NASCAR Finally Breaks the Mold As Gen-Z Finally Latching Onto it, Suggests Reports

Ever since Liberty Media’s acquisition of Formula 1, it’s no secret that NASCAR has failed to recreate what the new owners of the pinnacle of motorsport have been able to. Whether it’s hosting larger-than-life Grand Prix events at locations like the Las Vegas Strip or immediately becoming a hit with Gen Z after Drive to Survive aired, when we talk about viewership numbers and demographics, Formula 1 is usually ahead of NASCAR in every conversation. That is, until now.

Morning Consult, a global decision intelligence company, recently surveyed over a thousand Americans aged between 13 and 26 to analyze Gen Z’s viewership pattern and how various sporting organizations are fairing against each other. While it may seem like there would be nothing out of the ordinary about the results, it was revealed that NASCAR actually has more Gen Z fans than certain big-name sports including Formula 1!

NASCAR beats out fan-favorite sports in new Gen-Z survey

The survey was conducted to understand the common viewpoint on various topics such as social media, entertainment, generative AI, and sports. The key takeaways from the survey pointed out that Gen Z’s digital footprint wasn’t just expanding, but the type of content was also exceptionally entertainment-centric. While it may seem like Gen Z are more skeptical than ever, they were also shown to be early adopters of innovative technology such as AI compared to any other age bracket.

Despite the positive signs for the media industry as a whole, when the conversation switched to sports, it was revealed that live events and the category were both trailing behind other segments by quite some margin. However, a strange trend was noticed, where some sports had seen a significant bump in viewership over others.

It was no surprise that the NFL and the NBA topped the viewership share percentage charge with 54% and 50% respectively. Closely trailing the two were College Football and MLB who had shares in the 40s. But what was the biggest shock of them all? NASCAR was right behind College Basketball! And to those avid NBA watchers, you know just how big of a deal that is.

What might seem even more astonishing to most is the fact that NASCAR, which has a massive 36%, is well ahead of the NHL which has a 31% share, and Formula 1 which is almost at the thirty mark with 29%. NASCAR also managed to edge the UFC, which has 35%.

While it should be noted that these fans classify as anyone who is an ‘avid’ or a ‘casual’ viewer of these sports, it is also limited to only the American audience. This might explain why NASCAR ranks so high compared to a predominantly European sport like Formula 1.

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But when F1 made its grand entrance in Sin City, many prominent NASCAR entities felt that the American sport’s popularity could only benefit from the marquee event. And after the recent survey, Denny Hamlin might just be right.

Did Denny Hamlin’s intuition regarding the Vegas GP’s influence come true?

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It’s no secret that Formula 1’s visit to Las Vegas paid dividends for Liberty Media with ever-increasing viewership, even adding several untapped American fans to the mix. Taking inspiration from the open-wheel category’s Vegas shenanigans was one man who could sense NASCAR’s popularity boom was near. Joe Gibbs Racing star and the co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin was vocal about his expectations from NASCAR after witnessing F1’s Las Vegas GP.

He was quoted by AutoWeek, “I mean, you hope so, right? Certainly, you would think that there’s going to be a lot of casual, first-time fans going to a motorsports event, fans going to F1 in Vegas because of how convenient it is, right? When I say convenient, I mean it’s right here in the States in a heavily populated area. You’ve got the whole West Coast. And if there’s just a handful—10, 12— people that go to that and then say, ‘When the NASCAR race comes to Vegas, I’m going to go to my very first NASCAR race,’ then that’s a good thing.”

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While the Las Vegas Grand Prix had its fair share of hiccups, it eventually set a precedent for future expectations from motorsport fans. But when we talk about NASCAR, it’s quite evident from the latest survey that the sport seems to be doing everything right. In light of recent events, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for Hamlin to not be shocked at all by the strides NASCAR seems to have made. But were you?