For Johnson fans it was good news, but others in NASCAR didn’t see the previous season as all that glamorous. NASCAR battled declining TV ratings and attendance.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway President Jerry Gappens says NASCAR has sustained a 67 percent drop in interest from the coveted 18- to 34-year-old demographic and is “at the tail end of losing a whole generation.” Television ratings have cratered and attendance continued to flag despite a compelling season and the most interesting Chase for the Championship ever.

NASCAR’s woes involve more than the financial plight of its fans. After years of wild growth, the sport faces great self-evaluation as it attempts to prevent a recession out of the major leagues.

For the past several years, NASCAR has been trying to promote a friendly-oriented approach. It encourages drivers such as Johnson and Jeff Gordon to bring their babies to the track, so they can be seen by viewers on television. Another angle NASCAR has taken is to introduce Hollywood celebrities during racing events, in hopes of creating more “glitz.”

One of the latest drivers to try his hand in Hollywood is Carl Edwards

Edwards has been cast in HBO’s forthcoming Civil War mini-series, “To Appomattox,” as Gen. John B. Gordon, a Confederate general selected by Robert E. Lee to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia. The real Gordon became one of the two authors of “Honor Answering Honor” and, by this gesture, returned the private Southern soldier to the Union with respect and dignity.

The series centers around the final battle of the Civil War and stars Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”) as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, William Petersen (“CSI”) as Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Paul Giamatti (“John Adams”) as James “Pete” Longstreet and Bill Paxton (“Big Love”) as Stonewall Jackson. The series is in discussions with additional NASCAR drivers to play other roles.

There was much hype about Danica Patrick’s 13-race Nationwide Series excursion into NASCAR this past season. It was documented with opinion-page scrutiny and reality-show drama. Crowds swarmed her, especially early in the season at Daytona. Other drivers humored her, then stopped abruptly late in the season, leading the 28-year-old IndyCar star to ask if she had a target on her person or race car.

Ultimately, the statistical analysis was mundane: an average finish of 28th with three DNFs. Her final race of the season, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, was her best, starting fifth, finishing 19th. She’ll do it all again in 2011, and the drama this time around will be the fact that she’s racing in a contract year with both her IndyCar team and JR Motorsports.

Unless her performance improves, she is not likely to garner as much attention as she did this past season. The new has worn off.

There are various theories about the causes for NASCAR’s decline, and one of them involves Patrick’s car-owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

He needs to win some races. He leads the sport in fans, T-shirt sales and commercials, but he rarely leads a race. The move to Hendrick Motorsports didn’t produce the expected success, but if he could get one or two checkered flags, 2011 could be a different story.

For more sports news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.