NASCAR fans long for the sport they once loved. Gone, they say, is the series that encouraged ingenuity, rewarded hard work and supported the underdog.

Instead, fans see the Car of Tomorrow and other recent changes sanitizing the sport and robbing it of its soul.

They are not alone. Television ratings for Cup races are down a second consecutive year and there are more empty seats at tracks. As much as fans complain, many admit that they continue to follow the sport.

As Jimmie Johnson nears his second series title, The Roanoke Times asked fans what's right and wrong with the sport. Ninety-four people answered in interviews, e-mail and, one, in a four-page handwritten letter. Respondents in this unscientific poll ranged in age from 10-81. They represented 16 states and Canada and included those attending their first race to those who spent $5,000 on travel, tickets and trinkets this year.

More than 20 percent of the fans who responded hate the Car of Tomorrow, which will be used in every race next year. Fans also dislike NASCAR's officiating, the Chase for the Nextel Cup and guaranteed starting spots.

Fans stated that the best thing about NASCAR is its carnival-like atmosphere of sights and sounds. They also applauded the racing, the Car of Tomorrow (citing its safety features), the Chase and accessibility to drivers.

Negative responses, though, outnumbered positive remarks nearly 2-to-1.

"I honestly cannot think of any major points to say what is right with NASCAR at this point of the year," wrote 46-year-old Jim Bleam of Virginia Beach, Va., in an e-mail.

"I believe that too much change, too fast, has not been good for NASCAR."

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No topic divided fans as much as the Car of Tomorrow, used in 16 of this season's 36 races. NASCAR created the car to improve safety, contain costs and enhance competition.

While no driver suffered injuries racing the car, few competitors endorsed it. Drivers and crew chiefs complained that NASCAR's restrictions make it difficult to adjust the car.

Many fans bemoan NASCAR's attempt to limit a crew chief's creative setup. They say the sport is as much about mechanics as drivers, recalling the exploits of Smokey Yunick, Junior Johnson and Ray Evernham, who each helped expand NASCAR's rule book with their tricks.

"If your team is better at making adjustments than somebody else and you have an advantage, that's part of competition," said 45-year-old Vickie Koenig of Carrollton, Texas, at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month.

Raymond Kurtz suggests that fans accept the car for what it is.

"Stock cars are no longer stock," the 48-year-old Portsmouth, Va., resident wrote in an e-mail.

"Even the Dodge Charger bears only a slight resemblance to the car you see on the street. The COT will help NASCAR improve safety and uniformity among the teams. The problem with bringing out something new is that it always meets with resistance. If NASCAR sticks with it, it might have a chance to succeed."

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Fans don't mind freebies at the track but not all want drivers getting a free pass into the race each weekend.

Fans don't like the rule that guarantees a starting spot to the top 35 teams in car owner points. Add a champion's provisional to the lineup and that leaves seven open spots in a 43-car field. This handicaps low-budget, underdog teams by reducing their chances of making races.

"This system is ridiculous," wrote 46-year-old Bill Byrd of Suffolk, Va. "The day has come where the fastest 43 should race every week. If for some reason the guy leading the points does not get in, oh well!"

Added 59-year-old Gil Stouch of Union Hall, Va.: "[The top 35 rule] may have been appropriate when there were a lack of fully funded teams -- but not anymore. In drag racing, even a John Force has missed the cut -- that's part of life."

Many fans also wish the Chase did not exist. They don't like a championship that rewards a driver and team for their performance over 10 weeks instead of a 36-race season.

Auto racing was one of the lone sports that awarded its title based on season-long performance. NASCAR Chairman Brian France instituted the Chase in 2004 to create late-season excitement. NASCAR expanded the Chase this year from 10 to 12 drivers and gave bonus points for winning in the first 26 races.

Mike Sanofsky disdains such alterations.

"Stick with the rules you make," said the 40-year-old from Talkingrock, Ga., who camped in the infield at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "You don't see any other sport changing the rules on a yearly basis."

How NASCAR's rules are enforced also irks fans.

They don't understand why the caution does not come out for a spin early in a race but does for a spin later in the race? Why do infractions that seem similar receive different penalties? Why can't NASCAR go back to its roots and let the drivers settle matters, wonders 40-year-old John Tankersley of Warner Robbins, Ga.

"That's what we pay our money for," he said.

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Not all is wrong with the sport, though. Even with empty seats, many tracks have larger crowds than most other U.S. sporting events.

Even the crowds can be captivating.

"It's like a circus, it's awesome," said 29-year-old Emilio Sanchez of Yuma, Ariz., last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.

The adventure begins before fans enter the stands. Souvenir haulers are parked near sponsor displays where drivers sign autographs race morning. Games are held and bands play in a family friendly version of Woodstock outside the track.

The real show is inside, though.

"I've been going since 1990 and still tear up when every spectator says the Pledge of Allegiance, says "Amen" after the prayer and [then] the flyover!" wrote 44-year-old Sarah Lascara of Chesapeake, Va.

"And when the drivers start their cars ... there is nothing like it. Most of the races I go to are with my girlfriends. I'm pretty sure there is no other sport where women attend because they love it as much as the men do."

Shannon Gallagher, 36, of Phoenix, estimates he and his wife spend about $5,000 attending six Cup races a year but he doesn't mind.

"Life is short," he said, "and you've got to have fun."

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Although Jim Bleam can't find anything right with NASCAR, he'll be at his Virginia Beach home today, hosting eight friends, and watching the Homestead race.

"The love of the sport is still with me," Bleam said earlier this week. "We grew up with it and it's not like there's anything else we're going to go and watch."

Even so, isn't there something else he could be doing?

"We're just watching ... hoping something is going to change, hoping something is going to make us interested and happy," he said. "We're longing for the old days because we know how it used to be."