Chase Elliott Not Fully Sold on NASCAR’s Unorthodox Bait of Attracting Newer Fans to the Sport

Despite being one of the most entertaining forms of motorsports anywhere in the world, NASCAR has seen a steady decline in viewership numbers and fans over the past several years. Hence, it’s no surprise that the organizers are looking at everything possible method to attract new eyeballs to their products, and this time the new tool that they’re trying to incorporate is gambling. While fans might question the plan for being too controversial or unorthodox, drivers are not too far from that opinion either. And the latest racer to show a bit of reluctance towards the scheme is former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. It’s safe to say that the HMS racer might not be a big fan of the idea.

Is NASCAR trying to cash in on a popular trend?

When done under control and with a bit of luck, gambling can be quite enjoyable, but that’s evidently a fine line to walk on. A lot of American sports, like baseball and football, incorporate gambling as one of the fan activities and it has shown positive results. This has perhaps inspired NASCAR to do the same. However, according to Chase Elliott, it’s only going to bring in a certain group of and he did not sound enthusiastic about the whole matter.

“I don’t know. It’s tough. I think there are some people that are into it and some people that aren’t. It totally depends on who you talk to, but NASCAR looks at all those metrics and sees what age bracket of people are interested in that. If they are like that’s gonna bring more eyes, then I guess it’s a good thing. It’s become a…every other sport is…it seems like every other ad you see on TV when you’re watching a football game or a baseball game or whatever is a gambling ad so it’s certainly a seemingly popular thing right now and I guess they wanted to get on board with that,” he said ahead of the Richmond race.

Last year, the wagering data recorded was stagnant as per a high-ranking NASCAR official, and it seems like things are only going to get better in that respect.

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Will the gambling market be successful for NASCAR?

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Recently, NASCAR’s home state of North Carolina legalized sports betting with eight apps available to those willing to wager their money on a sport of their choice. This is big for the stock car racing organization, as they will be looking to take full advantage. According to NASCAR’s managing director of sports betting Joseph Solosky, this is a big opportunity despite the disappointment of last year.

“From 2022 to 2023, our handle grew 50%. We were the highest-growing sport year-over-year in terms of handle. Our data from last year was stagnant,” he said as per Legal Sports Report. “When the rules changed to allow for teams to partner with operators, DraftKings was on the very short list of two or three sportsbooks that we believe have longevity and strong market share in that space.”

It will be interesting to see how NASCAR develops this aspect of the sport in the upcoming days. Do you think it will be a massive source of new fans? Let us know your opinions.

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