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NASCAR fans are a special breed of sports fans, and with it comes a certain identity or even stereotype among most people not in the know. With that being said though, NASCAR has been reinventing itself for bout the past half decade after NASCAR's long and sad fall from prominence. So today we are going to look at all of this and how the fanbase may have just started to buy into NASCAR's grand plan for the future. I may be wrong about it but both from concrete changes, real data in popularity, and anecdotal evidence I want to make a case. This is how NASCAR fans have changed.
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60 comments
In what ways do you think NASCAR fans have changed and how confident are you for NASCAR’s future?
I would say yes for Nascar Is Change and Not the Old Bad day ever.
McDowell Supremacy!
I’m not confident at all, NASCAR may have bounced from rock bottom, but I don’t see them improving ratings or marketing appeal in any real way than where they are now.
Getting young fans is vital for any sport. No matter how devoted your old fans are, one day they will die and nobody will replace them. On social media, it seems the fan base is skewing younger by some degree.
new drivers, tracks, fans, demographics, etc, changes every 10, 15 years, I feel confident for the sport’s future it keeps growng, people will watch and get interested
Honestly I’m like the only nascar fan in my school lol, but my 7th grade social studies teacher met Dale Sr.
Cool
i became super diehard after my 4th grade teacher revealed to me that she had connections to martin truex jr
@Яyder Awesome!
Have your friends over to watch a race. Nothing like watching a race with friends
I think it has to do with NASCAR being more focused on entertainment to drag fans in. Now don’t get me wrong, I get NASCAR is trying to expand to a whole new audience to get people in the sport, I’m all for it, but let’s not do it in a way that has to do with entertainment.
NASCAR is a sport right? What is the sole purpose of a sport? For someone like you and me, it’s entertainment. No way around it. At the end of the day, all sports are just entertainment and if younger fans find a sport less entertaining like for example golf, then they’re not going to watch it like the entertainment value of football.
@Vader 96i agree people seem to have forgotten that the foundation of a sport is meant to entertain the masses
Dude look at f1
Listen to the Mike Helton interview on the Dale Jr download, he makes it very clear, NASCAR has ALWAYS been about entertainment first, and racing second. Do you think those fantom cautions in the 2000’s were for competition, or were they losing tv viewers?
I feel watching the race each weekend is more exciting now than it was 2013-2021 because it feels way more competitive
It’s an illusion. The cars are more even, giving the “feel” of competitiveness. We’re basically watching IROC 2.0.
Don’t get me wrong, IROC was really cool and competitive for awhile, but then the cars became too aero dependent and passing on a long run was almost impossible. Sound familar?
@Nomad Man If the cars are more even, competitiveness will follow unless except for when they’re too aero dependent. Reducing downforce and the reliance upon it will improve things. Extra power might contribute to reducing the reliance upon it.
The sport is completely changed from how it was 10 years ago. You have a new crop of drivers like Suarez, Chastain, Reddick, and new teams like Trackhouse who have come in and breathed fresh air into the sport. And with that brings new fans and I’m all for it.
Wish I would’ve seen you at the track. Fun race on Sunday.
Younger fans will help this sport. Hope to see more as we go
Oh yeah, but what Fox is doing is a bit….. much
@S.KullRandom Fox is so out of touch. Hope they figure it out. They used to be the best.
Nascar needs to make changes to get younger fans. Like what baseball did this year with the pitch clock
I always said: Keep the stages, scrap the yellows. So you maintain the flow of the race and keep the tactical element of stages.
Do I pit for the race win or do I stay out and grab some stage points?
Not a chance. NASCAR has made it perfectly clear that they want to keep manufacturing the racing with the recent reintroduction with the stage yellows at road courses.
Shame, too. Most fans that argue for stage cautions, don’t branch out and watch other forms of racing.
@Sam HarrisI have watched all forms of racing … I’ve been a nascar fan since the mid 90s … and watch Indy regularly and f1 about half …. I like the stage breaks because I want to see nascar drivers restart cause I think it shows off there talent the most and less of how good the car is …f1 has this problem because a person in a nursing home could win with the top car in f1…. I want to see the drivers more in control then the car … just my opinion
Collectively, NASCAR fans change their opinions as often as Thorsport changes manufactures. For example, we all throughout the entire 2010s advocated to get rid of the Brickyard 400 and run the road course. Not even four years later, most of us are all of a sudden nostalgic for the Indy oval and how “you don’t appreciate what you have until its gone”.
