After a long period of slump in popularity and economy, NASCAR may be back to its game. At the end of 2023, the sanctioning body signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal. In March this year, while NBC IndyCar managed just under 1 million viewers, NASCAR delivered over 4 million viewers on FOX over one weekend. But can these statistics hold a candle to the golden age of the sport?

Although never set in stone, NASCAR fans usually agree that the golden age of NASCAR is long past. But the exact dates are debatable. Between the 1980s and the 2000s, several golden moments captured different fans’ hearts. During that period, many stellar drivers showed up until inevitable changes set in.

NASCAR’s golden age had a few markers

From the moonshine runners of the 1930s to Next Gen riders in the 2020s, NASCAR has traveled a long road. But only a few decades in its checkered history will forever offer ripples of sentiment to diehard motorsport fans. When legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Robby Gordon, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, and so many more drove in their prime in the 1990s, it was a sweet time to grow up. These racers left many a blazing trail on their rubber-burning pursuits.

65-year-old Mark Martin recently recollected an emotional rivalry with Earnhardt in 2000. This was a result of the King of IROC falling short of a painful three points and bowing to Dale Earnhardt for the championship. Voicing his sentiment from the past, Martin said, “This makes me happy and sad at the same time,” as his rival passed away less than a year later in Daytona. Immortal for his reckless driving style and race wins, Dale Earnhardt was a true NASCAR legend.  So The Intimidator’s death left a serious blow on NASCAR’s thriving age.

Besides Earnhardt’s indubitable contributions, some racetracks also bore the marks of a transition period. Richmond Raceway is one such track, that has undergone decline over the last two decades. Once, it was encircled by grandstands that sold out every year. Now there are no grandstands along the backstretch or in turn 3. Retired Cup Series veteran Kevin Harvick shared an interesting feature that he missed from the golden age at Richmond.

In 2022, Harvick recalled the 2001 race on the track when fans had a unique way to cheer for him. “I got into the back of Ricky Rudd coming down the back straightaway, and all I saw were flashbulbs and people waving their arms, and then he moved me out of the [way to win], and I think the whole place stood up and cheered.” A surefire sign that you are watching a NASCAR race in its peak era is if it’s nocturnal. Everyone had a disposable camera and took pictures of the most thrilling parts of the race.

Harvick was glad to call himself a part of that golden age, as he entered NASCAR in 1995. “But I’m glad that I got to experience racing and being competitive in the front of those fields and being able [to race in front of] 105,000 [fans], whether they were rooting for you or rooting against you.” Although Harvick focused on 2001, fans are divided over what to call their favorite period in NASCAR.

But fans are confused about the golden period

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Well, the agreed-upon consensus is that NASCAR’s golden age lies somewhere between 1990 and 2010. During the 1990s, Dale Earnhardt and his compatriots were at the peak of their rivalries. Jeff Gordon entered NASCAR in 1992, the same year Richard Petty wrapped up his career. Earnhardt won his coveted Daytona 500 title in 1998. So one fan clearly gave their idea about the golden age: “1990-2004.” Another fan seconded this with a strong opinion: “If you weren’t around during these years you really missed something special.”

Then other people started pushing ahead their golden age dates. Although Earnhardt’s death indeed brought in a dark age, other stellar drivers continued their journey. The age may have ended in 2008 when the stock market crash sent everyone reeling under economic despair. So one fan opined: “1998 to 2008 is my actual opinion.” Then in 2007, Car of Tomorrow was released, which hyped up a lot of people. So one fan said: “For myself, 2002 through the COT introduction were my glory days.”

Somebody offered an extensive comparison between the golden age and the current age, changing his dates even further. “As a kid in the 2000s until Jeff Gordon retired when I was in high school in 2015 I felt like Nascar had everything that every other sport I liked had. It had star power and feeling of importance around the events taking place. Nascar doesn’t have any of these in 2024 other than 3-4 races tops and maybe a couple drivers. KFB is the only driver that most people know these days and he runs 18th most weeks.”

While another fan was clearly a Petty fan, and denied other opinions, writing, “I started watching in ’73 when I was 10. Richard Petty was winning everything. I instantly became a fan of the King. In ’82 I went to work at a Chevy dealership and in turn became an Earnhardt fan. I stuck with Dale until the end. To me, those were the best years of NASCAR.”

Evidently, the NASCAR fanbase is a tad bit unaligned when it comes to determining the golden age timeline. But one fan united the entire community with a neutral opinion on when the age was: “Depends on when you grew up.”