“NASCAR continues to lead, reinforcing its growing relevance and unmatched ability…to attract fans.” This was part of a boastful statement that the sport made regarding a recent milestone. NASCAR averaged 2.56 million viewers for its wild race at Texas Motor Speedway on FS1. So it effectively eclipsed the audience of 2.1 million that watched the Formula One Miami Grand Prix on ABC. This called for a grand celebration; however, the party poppers can be restrained a bit.

Both NASCAR and Formula One have ruled motorsports fans for decades. However, while one has stood the test of time a little shaky, the other has evolved well. The proof of that is evident in the gaping disparity in age demographics between the two sports. So the Texas win may be smaller than it seems, as a NASCAR insider pointed out.

NASCAR has a long way to go

Granted, the gains are undeniable. NASCAR saw a year-over-year (YoY) audience increase, marking just the fourth time in 11 races this year. Last season, Dover got 2.4 million viewers during the same weekend, so Texas got a 6.6% increase this year. Then it marked a 10.8% increase over the 2024 Texas race, which saw 2.31 million viewers. Now, the race’s dominance over the F1 Miami event spells greater prospects. However, toppling Formula One may not be so easy just yet. Although F1 may be 29% down in terms of last year’s viewership, which saw 3.1 million people tuning in, the 2024 F1 race also had an NBA Playoff Game 7 as a lead-in. Additionally, F1 commands a greater presence among the younger demographic.

NASCAR has tried to catch up via several means, be it a Netflix documentary ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’ (whose second season is out) or fixing an international Cup Series race in Mexico City. However, Eric Estepp believes that the sport has a lot of scope to catch younger people. He said in a YouTube video: “If you look at the deeper statistics, there are some real concerns…If you look at the prime age 18-49 demographic, F1 continues to clean up. F1 continues to be more popular than NASCAR among younger American audiences. That is something stock car racing should be very concerned with…(The reasons are) less consumable consumer brands on race cars today…car culture in America has shifted, may not be quite as widespread.”

Another area where NASCAR is possibly lagging behind F1 is social media. For sure, the sport’s Instagram account posts very quirky videos to keep fans hooked. But as far as the real racing action is concerned, things may be a bit old-fashioned for Gen-Z people. Estepp continued, “The broadcast: Most Cup races are on cable TV. Millennials, Gen-Z, they don’t pay for cable. The races are 3-4 hours long, blanketed with full-screen commercials. At any time, I could pull up TikTok or Instagram reels, scroll for pretty much forever, seeing little to no ads, get that instant gratification.” Meanwhile, F1 is ahead in terms of influencer marketing on short-video platforms like TikTok. But, NASCAR might be slowly gaining an edge. How? Well, while other sports promote their athletes on social media, our athletes are already stars!

Here, we are talking about Truck Series stars Frankie Muniz and Toni Breidinger. While Muniz is a renowned celebrity and played the protagonist of the show Malcolm in the Middle, Breidinger is a model and influencer. Toni drives for No. 5 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage, and her social media popularity has given her great sponsors like Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS, and Sunoco. But the biggest attraction has just arrived.

Recently, Breidinger revealed her new partnership with 818 Tequila, and this is huge! Why? Well, the brand was founded by model Kendall Jenner, and is entering the world of motorsports sponsorships for the very first time. And she had beautiful things to say about the #5 Toyota driver. “Toni is a force both on the track and on social media. We are so excited to partner with her for our first national sports partnership,” Jenner said, implying that she is interested in the athlete more than the sport. But that does not change the fact that another celebrity has started showing an interest in the sport. More viewers await the sport!

Clearly, the bump in viewership over the Texas weekend may be overshadowed soon by other races breaking the seasonal record. Nevertheless, the Cup Series race in the Lone Star State led to a major victory for a Penske sponsor.

Trending

1

“Condolences & RIP” NASCAR Community Joins in Mourning as One of Their Own Loses His Mother

2

“Love You”: Joe Gibbs Grandson in Mourning as Closest Friend of Years Passes Away

3

NASCAR Team Fined $10,000 With Another Sucker Punch After Texas Mayhem Carries On

4

Fans in Stitches as Kyle Busch & Brad Keselowski’s Latest Promotional Package Goes Viral

5

“Where the F—Are You?” – Amy Earnhardt’s Furious Hunt for Dale Jr. After Vegas Goes Off the Rails

Fulfilling a lot of wishes in one go

Joey Logano’s win at Texas Motor Speedway was redeeming in several ways. Just the previous weekend at Talladega, the No. 22 Team Penske driver faced a slew of problems. After finishing 5th, Logano was disqualified in a post-race technical inspection. Then he received an onslaught of criticism from peers and veterans about his treatment of his teammate. So the reigning Cup Series champion gritted his teeth to win the next weekend. And he did, overcoming great obstacles as the Texas race featured several cautions and Logano had to work his way up from 27th. After clinching the trophy on Victory Lane, Logano not only fulfilled his own wishes but also those of his sponsor.

In contrast to the usual yellow and red colors of Pennzoil that adorn his car every weekend, Logano had blue and red shades. They belonged to AAA Insurance, a company that has been sponsoring Cup cars since 2005 without a single win until now. The brand has sponsored Joey Logano since 2013. For the first time in its NASCAR venture, AAA finally found itself in Victory Lane. That is what Logano highlighted the moment he got out of his car at Texas: “It’s crazy how you can just ride these roller coasters and just be proud of the team. Finally, get AAA Insurance into victory lane. They’ve been a partner of mine since I’ve been to Penske, so 13, 14 years. I’ve yet to win with them. It was awesome to get that done here.” 

Despite NASCAR making little impact on F1, Joey Logano made sure to leave a mark in Texas. Let us see if the sport can uplift itself more to beat its European rival in other ways.