When Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he would be retiring from driving in the Cup Series full-time, a lot of people in NASCAR immediately went into a frenzy.
Now in 2018 the sports is entering the post-Dale Jr. era and it will be interesting to see what happens. Speedway Motorsports Inc. chief strategy officer Mike Burch has come forward and said the sky isn't falling, according to a statement from Burch reported by Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern.
SMI chief strategy officer @mike_burch says the sky is not falling in the post-@DaleJr era: "The trends are really positive. Ticket sales are trending in a really good direction for the majority of our races." pic.twitter.com/Xm6YHd5l27
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) January 26, 2018
He said they've had to deal with the absence of big stars such as Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Jeff Gordon in the past and each time -- the sport goes on.
While it's tough losing talented and popular drivers, the sport is poised to live on with an astonishing amount of talent it has in the ranks. He feels good about the direction in which things are heading and is excited about the sport's future.
"The trends are really positive," Burch said in the statement. "Ticket sales are trending in a really good direction for the majority of our races."