NASCAR More Than 3 Times Greater Than F1 in American Viewership; However There’s a Catch

So far this season, NASCAR is experiencing a clear comeback. A comeback in terms of viewership numbers, something which is incredibly important for not only the overall appeal of the sport but in the longer run, for the finances as well.

NASCAR races have attracted more viewers this year than NBA, Olympics, and other ‘competition’.

However, that run might soon come to an end, or at least if not end, the gap between the top and the second most viewed sport might get progressively narrower.

This is because Formula 1 is back. And F1, in its very first race of the season, became the second-most viewed sporting event.

While NASCAR registered 4 million viewers for the race in Atlanta, F1 had a viewership of 1.3 million for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Trailing way behind these two was IndyCar, with 950,000 viewers for the race in Texas. 

But what’s concerning for the stock car racing series is a specific demographic of viewers. And that is the one with the age group of 18-49.

In that category, NASCAR registered around 710,000 viewers, while F1 followed close behind with their new cars and viewership of 650,000.

NASCAR needs to focus on how it portrays itself according to Chase Elliott

In an interview last year, Hendrick driver Chase Elliott was asked how should NASCAR position itself amidst the growing threat of competition from F1. This was something the 2020 Cup champion believes doesn’t have a right or wrong answer.

 “The most important thing is how do you want your sport to be portrayed to the public. Netflix put that deal together with F1, and then I will say that was a very respectful, very intense way that people could watch and be like, Holy cow, there’s a lot that goes into this,” Elliott elaborated.

“These guys aren’t just driving around the track as fast as they can. This isn’t funny. This is legit.”

Chase Elliott believes a mix of good decisions, some intentional, some down to pure luck, have contributed to their rapid rise in the US.

 “I don’t know what’s led to it, but whatever started that process of those right decisions. Maybe luck of the draw of having some great racing this year with some extra eyeballs kind of at the same time — a right sequence of events for them,” he said.

“But they’ve got a good thing going.”

Also Read: NASCAR Tries to Emulate the F1 Model With Crucial Rule Change