NASCAR Remains Nonchalant to Fox’s Massive IndyCar Boost

Fox Sports is leaving no stone unturned ahead of the 2025 IndyCar season. The broadcaster will be airing the open-wheel racing series for the first time in history and has heavily invested in marketing leading up to the opening race. It has already filmed three ads featuring iconic drivers such as Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Pato O’Ward, who are part of a larger, more ambitious campaign going into the upcoming season.

However, many believe that IndyCar’s promotional efforts have pushed NASCAR into the shadows. The stock car racing series has been associated with the broadcaster since 2001 but seems to have been sidelined in recent months. Even the commercials that have been aired for NASCAR pale in comparison to their open-wheeled rivals. Despite the clear discrepancy, NASCAR remains seemingly unbothered.

NASCAR believes Fox is doing a “fantastic job”

It’s no secret that Fox Sports is doing all it can to promote the upcoming IndyCar campaign. The broadcaster has a multi-year agreement with the open-wheel racing series and has uploaded more than 22,000 social media posts since September 2024 featuring the words ‘IndyCar’, ‘Fox’, and the ‘NFL’. In a carefully devised strategy, Fox Corp. aired the Newgarden ad during the Buccaneers-Commanders NFC Wild Card game which generated 1.8 million engagements, the majority coming from X and other blogs.

Despite IndyCar being given a clear priority in terms of marketing, it seems NASCAR remains unconcerned. Speaking to Sports Business Journal, Brian Herbst, NASCAR’s executive vice president said, “I do not [have any concerns].” The chief media and revenue officer went on to say, “Anytime there’s a new property launch with Fox, they get behind it in a major way, but we certainly love the marketing and promotional support we get from Fox, value the relationship. They do a fantastic job promoting our sport, particularly in the [leadup] to the NFL playoffs as you get into the Daytona 500.”

Fox Sports has not completely neglected NASCAR despite prioritizing IndyCar. The broadcaster released an advertisement for the Daytona 500 during the off-season, which included ad reads by NFL announcer Kevin Burkhardt. However, the 30-second video largely comprised old highlights whereas the IndyCar promotional material was shot exclusively for marketing purposes, featuring some of the biggest names in the open-wheel racing series. While the shift in priorities has been evident for all to see, it’s refreshing to see NASCAR take it in their stride.

Since January 12th, the broadcaster has had nearly 170,000 engagements linked to two commercials featuring Newgarden and Alex Palou. According to Infegy data, 88% of fans considered it positive while 12% were either positive or neutral, largely because many believe Fox Sports didn’t give the same level of attention or priority to the stock car racing series. Under the new media rights deal, Fox will be airing just 14 NASCAR races in 2025, which may go on to explain why they have fallen on the priority list for the media organization.

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Fox to feature IndyCar’s marketing campaign at Super Bowl

Millions of fans will be tuning in this Sunday. After all, the final NFL game of the season is here, widely considered to be the biggest sporting event in North America. It’s an opportunity Fox Sports isn’t willing to let pass by and will be using the occasion to promote IndyCar during the Super Bowl this year. Even though football and motorsports couldn’t be more different, the broadcaster is hoping to use the growing appeal of racing to their advantage to convert sports fans into open-wheel racing enthusiasts.

Having Tom Brady in the promotional campaign helps too, with Shelby Romero-Brown, senior manager of brand marketing at Fox Sports going on to say, “We’d be crazy to not hit the Super Bowl with this campaign. I think it’s always great to get ahead of it and share with [the NFL audience] and tease what’s on the horizon as far as what they can tune into next.” Brown wants to give fans “a reason to either cheer for these drivers, or not, each race day,” a tactic more and more sports marketers are embracing.

Fox Sports will be broadcasting all 17 IndyCar races in 2025, including the iconic Indy 500. The broadcaster will also be hoping that some of their NASCAR audience tune in to watch the open-wheel racing series as well. By making use of the ‘star power’, Romero-Brown and her team hope to “ramp up the excitement” before the season begins and create a buzz on social media and beyond.