complained about the lack of attention and that can easily be attributed to the length of races in many scenarios. Having shorter races would help create more urgency among drivers and keep fans interested.

5. Fewer Companion Races: The main argument for having Cup regulars in Xfinity and Truck Series events is that doing so increases ticket sales and television ratings. Though that argument does offer some validity, doing so has taken attention away from drivers looking to make their way up in racing. Even with drivers being able to rise to the occasion against the tough competition, several have not had quite the opportunity with more Cup regulars around.

4. Schedule Shakeup: Recently, NASCAR CEO Brian France said there will be no major shakeups to the 2016 Sprint Cup Schedule. In this instance, France missed a major opportunity. For a playoff system that has seen several changes in such as short span, the schedule has been relatively unchanged  and would undoubtedly add a spark to the final 10 races.

3. Fewer Races on Cable: When networks like FOX and NBC signed on to broadcast races, some were put on Fox Sorts 1 and NBCSN in order to help viewership of the channels. Although there is merit to the idea, many fans simply can not afford to pay to watch these channels. Adding more races back to network TV will help the old fans keep u with the sport and even attract new ones.

2. Rules Transparency: NASCAR has frustrated not only teams with its inconsistency in rules over the years, but now fans as well. Many times, decisions have felt almost arbitrary when it comes to cautions, penalties and more. Although it is good that the sanctioning body does have control over the sport, creating more consistency will help gain some of the credibility that has been called into question.

1. Changes to the cars: In July, a low-downforce package was introduced at Kentucky with great applause. It has only been used once since then. Putting control back in the drivers has added intrigue to some of the races, and adding the horsepower back could be the missing piece for the on-track racing issues.

Enjoy your week and see you soon.