No NASCAR on the radio in Cincinnati

NASCAR fans in the Cincinnati area rejoiced when Kentucky Speedway was granted a Sprint Cup race. It’s what fans in the Queen City have been hoping for ever since the little track in Sparta opened up in 2000.

The only thing is, no one in Cincinnati seems to care one lick about the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Or at least it seems that way to me. Ever try to listen to a race on the radio in Cincinnati? Good luck finding the station it’s on.

There is no MRN or PRN affiliate in Cincinnati. Kind of shocking, right? The closest MRN and PRN affiliates to the Cincinnati metro area are Lawrenceburg’s 99.3 WSCH-FM and Dayton’s 980 WONE-AM.

“It’s not real promising. The market is not conducive for us with all the music formats,” Cheryl Knight, MRN affiliate manager, told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The market should be brimming with offers to carry the Sprint Cup race. It’s a little surprising.”

Not really. Not in this town at least.

I brought this point up a few weeks ago on Twitter while I was trying to tune into the Talladega race from the East Side of town. I couldn’t pick up 99.3 on the East Side and it only got slightly better as I drove back toward my home in Delhi.

If this city is serious about having and holding onto a Sprint Cup date, it better get serious about welcoming NASCAR year round. There are plenty of NASCAR fans in this area, and we’re arguably the most passionate fanbase in all of America.

So, if you’re running a radio station in Cincinnati why not step up and take on PRN/MRN? My opinion: because there’s still a stigma on NASCAR. It’s a Southern, redneck, hillbilly sport that no one cares about. Or at least I think that’s what they’d say.

Until then, we’ll be stretching our antennas to listen to Lawrenceburg. And that is just plain sad.