For many sports fans around the country, this weekend’s NASCAR season finale – the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway – is going widely unnoticed. It could be argued in fact, most of the 10-race Championship chase has gone unnoticed!

According to NASCAR estimates, TV ratings have declined from 2009 in the first nine races of the Chase (including a 24% drop for last Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway), and attendance has been down for seven races and flat in the other two.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston says it's because there's a lag time for the sport's fan base to appreciate a new era of looser rules enforcement designed to enhance competition.

In a recent USA Today article, Poston said:

"It takes time to translate into ratings and ticket sales. We have a lot of fans whose favorite drivers retired or left the sport whether it was Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace or Dale Earnhardt. We're in a transition period of new drivers and viable champions who will attract new fans. The elements are there, but it doesn't happen overnight. With all the work we've done over the last 18 months, it will pay off and translate into more growth."

It appears to me, NASCAR’s PR machine is reaching deep into the barrel of optimism to explain away its declining popularity. In spite of its implementation of double-file restarts, the “Boys, have at it,” mandate and reduced ticket prices at many venues, there are still lots of empty seats at the track and TVs turned to the NFL on race day.

It may be time to quit the “stick and ball” sport format, and go back to the good old days – when personalities and a season’s worth of results determined champions!