Like how nobody claimed Kentucky and Chicagoland were classics until they were on the chopping block.
That’s also how the stages and the playoffs came to be
Nascar fans “long races are boring”
NASCAR “ok” adds stages in 2017
Nascar fans “noooo the sports ruined”
Nascar fans “Matt Kenseth doesn’t deserve his championship we need a new format”
NASCAR “ok” adds chase
Nascar fans” nooooo this is stupid”
Also what happened to Fontana. It was UNIVERSALLY HATED bit once the NexGen car rolled off, it became critically acclaimed by the fanbase, also happens to be the target of a massive shrinking
@Dexter Hochstetler did anyone actually feel that way about kentucky?
@moistquasar3572 maybe people who lived near the track, otherwise everyone hated it.
It’s absolutely fascinating how NASCAR has changed since I became a fan in 1998
PS: Bringing back Stage Cautions for the Charlotte Roval is absolute Bull!
Apparently cause it’s still an oval and not a road course. When Indy is the SAME THING
@S.KullRandom At this point It’s time to bring back the Oval
@NASCARFAN93100it’s time to bring back the oval in general because Charlotte is like the second best track for the gen 7 car behind Kansas.
uh in my opinion, as a young fan whos watched this sport since 2018, I don’t think it was bull. In my opinion teams sacrificing stage points to have a better shot at the win is considered strategy. Multiple teams are making “Strategy” to favor themselves to have a better result at the end of the race.
I agree, the no stage cautions did work for Cota and Chicago, because those races were actually so good and fantastic, but other than that, It hasn’t really worked in my opinion for the other road course. I legit almost fell asleep during the Indy RC with how bad it was. And with how bad the racing was at the roval last year with stage cautions, imagine how bad the race would be without the cautions. I’d argue the racing would be even worse.
@Momentum Racing the best part about strategy in Nascar is that it’s unpredictable. You don’t know if or when a caution will come out, so every call is just a bet. 2 guaranteed cautions throws a lot of that gambling out. I personally really liked the Indy RC race, it was a nice slow burn, 7/10 strategy race. I also think the previous Indy RC races were 4/10 at best clown shows.
For me I’ve always been a racing fan. 6 months after I was born baby sitter couldn’t babysit me so I went to my first race at Atlanta Motorspeedway. Almost 21 years later I’m still into NASCAR and racing. It’s cool to see the newer fans.
I’m still strongly against stage yellows and the playoff format, but other than that I’ve been very happy with what NASCAR has done in recent years
Same
Same here
I like stage points (not necessarily yellows). And I like the playoffs.
cause a one win champion and having it clinched 4 weeks before the seasons over is so exciting lmao.
Yes NASCAR has definitely changed for the better, but to me it seems fans don’t know what they want. Take Wilkesboro for example, tons of people including myself wanted to see the place live again and not rot away. Once we got it back it raced just like it did all those years before and a ton of people hated it. NASCAR fans don’t know what they want and will never be pleased by any change. For me, I just want NASCAR to be like it was in 2010-2012. Loud almost ear bursting engines, high horsepower, no stages, hard to handle cars.
It’s a package issue. Fans WORSHIPPED the Truck race and the All-Star Open because it brought the most exciting racing since Kansas. And also because Dale Jr raced the 8 in a late model race
The fanbase of today want to see action, and have simply gotten used to the more chaotic and action-y races of today. Races with little action and chaos, and having one guy dominate with little resistance, like the All-Star race, may have been great and popular back then, but not today. Basically, times have changed. “Nostalgia” isn’t a valid enough excuse for many.
I’ve been watching Nascar since 2011, although I’m from Brazil where the audience is nothing comparable to that of the USA, it’s really cool to be part of the community and see the changes over time, for example a new fan won’t even know that the cars used carburetor until 2014, which seems quite old-fashioned for the times we live in lol
Do you ever watch the NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race series? I don’t know much about it except the engines and DOHC V6s and the races are timed, but I’m curious if it has any popularity down there.
