NASCAR and the NHL

I'm not a big fan of NASCAR head honcho Brian France. That is because he sees dollar signs without a clue as to how NASCAR became the big time moneymaker that it currently is. This fool thinks the future of NASCAR lies with Mexicans, New Yorkers, the French, the Chinese, etc. What France needs to understand is that trees don't keep growing to the sky forever.

The NHL did not learn this lesson, and now, they are paying for it. The hockey head honchos pushed hockey out of its Northern/Canadian fanbase into places like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Tampa. The dream was to be the fourth major sport behind football, baseball, and basketball. The result has been a diluted league with financial troubles and dwindling popularity.

Hockey is a great sport. But with that said, when the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup, I couldn't tell you one person from this region who gave a shit. Yet, that same victory by the Rangers or the Red Wings would have been a huge deal back in New York or Detroit. The lesson? Dance with the one that brung you.

NASCAR is following a similar shitheaded strategy trying to appeal beyond its fanbase and shed its Southern image. This is a mistake. It's like a guy who thinks his wife won't mind if he keeps a girlfriend on the side. Dumb.

The NHL loses money now because Northern folks aren't going to watch a Stanley Cup match that doesn't have their team in it while Southern and Western fans aren't going to watch because they don't give a fuck. Similarly, when NASCAR cancels out Darlington and Talladega for New York City and Ontario, they will experience the same thing. And don't even get me started on Mexico.

NASCAR has done just fine with its growth without forcing the issue. But greed overcomes common sense. Bubbles form and pop, and if France doesn't watch out, he'll have brought NASCAR to something like the IRL or CART. That would be a real shame.

Folks, the end will come when rebel flags are banned from raceways. That is the sign that the four horseman are riding, and NASCAR as we know it will be over. And that day draws closer than you think.

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