In 2024, NASCAR spread its wings. The Netflix documentary NASCAR: Full Speed introduced the American sport to a global audience. Now, in 2025, NASCAR is using those wings to fly further into the sunset. Aside from expanding its world presence by hosting an international points-paying race in Mexico, the sport is also changing its perception. The 24 Hours of Daytona is contributing to that.

This event, the season opener for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge, has drawn the best racers. From stock car moonlighter A.J. Foyt to four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, many stars have participated. For one retired NASCAR pro who was participating in the race, he found himself in a different world than he was used to.

A new look for NASCAR?

For decades, the sport closed off its borders inside the United States. NASCAR’s fanbase rarely ventured outside the country, except for a few international events. The first Cup race was held near Niagara Falls, Canada, in 1952. Then the 1988 season saw another Cup race in Melbourne, Australia. The 1996 and 1997 NASCAR Thunder Special races were held in Suzuka, Japan. Aside from these overseas ventures, NASCAR had little scope to whip up an international fanbase. People viewing from outside usually saw it as a sport hosting “dumb rednecks” driving around in circles. However, times are changing.

Parker Kligerman hung up his full-time racing helmet back in September and is ready to launch his part-time stints. The retired driver cum NBC pit reporter will wheel the No. 78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 at the 24 Hours of Daytona. And as he prepares for this event, the circumstances please him. Fans like NASCAR more due to its involvement in IMSA. Kligerman told Racer in a recent interview, “People are realizing that top NASCAR talent, they are very versatile drivers. We don’t just go left. Historically, obviously sports cars has been way more connected with IndyCar and that sort of thing, and now I think people are giving credit to the talent that’s in NASCAR and this type of racing.”

The GT3 cars used in the 24 Hours of Daytona closely resemble NASCAR’s Next-Gen car. What is more, the stock car racing series calendar is leaning on road courses more. This is attracting more drivers to the Daytona road course. For the 2025 event, we will witness the glitterati of the sport participating. For instance, Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch will take part. The former is the road course legend who scripted history by clinching his NASCAR debut win in Chicago. And Zilisch is a rising phenom – he has already won the LMP2 class at the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona.

NASCAR is certainly benefiting from this crossover, given that its global appeal is expanding. However, so is IMSA, as drivers assign more importance to the exhibition event.

Roping in luminaries into the sport

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The 24-hour-long endurance race on the oval and road course of Daytona International Speedway has always been an attraction. However, the event has garnered more popularity in recent times. NASCAR owns IMSA anyway, and the stock car racing series has helped boost the 24 Hours of Daytona. Entries for this event are now harder to come by than they would have been 5-10 years ago. Even drivers bringing big budgets can miss out due to the ruthless IMSA driver market. World-renowned drivers like Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi have made one-off NASCAR starts and now want to go down IMSA’s aisle as well.

Presently, NASCAR drivers are viewing the 24 Hours of Daytona as more than just an exhibition race. That is what Team Penske driver Austin Cindric observed recently. He will wheel a GTD PRO class Multimatic Ford Mustang, and cannot contain his excitement. “It’s not an exhibition for me — I’m committed to doing whatever it takes. If that means letting [teammates] Rocky [Mike Rockenfeller] and Seb [Priaulx] do their thing, because it’s their car, I’m committed to that. If I got to give them a foot rub in the middle of the night, hell, I’ll do that…I’ll be the one-off, so I’m excited to get to work and see where I fit into that fold. But, yeah, it’s an important race for me.”

Evidently, the IMSA-NASCAR nexus flows both ways. As the 24 Hours of Daytona looms closer, we cannot wait to see which drivers thrive and shine!