“If they want the sport to grow, they have to understand the TV market has also changed.” A NASCAR fan rooting for Amazon Prime’s streaming option said this in early 2025. Yet these words also carried the sport’s true purpose in the past few years. We are a long way away from the golden era of the 2000s, when TV commercials boomed with popular NASCAR drivers’ faces. However, the sport is on a war footing to get a hint of that glory back – and maybe it is doing a good job at it.

Ranging from incentives for drivers to appear on camera more to actively pursuing a younger demographic, NASCAR has resorted to many methods to raise its visibility. The numbers and stats are yet to bump to a significant degree. But the improvement is visible, nonetheless.

Is NASCAR regaining its ‘golden’ image?

In the early 2000s, fans viewed races mostly on free, over-the-air broadcast channels like Fox. The slump in interest began from 2007 onwards, when NASCAR’s 8-year deal with ESPN compelled fans to get a cable subscription. The 10-year deal with FOX and NBC in 2014 produced disastrous results, as fans still complain of FOX’s coverage issues. Now, however, a new era set in with the $7.7 billion media rights deal in 2023. Amazon Prime has entered the picture with its streaming option, and its five-race schedule reception was on par with cable TV’s impact. It achieved an average audience of 2.1 million – it took 13 races for USA Network to achieve Prime’s figure back in 2021.

This upward trend is a continuation of NASCAR’s other efforts. Commercials are on the rise to promote drivers of the sport. For instance, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain were in the spotlight for the Daytona 500. Hamlin appeared in three different ads – two for Toyota and one for NASCAR Fan Rewards. His presence included his No. 11 car and his Sports Clips and FedEx fire suits. Then Chastain engaged in heavy ad time thanks to his partnership with Busch Light, which ran a 30-second spot featuring the driver. Arby’s, a major sponsor for the upcoming Chicago Street Race, is working on a massive promotional campaign. This points to a positive growth for NASCAR, as an expert wrote on X: “NASCAR really is going through a commercial renaissance. There’s so many more drivers in commercials than there was even three years ago. Love to see it.”

The sport also rolled out its Driver Ambassador Program in 2025 to trumpet drivers in other avenues. Drivers earn one point for every 15 minutes of their time doing something considered “promotion” outside of mandatory NASCAR events. Whoever earns the most points gets the most money from the DAP fund, which can reward somebody as much as $1 million. Chase Elliott visited the Super Bowl earlier this year as part of this, with cameras zooming in on the Kansas City Chiefs fan. Then Bubba Wallace visited Barstool Sports in Chicago. However, Joey Logano has topped the first segment of the DAP initiative.

The efforts to increase NASCAR’s visibility are solid in 2025. Although no definitive indication has been dropped yet, 2026 also looks bright.

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Ready for an encore?

The most heartening surprise for NASCAR fans in the past month can only be one thing. That was Amazon Prime’s appearance in the Cup Series. The streaming giant left no stone unturned to make their debut a success. It visited Cup legend Carl Edwards’ home and jiu-jitsu class to coax him out of retirement. Amazon promised a double-box commercial format during its races and delivered accordingly. But the crown jewel of Prime’s efforts was probably the post-race coverage. Featuring stars like Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Corey LaJoie, and the highlighted drivers of a race, the coverage gave a comprehensive breakdown for fans. The post-race show averaged 931,000 viewers across the five races, retaining a notable 43 per cent of the race audience. This included highlight audiences of 1.07 million after Mexico City and 1.04 million after Charlotte.

Notable drivers hailed Amazon Prime’s in-depth coverage. For instance, Hendrick Motorsports star Chase Elliott himself provided evidence of the increased visibility. He said, “Everyone who has come up to me — friends or fans or whoever — and has watched the races over the last few weeks has had nothing but incredible things to say. And it seems like it’s been really well done, at least that’s kind of been the perception that’s out there that I’ve heard.” Brian Herbst, NASCAR executive vice president, chief media and revenue officer, also offered words of optimism. “It was rewarding to see NASCAR’s fan base shift over to a new platform, not only achieving the viewership levels that NASCAR delivers on cable TV today, but bringing in younger demos and new fans to our sport.”

Amazon Prime was a huge part of NASCAR’s drive for visibility, and may come back with full force. With many positive signals for the sport, NASCAR can only go higher.