[RBurns17]

Probably a myriad of things, but the divisive nature of race fans is pretty high up there and non-wing fans and late model fans are the worst offenders and it turns off what would be casual fans and creates a rivalry and conflict where there doesn't need to be one. Stuff like "who the hell would ever watch x series, it's awful and boring and blah blah blah." I could watch turtle racing and get enough enjoyment out of it to not complain that much.

Outside of that probably charging as much as a top level boxing ppv for live streams, features that end in sunlight, a lack of leadership at a national level from anyone who has an incentive to grow the sport, an aging demographic that doesn't attract many sponsors for teams, tracks, or sanctioning bodies, poor national level payouts, a sanctioning body with a stranglehold on the sport that pays their CEO $340,000 (roughly 10 times what they spend on marketing) and doesn't seem to have a clue how to attract new fans, break into mainstream recognition, or keep the talent that can draw in a wider audience.

And, as bad as I hate to say it, when you project yourself like a budget brand, people are going to look at you like a budget brand. Personally, I think non-wing sprints have the best racing in the country with some of the best talent, but when you have the top echelon of the sport posting pictures of someone holding a $5,000 check for winning Sprint Week, or for winning the non-wing portion of the Four Crown, it makes you look budget. And, in the mind of a casual fan, this matters a great deal when it comes to the perception of the sport and how exciting it is. Winged racing has tv contracts, winged racing has 50k and 100k crown jewel races, winged racing has brandable names that stick around, and so winged racing is perceived by the passerby as being the superior form of the sport.

I've always loved midgets but, being just shy of 30, I can remember a point in my youth where when the USAC midgets came to town basically everyone outside of very hardcore open wheel loyalists would collectively roll their eyes because of how the series was perceived at the time. "They're boring," "they flip way too much, there's a yellow every two laps," "the racing is awful," etc etc. Today pretty much everyone turns their heads for the midget portion and what has changed? The racing is the same. They get on their lids at a pretty equal rate. But, there are a bunch of drivers who are insanely loyal to the class, even after moving on and they have a crown jewel race that gets national tv coverage. Again, they still have the mantra that actually paying the drivers a fair share of the money they're bringing in is out of the question, but they're hitting a couple of the checkboxes and there is clearly a direct correlation between how big that single race gets, and how exciting the average person perceives the midgets to be.

Also, maybe what you're taking issue with is that different people have different tastes and it doesn't actually take being brainwashed for someone to get excited about the speed, grace, and almost hypnotic choreography of a winged sprint car race.