[NOTE: In recent years, I've tried really hard to understand the present just as much as the past. My work with Google Trends is very much in-progress and I invite critiques from everybody. Qualitative assessments from motorsports fans, leaders, and teams would be helpful. Input from Ph.D. economists with strong backgrounds in VAR and …
“We’ll race like this until we kill somebody.” — Carl Edwards, 2009. In 1975, Dr. Sam Peltzman hypothesized that more automobile safety regulations lead to offsetting behavior by participants; that is, as drivers gain comfort through safety enhancements, they drive more recklessly. This phenomenon is known as the Peltzman Effect. …
EDIT: This most recent update includes NASCAR’s official changes to the points system. All of them. If you have questions, please contact …
The objectives of this entry are to explain the chief factors that drive NASCAR’s household television audiences, to review briefly last season’s …
NASCAR’s top “minor league” is the Nationwide Series. Many drivers and teams from the sanctioning body’s premier level — the Cup Series …
I recently shared a graph which charts the television ratings for INDYCAR’s IndyCar Series from 1996 through today. I plotted each race’s …
In motorsports, a yellow flag indicates that a hazard on the track exists. During that period, all teams must adhere to the …
NPR’s Mr. Frank Deford theorizes that NASCAR’s overall decline in fascination is due, in part, to the “diminishing returns” on speed and …
[NOTE: The purse size -- a factor which I incorporate into the attendance model to gauge the "prestige" of an event -- …
I’ve received several inquiries pondering attendance and how it’s changed over time. In my last entry, “Understanding Attendance,” I pointed out two …