Did Talladega Nights kill NASCAR?

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CatAlum

Well-known member
A great movie to take in 5-10 minute snippets to avoid watching too much of the Browns…

Jean Gerard asks Ricky…”do you know why I came to America?” Ricky…”I don’t know…the same reasons as everyone else? Public schools, health care, giant water parks”?

I did a quick google…NASCAR’s popularity peaked in 2005…Talladega Nights was released in 2006…

NASCAR’s ratings are about a third of what they were in ‘05. Is Talladega Night’s spoof on NASCAR responsible….in whole or in part?
 
 
Racing across the world went down after the 08 recession. Now has had a pretty big increase after covid. A lot to do with Larson running local dirt tracks
 
NASCAR died with Dale Sr.

They tried, but couldn't replace the anti-hero.


*There's more to it, but that was the beginning of what NASCAR is today.
 
NASCAR killed itself through a combination of moves. They caught lightning in a bottle by moving many races out of the SE but alienated many of their core fans in the process and did a poor job of handling the rapid growth from fans in other parts of the country who weren’t going to stick around for the long term. Next came the Chase for the Championship which diminished the importance of the early season races. Lastly, came the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow. The drivers hated them, and it was the final nail in the coffin for people thinking there was still anything “stock” about the cars. My interest in the sport peaked in 2004.
 
Well, I bring up the movie because NASCAR appealed to a somewhat narrow cultural demographic and had desires to expand. I think the movie is very funny but also bigoted. The movie has had a very long shelf life and I have wondered if the whole NASCAR world (racers and fans) became a laugh line for the larger society…
 
What primarily killed NASCAR is that it is not a sport that is designed for the short attention span social media driven times we are now living in. Some other factors also play apart, namely lack of charismatic drivers and its not a great gambling sport with lack of prop bets that keep folks engaged to watch on live TV.
 
CatAlum said:
Well, I bring up the movie because NASCAR appealed to a somewhat narrow cultural demographic and had desires to expand. I think the movie is very funny but also bigoted. The movie has had a very long shelf life and I have wondered if the whole NASCAR world (racers and fans) became a laugh line for the larger society…
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I've wondered the same about the TikTok world.

But - who cares if the world laughs at the stereotypes? Isn't that the purpose of making comedies, to make fun of stereotypes?

Full disclosure: never seen the movie, no real desire to see it, and NASCAR doesn't appeal to me. But Mr. Slippery's analysis seems to be on point, IMO.
 
Another thing that slowly killed NASCAR's popularity was Jimmie Johnson's systematic domination of the series during the late 2000s. Nice, well-spoken guy who got results, but his approach was very calculated and boring to a lot of fans. Fans of other drivers could only watch so much of it before deciding they were wasting their time hoping for a different outcome.
 
CatAlum said:
A great movie to take in 5-10 minute snippets to avoid watching too much of the Browns…

Jean Gerard asks Ricky…”do you know why I came to America?” Ricky…”I don’t know…the same reasons as everyone else? Public schools, health care, giant water parks”?

I did a quick google…NASCAR’s popularity peaked in 2005…Talladega Nights was released in 2006…

NASCAR’s ratings are about a third of what they were in ‘05. Is Talladega Night’s spoof on NASCAR responsible….in whole or in part?
Click to expand...
If you find those numbers interesting, then you should check out what the TV ratings are for pro wrestling now compared to what they were in the late '90s compared to what they were at any time before Vincent K. McMahon bought the WWWF (later the WWF, later WWE) from his father and began his bid for national expansion in the early '80s.
 
The series just became boring. There were no real personalities left after Dale was killed. The cars become so similar and equivalent that instead of racing it became a train of cars with drafting more important than power dictating position. Restrictor plates and nice guys like Jimmy Johnson lulled the fans to sleep.
 
Mr. Slippery said:
Another thing that slowly killed NASCAR's popularity was Jimmie Johnson's systematic domination of the series during the late 2000s. Nice, well-spoken guy who got results, but his approach was very calculated and boring to a lot of fans. Fans of other drivers could only watch so much of it before deciding they were wasting their time hoping for a different outcome.
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I was a big NASCAR fan in the late 90s and early 00s. My wife and I went to races (Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond, Charlotte, Michigan, Brickyard, Rockingham) and I watched almost every race on TV.

I can’t put a finger on the exact reason why I stopped watching. Probably a combination of all the things mentioned - the chase, car of tomorrow, etc. And there was definitely something to the aspect of “boring” drivers like Johnson. Also Matt Kenneth used to drive me nuts b/c he’d just cruise around and always finish like 7th or 8th (rarely ever go for the win) and end up contending for the cup by being ultra conservative.

I liked Dale Sr. I liked Tony Stewart. I liked drivers who weren’t afraid to trade paint and use their bumper to get ahead. I liked guys who would do risky things to try to win, and not be satisfied with top 10 finishes.

The other thing that impacted my fandom was fatherhood. I was really into racing and going to races before I had kids. And continued to follow it when my kids were young. But eventually my kids got into sports and we spent our spring/summer weekends at soccer, baseball, and then lacrosse games.

But Talledega Nights had nothing to do with it. I loved the movie and remember going to watch it as soon as it came out with a friend who was a big NASCAR fan.
 
mcm.1019 said:
NASCAR died when they implemented stages and messed with the chase for the cup.
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Facts!!
Tesoro said:
Who has that much time to waste?
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So true. Go Camp watch Races, eat and drink all day. Spend a Grand plus few weekends a year at NASCAR events. This gets really expensive really quick. Can go to few Local College Football Games tailgate before and after and it’s WAY WAY Cheaper!!
 
CatAlum said:
Well, I bring up the movie because NASCAR appealed to a somewhat narrow cultural demographic and had desires to expand. I think the movie is very funny but also bigoted. The movie has had a very long shelf life and I have wondered if the whole NASCAR world (racers and fans) became a laugh line for the larger society…
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You bring up the movie because you’re stupid
 
zeeman said:
You bring up the movie because you’re stupid
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He probably wanted to spin off into some toothless hillbillies tangent, and bring it full circle to MAGA.

My interest in racing peaked in about ’81, with the Parking Lot Drag at the old Cloverleaf Speedway in Valley View. You could watch your gearhead buddies race their cars against another amateur and try not to get bashed up.

Nobody could ever beat old Don Ish in his Pontiac station wagon, though.
 
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