“Hard to fault fans”: NASCAR insider makes a bold statement on alarming turnout at Bristol and Martinsville

NASCAR journalist Jordan Bianchi recently held a Q&A session before the Cup Series Easter break. The series will not have a race on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, for the first time in three years. The governing body will return for 28 consecutive weeks from the Talladega Superspeedway race next weekend.

Multiple reporters questioned Bianchi during the session about low attendance at Bristol and Martinsville Speedways. Also, among the reporters, one asked to what degree the governing body is sustained by "TV money."

Jordan Bianchi revealed the sanctioning body doesn't share how many people attended the event and said (via NYTimes.com):

"With NASCAR not publicizing attendance figures, it’s hard to know if the sport is facing a bigger overall problem or if Bristol and Martinsville should be considered outliers."

He further explained that bad weather conditions kept fans away from attending the events. The rain forecast sabotaged Martinsville's sales, while Bristol Motor Speedway was rainy and cold.

"Hard to fault fans for not wanting to come out for either race, and each track also has a second date that tends to resonate more with the ticket-buying public," Bianchi boldly added.

The reporter concluded that filling grandstands is important, but not NASCAR's current top priority. The "best barometer" is TV ratings, and stock car racing is performing well on this front. Last week, viewership was a little off, but despite that, it was the second most-watched sport of the week behind the Masters.

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NASCAR updated the DVP policy after the Bristol Speedway race

Ahead of the 2025 season, NASCAR updated the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP), handing drivers a chance to compete in the race after sustaining damage. However, the rule is further modified, and now the governing body allows the team to change the diffuser flaps once the car enters the garage.

The previous rule stated that if a car is severely damaged or should be towed to the pits, it would be out of the race immediately. Furthermore, the rule permitted seven minutes to repair the car and send it back on the track. If a team fails to do so, the car is disqualified.

For this season, the time still stands, but if it takes longer than seven minutes, the team must repair the car in their Cup Series garage without worrying about being eliminated. The stock car racing analyst Bob Pockrass revealed the news and wrote (via X):

"NASCAR updated its Cup DVP policy where it used to not allow teams to replace the diffuser flaps but now they can replace the diffuser flaps (extensions) when making their repairs."

The rule was recently used during the Darlington Raceway event, where Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson wrecked his #5 Chevy on lap four. He was allowed to repair his car and compete in the race.