NFL, NBA Teams Announce Breaks for Fans in Need; What About NASCAR?

NASCAR fans are among the most loyal in all sports, and they come out en masse to see their heroes race around tracks throughout the country. 

At many of the tracks on the circuit, almost every seat is filled, often with fans who have saved the whole year just to get to that particular race.

As the national economy worsens, however, sports fans, including faithful NASCAR fans, are being greatly impacted.

Although the price of gas has come down, ticket prices aren't the only worry, the travel to get and stay at the venues is becoming more and more expensive.

Just this week, many of the other major national sports leagues and teams announced programs to try to help their particular sports fans.

The National Football League announced that they would reduce the price of their playoff tickets by 10 percent.  An NFL spokesman issued this statement, "We want to be responsive to the economic challenges facing our fans."

For the first time, the NFL has also cut prices for 1,000 tickets for the Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.  The league has decided to drop the prices by $200, again in a show of support for their loyal fans.

In an innovative effort to go even further to help fans in need, the NBA's New Jersey Nets are providing 1,500 free tickets over the next two months to fans who are unemployed.  All the fan has to do to qualify for this free ticket is to send in a resume in care of the team.

The Nets aren't stopping there.  They are taking this special fan assistance program even further by sending these fan resumes off to their 120 corporate sponsors, hoping to link their fans to jobs.

Nets Chief Executive Brett Yormark (who by the way used to be with NASCAR) said, "Our belief right now is, let's invest in people who might invest in us later.  In doing so, we can help people who need it most."

With all of these major sports teams and leagues jumping on the bandwagon to help fans suffering in this economy, where is NASCAR?

To date, there have been no announcements about any special offers for fans, especially related to ticket prices. 

In fact, in a recent interview with Homestead-Miami Speedway Track President Curtis Gray, he said they had no intention of reducing prices for Championship Weekend.

Gray advised that tickets were selling well and, while there were a few seats still available for the Ford Championship weekend, he had every confidence the race would be sold out. 

After all, there is so much to do in South Florida and South Beach that Gray was sure that fans would continue to flock to the track in spite of the economic pressures.

The only concession Gray would make on ticket prices was that fans who renewed their championship ticket package for 2009 at Homestead-Miami Speedway would be able to pay their tickets off in a new 50/50, two-installment plan.

That just does not seem to go quite as far as the more generous offers of other sports leagues, who truly are trying to do right by their fans. 

Again, NASCAR fans are extremely loyal, but if they don't have the money in their budget, having to decide between attending a race or food, prescriptions or sending a child to college, those once-filled seats may become emptier.

So NASCAR leadership, track presidents, and corporate sponsors, take notice of what is being done by your other sports competitors to help fans in troubled times. 

And when you gather in the ball room of the Waldorf Astoria to celebrate your champion and another race year, don't forget the fans, without whom you would have nothing.

Photo Credit:  Gary Buchanan, The Monster Mile, Dover, Del., 2008.

Sources for this article include the Associated Press, SI.com – a CNN Network Site, and Claire B. Lang, XM Satellite Radio.