NASCAR Mailbag: Addressing fan questions and concerns

1. Why does NASCAR believe they're better off changing everything to attract new fans, instead of undoing and reverting back to basics to regain former fans? Seems like they are better off going after people that already know they exist. 

Hey Kyle, although I'll agree NASCAR needs to stay truer to their roots, there's no going back, only improving on the present. From a championship standpoint, I believe the Chase/playoff system was needed and has helped the sport despite the contingent of fans that dislike it. An area they can certainly improve on though is the race tracks. All these near-interchangeable 1.5 milers aren't interesting old fans or attracting new ones. However, going back to their roots with the Southern 500 at Darlington was a massive success and revived what was a dying race. I'd like to see more old school short tracks and a few more road courses. - Nick DeGroot

2. Where's the new Chevy body? When will it come out? Is this the start of a Hendrick Motorsports slump? Or a Richard Childress Racing, rain? 

Hey Dyson, Chevy will unveil its new model for the 2018 NASCAR season on August 10 at GM Global Headquarters in Detroit. Perhaps the return of the Monte Carlo? As for Hendrick Motorsports being in a slump, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott have been solid this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a little slow out of the blocks. Kasey Kahne has been in a slump since 2014. Before this season, RCR showed few signs of life since Kevin Harvick left the company. With the possibility of Paul Menard leaving at the end of the year, RCR will have to find a new source of sponsorship money. The best way to attract sponsors is by winning. – Lee Spencer

3. How are we going to see the entire road course at Charlotte with all the buildings and vehicles on the infield? 

Hey Ginny, most of the buildings are single-level structures, so I don’t think that will be an issue when the drivers debut on the Roval next September. Certainly, the best seats to view the majority of the 13-turn, 2.4-mile course will be at the south end of the front stretch, entering Turn 1. Also, the 35-foot elevation change between Turn 4 (just inside the middle of the backstretch) and Turn 10 (where the cars will re-enter the oval) will help with sight-lines. – Lee Spencer

4. I am very concerned that the constant and on-going tweaking by NASCAR of the schedule, the rules, the race format, the championship format has resulted in a stew of confusion for the fan base. NASCAR used to be a predictably good time. Now, it seems, the fan is trying to understand just what the heck is going on during the race, between the races, etc. from a strategic standpoint. Maybe the teams are as well. Do you think NASCAR is unwittingly alienating the hard core fans, let alone scaring off new ones? As a fan, my question is: Who is NASCAR thinking of more, the fan, or TV "entertainment". 

Hey Phil, it's true that too much change can be a bad thing. I think NASCAR needs to find a format they like and stick with it. And although I doubt the constant change would scare off the casual fan, it may disillusion the die-hards who are invested in the races. As for the last part of your question, the answer is simply both. They're trying to create an entertaining product for TV that entices fans, but as we've seen in the past, that has led them astray (such as the infamous 'modernizing tradition' movement). But today, they have a great competition with great personalities, but the constant changes, lack of passing on bigger tracks and stale schedule are things they still need to address. - Nick DeGroot

Click on the following links to the following NASCAR series:

NASCAR overall coverage click Here

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series click Here

NASCAR Xfinity Series click Here

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series click Here

NASCAR (Canada) Pinty’s Series click Here

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series click Here

NASCAR Mexico click Here

Do you have a question?

Fans submit your questions each week to NASCARmailbag@motorsport.com. Responses will be reported generally once a week during the NASCAR season (Usually on Thursdays) Please submit your questions to the above email address.

You can also reach Jim Utter, Lee Spencer, Nick DeGroot and Tim Southers on Twitter at @jim_utter,  @candicespencer, @ndegroot89 and @TimSouthers, respectively. Use the hashtags #AskJim, #AskLee, #AskNick or #AskTim when submitting a question through Twitter.