What is the point of reaching a racetrack and cheering for your favorite team when you cannot post live photos and videos from the track itself? Fans drive the adrenaline for any NASCAR race and enhancing their experience to keep up with the times is extremely important. The year 2025 holds great expectations from NASCAR as the plans of a $50 million investment for fan experience make rounds in the media. Given how connectivity has always been a recurrent issue at the tracks, this is a much-needed proactive measure.

Recently, NASCAR president Steve Phelps broke down in detail about how NASCAR has envisioned a proactive million-dollar plan to provide the ultimate experience for fans. With announcements of Prime Video covering five races including the Coca-Cola 600  and more visibility for all NASCAR tiers across various channels, this instills a fresh ray of hope.

NASCAR to focus on more connectivity in race tracks for 2025

Connectivity issues at the race track have been a recurrent issue for a long time. While it might not have been a major problem a decade ago, it deters younger generations from getting into the sport and attending races. The current $50 million plan covers 12 tracks across which technology will be integrated. Consequently, fans at the track will be able to share live updates with the outside world and stay connected as they enjoy the race. The fundamental problem here is NASCAR is forced to create a massive plan for an event that may take place only once or twice a year. Unlike matches that take place in a stadium, NASCAR events tend to be much larger, almost as if it’s a concert or a golf tour.

 Highlighting NASCAR’s plan, President Steve Phelps said, “Whether it’s phone calls or its text or whatever it might be, the ability to send video across your device to family and friends whether it’s social media or otherwise, it’s an important thing for us. But it’s expensive. We have spent $50 million at our 12 racetracks to print it in permanent fiber. So there would be strong connectivity.” 

While these plans are indeed a step forward, it’s a late move considering how other sports in America adapted it long before NASCAR did. Take the New England Patriots’ stadium for example. They were one of the first NFL teams to bring Wi-Fi to the stadiums and other teams followed suit soon after. They recognized issues fans faced when making a simple call or a search on Google.

Coming back to the deal NASCAR made, they partnered with Verizon and integrated Wi-Fi into 12 tracks. This enabled fans to make payments at food stands, watch real-time data of the race, and simply view the race on their phones or a bunch of other things. Now, the trouble for NASCAR is implementing this on all tracks on the calendar. With over 20 Cup Series tracks on the calendar, NASCAR may have to scale up its plans quickly to keep fans happy and visiting races. After all, if fans don’t come to tracks to watch races, it puts a massive dent in the overall earnings.

This deal alone could also be highly fruitful as it can improve the visibility among the audience and make it easier for one to stream. With enhanced track connectivity and a groundbreaking media deal, NASCAR is poised to revolutionize the fan experience both on-site and online. These efforts aim to secure the sport’s relevance and appeal to a broader, tech-savvy audience.

Has the Dallas Cowboys’ owner driven the inspiration for NASCAR’s improved fan experience deal?

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While shifting to this plan for improving fan experience seemed to be long coming, the motivation for Steve Phelps has been the owner of Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones. The innovative approach that Jones has implemented has been quite the talk of the town and served as a testimony for NASCAR to work on experiences. Jones’ tour around The Star practice facility, as well as AT&T Stadium, has been a roaring hit indeed. This has led to the sale of more than half a million tickets. The sale has led to a revenue generation of $10 million! 

Speaking of the same, Steve Phelps said, “You know, kind of keeping up with the Joneses and whether that’s the Jerry Joneses or other Joneses, that race day experience is important and continuing to invest in fan experiences. You look at each of our facilities. Our facilities are hard-wired with high-speed opportunities for internet because the other opportunities to take robust things that happen in the racetrack and make sure that they are able to, race fans are able to those out in the world. Because if you don’t have connectivity at a racetrack, you are missing something right.” The way Joneses often interact with the fans to understand their grievances and implement the right measures has further led to the improvement of the fan experience and consequent footfall.

Jerry Jones’ innovative strategies have set a benchmark for enhancing fan engagement, inspiring industries like NASCAR to follow suit. By prioritizing fan-centric investments, NASCAR aims to replicate similar success in improving experiences and driving attendance. This collaborative vision underscores the importance of evolving with audience expectations to sustain long-term growth.