NASCAR’s efforts to entice the young fanbase have been a howling success, as latest reports indicate a massive turnaround for the stock car racing giant. So much so that the organization has overthrown its competitor, Formula One, to place itself high above the global open-wheel racing promotion with its international efforts and promotional campaigns hitting the community bang on.

A detailed report by a renowned market analyst recently revealed stock car racing’s triumph with young fans/Gen Zs opting for NASCAR over the global phenomenon.

NASCAR trounces Formula One as Gen Zs opt for aggressive racing over the classic open-wheel bonanza

Finally, NASCAR has done it. Its long-sought-after wish of beating Formula One has bore fruit as the organization’s laborious efforts have hit the jackpot. While the North American racing giant has been in a rut with dwindling viewership in the past decades, hit by recession and the pandemic causing more misery, it has finally rattled the cage, trouncing its biggest rival by a big margin.

According to the survey conducted by business intelligence company and market analyst Morning Consult Pro, 36% of fans, including casual viewers, have opted for NASCAR over F1’s 29%. With the growing trend and influence of social media, Gen Zs and their power cannot be overlooked in any manner and that’s exactly what the analyst firm did when they picked 1,002 Gen Z respondents aged between13 and 26, seeking their opinions on four major topics: social media, entertainment, generative AI and sports.

The online survey conducted by the company suggests the young American population prefers the turbulent and action-packed NASCAR races compared to the more technical and elegant F1. To top it all off, NFL appeared as a dominant force on the list with 54% over the NBA that managed to clinch around 50% “avid” or “casual” fans.

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In fact, NASCAR’s success was such that according to the survey, it even trumped the popular fighting promotion, UFC, and even one of the most popular motorsports promotion, Moto GP.

The popularity surge that stock car racing has witnessed might be rooted in last year where both F1 and NASCAR went above and beyond with their efforts to broaden their horizons. The Chicago Street race, the first of its kind and the Las Vegas GP were highly anticipated events. While the Chicago stint attracted the highest viewership for NBC in six years, the Las Vegas GP found itself in quite a bit of controversy.

Learning it from NASCAR – What are the takeaways from F1’s Las Vegas GP?

Two of the world’s most popular auto sports captivated the racing community by featuring two races that were the first of their kind. While NASCAR, for the very first time in its glorious 75 years of raw entertainment, featured a Cup series street race in the city lanes of Downtown Chicago, F1 captured the fans’ imagination by converting the Vegas strip into a race course for its very first Las Vegas night race.

Ironically, NASCAR, a sport known for its aggressive racing style and its oval circuits, did a better job of organizing and delivering a polished product to its fanbase despite the furious rains that lashed out in Chicago. On the other hand, Formula One, which prides itself as the epitome of motor sporting perfection, somewhat disappointed its fans as the Vegas practice let down the community with some of their unpopular measures.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix organizers seemed to go to extreme lengths to prevent non-paying spectators from catching a glimpse of the action, sparking fan outbursts on social media. Above all, while the promoters never restricted fans in venues like Baku or Monaco, they did so in Vegas, even putting up view-blocking screens to obstruct fans from enjoying the race from their balconies or the footbridges.

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While the Grant Park 220 was a blockbuster for NASCAR, with the event rejuvenating hopes for a comeback on the popularity meter, F1’s Vegas venture was more of a double-edged sword for the promotion with fans openly expressing their displeasure.

Nonetheless, NASCAR officials are going to be very happy with the survey. Let us know what you feel about the report! Do you agree with the results?