Lower attendance and TV ratings aren't "proof" that every change was a mistake. There were a lot of factors beyond NASCAR's control that hurt attendance and TV ratings for essentially every sport except football.
Except that NO sport in the history of sports has lost as many fans, TV and live, than NASCAR ins such a time period. Thus the whole "outside factors" silliness is just that, silly.
Reality is that NASCAR had a culture of listening to who paid the bills. For a long time that was RJR, in the person of T. Wayne Robertson, who was a natural promoter, LIKED NASCAR, and understood it and the people it appealed to. When RJR left, that became the TV networks, particularly NBC, which sent down a bunch of empty suit people from HQ who did not understand NASCAR, did not like NASCAR, and had abject contempt for the type of person who did.
They were listened to.
Spec cars were a necessary move to allow there to be more than just 3-4 teams being able to afford to field cars. If you'd prefer to watch 20 non-spec cars in a race rather than 40 spec cars, you're probably in the minority.
I would prefer to watch 43 cars, the number that NASCAR could attract under previous rules. Spec cars, the so called Car of Tomorrow led to fiascos like the 08 Brickyard 400. Imagine a world where people that believe in such stupidity were disregarded, and the IMS race still draws a full house, not the 10% crowd it did last non covid time.
If ratings are worse because they no longer allow dangerous things like racing back to the caution, then that's life.
Please list the major accidents caused in the over 50 years of the ultra safe practice of racing back to the caution.
I will help you out. There were none. Because racing back to the caution is ultra safe.
The new road courses this year are replacing a second race at Texas, the race at a Chicago track that's exactly like about a dozen other tracks, and the Indy Oval which just isn't suited to stock cars. Nobody is going to miss what's been replaced.
If you like road courses, find a race series, I suggest IMSA, that is about them. NASCAR is about ovals.
Yes, when NASCAR was well run, its popularity exploded and tracks were built around the country. So NASCAR could have a presence in more places. Just like when pro football exploded a generation before, proper football fields were built in new metro area. Not goofy gimmicks. Proper football fields.
Also, you're one of few who would have watched the last two races after Kevin Harvick clinched the championship at Texas in the non-playoff world.
Umm, the howcome the ratings during the well run era was so far higher than these idiotic playoffs are.
And, why would ANYONE watch a random race in June, when ALL THAT MATTERS is this playoffs, which produce a completely random result in no way reflective of a true "champion"? Just tune in for the last half hour of the playoffs.
Why watch a race when you know who is "champion" of the year? Because in the well run era winning the championship (which was a legitimate thing, not a random result like today) was ONE measure of who had a good year, along with winning major races, multiple races, etc. But the all consuming most important thing each week was WHO WON THE RACE!!!
