Every time these threads start, there are always several posts from race fans here, that talk about how much better the older cars sounded, looked, and performed. Along with how much more exciting it was to watch when the racing strategy involved refueling, along with a lot of what has now been taken from the sport. All with some half baked idea of "improving" it by, "advancing technology".
NASCAR is dying because they are not giving the fans what attracted them to the sport in the first place. This silly stage racing, along with restrictor plates, small block dry sump engines, ridiculous oversized spoilers, and cars that have no resemblence of anything currently being produced by todays manufacturers, have all but ruined what used to be a fantastic sport. Now it's like watching a taxi cab race on life support.
Formula 1 isn't much better, if not worse. It has lost a full 1/3rd of it's audience since 2008. Over 200,000,000 (read 200 MILLION). When they actually sounded like race cars. And performed at the same levels they do now, a full decade later. That's not "improvement", but rather a good cure for insomnia.
https://www.racefans.net/2016/04/20/f1-has-lost-one-third-of-its-tv-audience-since-2008/
The fact is the fans have spoken. And most of them don't like what they're seeing. So they are responding by not watching it. Fans loved V-10 and V-12 Formula 1 engines, because they were exciting to watch and listen to. And while they may like V-6's in cars that also run on batteries when they drive to work in city traffic, they don't want to watch them drive around a race track for an hour and a half, playing follow the leader.
NASCAR was born out of production automobiles that people could actually purchase and relate to. Not tubular framed, composite covered abortions, that are lapping slower than they were 45 years ago at the same tracks.
These venues are drying up because the people in the stands, much like a lot of them here, don't like what they're seeing. And the reason they don't like it isn't because of the weather, social media, or the cost of tickets and motel rooms near the track. They don't like it because it is
boring. And that is not the way to advance a sport. But rather an all but sure way to kill it.