We’re celebrating our 40th anniversary with monthly dives into our archives. This look back is from our September 2005 issue.
NASCAR's Xfinity Series Playoffs and Monster Energy Cup Series visited Richmond Raceway Sept. 20-21. (Photo by Chris Smith)
In NASCAR’s heyday, technicolor personalities such as Richard “The King” Petty and Dale “The Intimidator” Earnhardt Sr. dominated tracks from Richmond to Daytona, Florida, in hell-bent-for-metal fashion. Fans responded in kind. Fueled by television in the 1980s and ’90s, ticket sales rocketed, and tracks including Richmond and Bristol expanded beyond 100,000 seats.
In September 2005, this magazine published a 32-page special project titled “Speeding Ahead: Why NASCAR Is Kicking Major League Butt.” At the time, five metropolitan areas — Daytona Beach, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta; Kansas City, Kansas; and the Richmond region — were vying to attract the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Charlotte won as the site of the museum, which opened in 2010. By then, NASCAR’s days of thunder had begun to fade. Charismatic drivers gradually gave way to more homogenous-looking and -sounding pilots. Earnhardt, NASCAR’s most bankable star, died while competing at Daytona in 2001. An economic downturn cast its tentacles across America by decade’s end. Fan interest waned, ticket sales dwindled. Popular drivers Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards retired in 2016. Dale Earnhardt Jr. hung up his helmet after the 2017 season. But change is in motion: In May, NASCAR announced plans to purchase International Speedway Corp., which owns 12 tracks, including Richmond Raceway.
There are also glimmers of hope. Attendance figures aren’t that far from NASCAR’s pre-boom days. Youngsters such as Chase Elliott, son of past champion Bill Elliott, show promise. Cars no longer look exactly alike. Distinction, perhaps on the way back, could signal a brighter day around the next turn.