I believe you’re right lately at NASCAR races, I’ve noticed a lot of younger people at the track than before. There’s still a lot of older fans, but not as many as there once was. Just about every fan I’ve talk to young and old all say that they hate stage cautions, and that the playoff format tends to Crown illegitimate champions half the time. Meanwhile, I love short tracks mostly because I live in the region that most of the short tracks are in and it’s not a long drive to the tracks but NASCAR needs to make next gen better at short tracks. Hell at this point they should have the cup drivers run Xfinity cars at the short tracks and road courses until they can get the short track package fixed. it’s so sad, last 2 times I went to the cup Martinsville races they were so boring, and there was little to no passing. Along with the new changes, Nascar has made some of them have been good, but some of the changes they make tend to not last long, especially indy road course and Bristol dirt after only a few seasons is likely being removed next season.
The fact that Kevin didn’t win that championship few years ago says it all he was the best driver all year.. all you have to be is the best car or have the best luck at Phoenix and you win that’s not a way to crown a champ.. someone has a harvick or a Gordon (98) like year and dominates Phoenix but a lapped car spins out in front of them takes them both out and that guy loses the championship that’s not fair to me. Nascar isn’t like other sports it should be based on consistency throughout the season
Great video. I attended the Xfinity race at Portland this past June & I saw a lot of shirts & merchandise for the newer drivers & not just for the Xfinity Series but also for the Cup Series. I also saw a lot of kids under the age of 12 watching the race with their dad/mom & many of them were very interested in everything that goes on at a NASCAR race, especially the pit stops. This tells me that the sport is slowly starting to regain an audience among kids under the age of 12. Contrast this with the Indycar race I attended at the same track a few weeks ago where the majority of shirts I saw were for older drivers like Hello Castroneves, Scott Dixon & even Emerson Fittipladi (who hasn’t raced in Indycar since 1996) & Mario Andretti (who’s last Indycar race was nearly 30 years ago). Trying to find an Alex Palou (the Indycar champion) shirt or a Will Power/Josef Newgarden one was difficult. There was also a lot of old Indy 500 gear for sale which is weird considering how popular the Portland GP is for locals & race fans in the PNW. This tells me that compared to NASCAR, Indycar is still stuck in the period where it was before “The Split” & is totally reliant on established names like Andretti & Penske to keep the series relevant while also refusing to try anything new that would attract new fans. For example there hasn’t been a major change to the car or even who makes it in over a decade. There is also an over reliance on the Indy 500 being the only event that draws people into Indycar where instead they should market other events alongside it (like Long Beach & Iowa) to draw more fans. Lastly when it comes to F1, I really think the bubble for that in the US will burst soon, especially if Max Verstappen continues to dominate the way he has.
I’m have been watching NASCAR since the mid eighties and then I left the sport around 2010 or so. I came back 2 or 3 years ago and I’m in love again. I like things that I wouldn’t have before. Stage racing, playoffs etc . I so glad I came back!
Our history with NASCAR is very similar.
I got one of my friends (an F1 die hard) into nascar and things like the street race and the newer fast paced nature has led him to tune in more and more. We both agree it isn’t all great (stage cautions are a nightmare), but it just goes to show the new audience nascar is bringing in (especially once the show drops at the end of the season)
I have heard this is the biggest change almost everyone wants who is a motorsports fan is stage cautions gone or at worst the pits closed during the stage cautions with those in pits when the stage caution happens ending up locked in and a lap down, so this changes when people take pit stops even keeping people from pitting right before a competition pit stop.
Fan since 2000. Left sometime in the CoT era, came back 3 years ago during the pandemic. I went to the Daytona 500 this year and it was unbelievably packed. What was most amazing was how many young people were there. Feel great about where it’s going. NASCAR has a great field of upcoming talent right now, a broader array of tracks than ever, new organizations coming in with success, and I don’t hate the playoff structure. It forces teams to be on their game all the way to the end…kind of like a race.
I feel the squirrelyness on the stage yellows, but we also used to fight about when they took away racing back to the caution flag and invented the free pass. We just love nitpicking rules to death like any other fanbase. DW said ‘racing’s about the ouldas: woulda, coulda, and shoulda.”
For all the mistakes and missteps there have been along the way, I’m pleased that for every change NASCAR has made in the interest of new fans, they’re also throwing the longtime fans things they’d enjoy, too, such as NASCAR Classics, North Wilkesboro, and “throwback weekend.” And what’s even better is that younger fans are finding they like that stuff, too. It’s starting to bridge a gap that’s been developing ever since the Chase era started in 2004.
I think one thing that’s help Nascar grow is finally finding a rule set with the playoffs and sticking with it, we’ve had playoff points and stages since 2017 and Nascar owning it and sticking to the niche is helping