The first decade of this century has been one of great change for auto racing, the sport we call NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). TV audience ratings have been falling and despite ticket price reductions, so has attendance at NASCAR races since peaking in 2006. The struggles of the auto industry in general may be part of the pall which seems to have fallen upon this sport. Some people blame changes made to increase the safety of the vehicles after the death of one of the sports’ most recognizable drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., during a race in 2001 for the declines in NASCAR audiences. Others suspect the recession is having a harder impact on fans of NASCAR than it is on fans of other sports. Whatever the cause, the sport is, for now, in decline.

Today’s market size is the estimated attendance at NASCAR races in the United States for the 2006 and 2010 seasons.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2006 and 2010
Market size: 4.6 and 3.6 million respectively
Source: Nate Ryan, “Action on Track Isn’t Helping NASCAR Attendance, Ratings,” USA Today, February 18, 2011, page 2A.
Original source: NASCAR estimates