Kenny Wallace weighed in on the backlash surrounding NASCAR's recent decision to partner with Ticketmaster beginning in 2025. This move aims to provide a unified ticketing experience for fans according to NASCAR, as the platform has been a longtime partner with Speedway Motorsports.
There has been significant backlash from fans as Ticketmaster is generally unpopular with its users. The California-based company has gained notoriety for charging additional fees on ticket prices and for technical glitches, most notably during Taylor Swift's 2022 Eras Tour release.
Wallace acknowledged that Ticketmaster might not be the ideal ticketing platform but insisted that NASCAR fans shouldn't criticize every decision made by the organizers. He reckoned that the reaction would likely be different if the NFL made a similar announcement. He said on his Kenny Wallace Show:
"Drama beyond belief! NASCAR is announcing that they're going to use Ticketmaster and the fans are losing their minds. I don't know what to say because every sporting event and every concert event uses Ticketmaster right?.. It seems like anything NASCAR does is bad right? But if the NFL does it's like, 'Well we'll talk about it.'" [at 0:22]
Kenny Wallace admitted he didn't have much knowledge about Ticketmaster's services but was left wondering how the platform remains so widely used for major sporting events and concerts despite its negative reputation.
"If Ticketmaster is an issue, then why are all sporting events using them? And I get it, I'm with you all... I know, you all know way more about Ticketmaster than me. I get that, but my question is this, if Ticketmaster is so bad, which I agree, I'm going to go with you because I don't know... If they're so bad then why does the US government allow them? How are they able to get away with this?"
Wallace urged fans to educate him about the ticketing platform as he was baffled by the widespread criticism of NASCAR's latest move.
Kenny Wallace backs Denny Hamlin's opinion on NASCAR's short-track issues
NASCAR has struggled to improve its short-track racing product in the Next Gen era. The uneventful Bristol Night Race amplified the criticism to bring in wholesale changes to the short-track package.
Kenny Wallace sided with 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, who suggested that overhauling the cars would result in significant costs. Wallace remarked that NASCAR has put on a fantastic show this season and that a single race shouldn't change the narrative. He said in a video on his eponymous YouTube channel:
"We have raced all year long and the races have been fantastic. We have one bad race at Bristol and all of a sudden, ‘Let’s get rid of the car!'" (2:16)
"And like Denny Hamlin said, we cannot afford any more changes. So Denny Hamlin, who races right now, he, yesterday on Action Detrimental, he says I’m a car owner. He owns Bubba Wallace’s car and Tyler Reddick’s. ‘We don’t need any more changes. The teams can’t afford it,'" he added.
Kenny Wallace labeled the speculation about changing the entire car as stupid talk and "bull****", insisting it would never happen.
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