Harvick feels Sprint Cup schedule is Stagnant
Q) THERE HAS BEEN A LOT MADE ABOUT DECLINING ATTENDANCE AND FAN SUPPORT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW NASCAR CAN GROW THE FAN BASE?
Harvick: "I mean the last three races that we went to last year were sold out. I don't know that is a 100 percent true statement. I think it just depends on where you go and what you do. Now, if you want to talk about growing the sport I believe that some venues need one race. I believe that the schedule needs to be mixed up. People like things that change they don't like stagnant things. In my opinion the most stagnant thing in our sport is our schedule and our venues that we go to. You can beat a dead horse as much as you want, but it doesn't come back to life. And sometimes you just have to change things up to keep the excitement and enthusiasm in the sport. I think our schedule is definitely the weak link along with some of the venues that we go to. That is my opinion."
Q) IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE WHAT THREE OR FOUR PLACES WOULD YOU ADD TO THE SCHEDULE?
Harvick: "I know the first place I would go is Iowa. I think that everybody wants to see more short tracks and more venues. I think road racing – we have a couple of road races on the schedule and most every team has two road race cars and spends a lot of money on their road race program. Adding a road race here or there would definitely be something that I would vote for just for the fact internationally road racing is very recognizable to race fans. Whether it be Formula 1 or any other form of racing there are not many ovals. You could take your pick on road courses, Montreal (Canada) does a great job, you could go to Laguna Seca (California), you could go anywhere in the world and race on a road course. There are lots of good venues. I would have to really think about the rest of the question. I have always been a fan of let's go to the banquet and roll the pills around of race tracks across the country and have a wild card race every year. Go to the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Mile and really you could go to test these venues and see how the markets react. And see the reaction you get from the market, even if you only have 30 or 40 thousand people in the grandstands if you put on a good event for TV and do the things that it takes to have a unique event that is really what people want. They want unique things." Team Chevy