NASCAR today is as exciting, thrilling, and dynamic as ever. New deals, lucrative sponsorships, and opportunities for international expansion have revitalized the sport. However, there was a time quite recently when the grandstands were rather empty and fans were feeling disconnected from the sports they so love.

The year was 2018, and things were rather grim. From the dominance of a predictable trio to a lack of interesting storylines, the year was criticized as one of NASCAR’s most forgettable- a snooze fest!

NASCAR’s most forgettable year – 2018

If there is a dark time, or rather a low point, when it comes to NASCAR, 2018 is one such time. Fans recall it as a “lowest point” in the sport’s recent history. Many factors led to a drop in excitement. One of the big reasons was unchallenged dominance. One can compare it to something that was happening with F1 with Max Verstappen dominating every single race. In motorsport, challenging, edge-of-seat moments are what fans love, and when the race gives nothing but predictability, it’s bound to make them annoyed.  

In 2018, the Big 3 — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr were dominating every time. Throughout the year, this was the story, and it led to a dull spectacle. In fact, Kyle Busch and Harvick won eight races and Truex Jr won four races. And there was little to no challenge from the rest of the field. Moreover, the bigger names like Jimmie Johnson and Kenseth too didn’t step to the forefront and do anything much to bring back that vigor to the race.  

At the same time, NASCAR was trying to shine the spotlight on the younger drivers and started a so-called “youth movement” and it failed to make any impact. The Big 3 held back any attempts made by the fresh new talent and that excitement that was built up fell flat. Plus, given the fact that some of the sport’s most notable names like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Earnhardt Jr left around that time, was the nail to the coffin. Their leaving marked the end of an era and the absence was felt. And people sometimes live in nostalgia, so it definitely didn’t help. 

However, the end part of the season, while not a saving grace, did deliver some key moments like the dramatic finish at the Roval, where two top contenders Truex Jr and Jimmie Johnson were just a hairsbreadth away from the win and clashed and Ryan Blaney took the win! Or the Martinsville race, where there was an intense battle for the win. Finally, Joey Logano took the win in the 2018 season, but for many, his win felt like a bitter end. However, recently fans were reminded of the year yet again after someone mentioned contingencies, and then socials went ablaze.

Fans slam 2018 as a weird and low era in NASCAR!

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NASCAR was in 2018 hyping the new young drivers and they wanted to appeal to the younger audience. As such, even the cars were plastered with social media logos and emojis instead of contingencies, and most found it not exciting and Gen-Z but rather ugly. One fan said, “Some looked ok if they didn’t have the white background or it blended in but for the most part the giant white squares with the Twitter logo and the big yellow Snapchat ones did not look good at all.”

However, the emojis were mentioned a handful of times in the Reddit discussion, while the terrible season was emphasized greatly instead. One fan said, “2018 was the lowest I can remember the sport being since I became a fan. I thought things were fine at the time but looking back, that’s such a weird and low era.”

The fact that only three big names were winning every race in and out ended up ruining the season. And no one likes repetition especially not in a thrilling sport like NASCAR. One fan said, “This was what, 2018?  Such an odd year.  They kept pushing ‘the youth movement’ but we only got ‘the Big 3’ and Joey Ogan dominating. Felt kind of like the dark ages especially after so many big names recently retired.”

Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick won a whopping eight races each—just this figure tells a lot. However, some instances were a saving grace like Chase Elliott winning his career-first victory in 2018 that some still reminisce about. One fan said, “This was the year I kinda fell out of NASCAR for a bit and stopped watching. I unfortunately missed the Chicagoland finish live because of it. At least I saw Chase’s first win.”

Moreover, that was also the year NASCAR experimented with significant rule changes, particularly impacting downforce and car handling. One fan highlighted this shift, stating, “2018 was the year that killed low downforce. We got a 2-inch spoiler, the lowest down force since the mid-1990s, and the same horsepower as the mid-1990s. We got 1/4 of the side force of 2014. Cars were hard to drive and track records were set at many racetracks. And it was one of the worst years of NASCAR.”

Looking back, 2018 definitely was a lackluster season for NASCAR. But things have now changed for the better and NASCAR has bounced back. They have embraced newness and gotten that excitement back. And once again, they have turned up the heat!