Now Jerry Bonkowski thinks NASCAR has a monopoly - Kentucky Speedway agrees and has filed an anti-trust suit. Why? Because they own 12 tracks and hold 19 of 36 races on those 12 tracks.
I fail to see how this is a monopoly. Think about it. You have NASCAR, they have a product, NASCAR stock car racing. There are other companies providing similar products. They all distribute their product in different ways, NASCAR chooses to distribute theirs just over 50% through their own distributorships and 50% through customer distributorships.
Now, let's compare this to another industry: home computers.
For years, Dell and Gateway only sold computers over the phone and through the internet. Did they lose customers this way? Sure did, that's why they now sell computers at retail. But did anyone complain? Nope. It's their product and they can distribute it anyway they want. Dell and Gateway did 100% not 50% through their own distributors.
Now, NASCAR can only run so many races, and certain racetracks have an overwhelming popularity, there their are 2 races their every year. If you're a NASCAR fan in an area without a race, will this make you happy? No. Not really. But is NASCAR going to make every happy? No. That's why you have other stock car racing organiations and other forms of racing such as Formula 1, Formula SAe, Formula D, NHRA, AI and AIX, et cetera.
Maybe instead, NASCAR should rotate from year to year, the races at less popular tracks. But then, that's only if they want to, a court shouldn't have any say in it, and if they do, it'll be just as much of a travesty as Kelo v. New London.
Posted by Skywalker at July 20, 2005 08:13 PM