The “NASCAR: Full Speed” docuseries hit the screens in January 2024, aiming to boost the sport’s viewership and fan base, much like Formula 1’s success with “Drive to Survive.” Despite a couple of rainouts, NASCAR’s TV ratings have been on the rise for the first four races of the season. The last two races even saw a spike in viewership, with a 19 percent increase for Phoenix and 10 percent for Bristol compared to last year. Yet, some hardcore fans believe NASCAR isn’t doing enough to hold onto the interest of its dedicated followers. Dale Earnhardt Jr, however, had something to say about that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr backs up Jeff Gluck, giving a befitting reply to a self-proclaimed ‘die-hard’

A relatively new fan had commented about how this season has drawn in fresh viewers, saying that even some of his friends are now keen on discussing races and even planning to attend their first NASCAR event. The comment urged a hardcore fan to claim, “Gaining fair weather fans but losing die hard fans isn’t the momentum you think it is. I used to watch nascar religiously growing up (2000-2010. It was the best decade in nascar by far). Now if there is something better to do than watch the race, I go do it.”

Intrigued Jeff Gluck then engaged with the fan, asking what exactly NASCAR is doing wrong to lose its long-time fans and wondering if there wasn’t enough room for both newbies and veterans. When the original commenter didn’t respond, Dale Earnhardt Jr jumped into the fray, stating as a true-blue NASCAR devotee, “Diehard fan here. Very happy.”

However, this isn’t the first time such a debate has sparked. Not long ago, a new fan expressed their newfound love for NASCAR, spurred by the Netflix series, only to be met with skepticism from the long-time fan base. The old-timers argued that these new fans just couldn’t mesh with the established crowd.

Yet, with NASCAR’s Bristol race seeing a ten percent jump in viewership year-over-year, compared to the previous Bristol Dirt race, the question arises: How exactly are the die-hard fans losing interest when the numbers tell a different story?

The numbers are in, and it turns out NASCAR is actually pulling in more fans, not losing them

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According to the December 2023 data, the NASCAR fan base is predominantly male (68%), with 23% of all fans tuning into races strictly on TV, highlighting the importance of TV ratings in keeping the sport’s heartbeat strong.

The 2024 Daytona 500 attracted an impressive 6.0 million viewers on average. Sure, it was a slight dip—over a million fewer than the previous year’s delayed Daytona 500—but given how much the TV game has changed in four years, NASCAR’s still running strong.

Then came the Atlanta race—the second race of the season—which pulled in 4.546 million viewers on average, marking a 5.4% uptick from last year’s second race at Auto Club Speedway.

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The Bristol race, notorious for its tire drama, witnessed a 10% jump in viewership, with 3.81 million tuning in on Fox. Meanwhile, the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas saw an 8.4% increase from the previous year, with 4.359 million average viewers. The stats don’t lie—viewership is on the rise. And with races as gripping as Bristol, it’s hard to imagine any long-standing fan not being glued to the screen.