Context is a very important thing, especially when comparing two things against each other. The same is the case for the growing popularity of the NASCAR O’Reilly Series and the waning popularity of the Cup Series. While fans believe the former is better than the latter because of its growth, former FOX analyst Kenny Wallace is here to explain that is not the case with the help of the right context.

In a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Wallace addressed the growing fan sentiment of the NASCAR O’Reilly Series and the ARCA Series being ‘the best show.’ He admitted that he likes both those series. But then he explained why they’re not on the same level as the Cup Series.

“It’s not even close, guys. Do you know the reason O’Reilly ratings are so good? It’s got its own TV channel, CW. And even at that, it’s at like 1 million. You know how many the Cup Series got? 3 million. The Cup is like 2 million more. So, I mean, I’ll bite. I’ll bite because I am the mayor of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with 547 starts, but you’re going to have to show up. I mean, it’s one thing to get on social media and go, ‘O’Reilly is where it’s at.”‘ Well, if it’s where it’s at, why don’t you watch it? Because there’s only about a million of you that watch O’Reilly and like 3 million watching the Cup. So you can sit there and get on social media all the time, but you ain’t showing up. You’re showing up on social media,” he said. For the ARCA Series, Wallace added that most of its 400,000 viewers tuned in for Cleetus McFarland.

The NASCAR O’Reilly race at Talladega received 1.3 million viewers, which was up 6% from last year, and a 13% up from the race at Kansas. Moreover, the first 11 races of the season have all registered over a million viewers. On the Cup Side, the viewership number was 3.967 million, which was down from 4.018 million last year. The peak viewership for the O’Reilly race was 1.8 million viewers, whereas in the Cup it was 4.9 million.

A comparison between the viewership of the O’Reilly and the Cup is simply not appropriate because of the lack of a level playing field. Compared to O’Reilly, the Cup is on another level in terms of brands and sponsorships involved, the money invested, the scale of the ‘show’, the pull of star drivers, and so on.

Therefore, to Wallace’s point, it has to be admitted that yes, the NASCAR O’Reilly Series is growing at quite a rapid pace, but its growth is in the context of its own past, not in comparison to the Cup Series.

But one aspect that could be a common point of comparison between the two is their racing product, because at the end of the day, both series have a common product, a race.

And in that regard, there is a clear winner.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Series is more fun for drivers and fans than the Cup Series

While the fans have been going gaga over the racing in the O’Reilly Series, calling it much superior to the Cup, the sentiment is also shared by Cup drivers themselves. And a big part of that is the differences between the cars.

In the context of a superspeedway race, the O’Reilly car allows drivers more freedom to showcase their skills. Because of the body of the racecar in the O’Reilly Series, drivers are able to make runs and moves and control the car better, whereas the Next Gen car is significantly more aero-reliant and aero-vulnerable.

Drivers being able to make more moves on the track equals more fun for fans as viewers.

This was something Austin Hill of RCR also attested to earlier this year. “I’m having a lot of fun in that these cars are way more fun to drive than the Cup car, in my opinion. The Cup car is a lot of fun on the road courses, but on the oval-style stuff, it’s just that the O’Reilly Series is just where it’s at for me,” Hill said.

So in some ways, it can be concluded that the O’Reilly Series may not be the best NASCAR has to offer, but it is more or less the best NASCAR has right now. But if not even that, it is certainly more fun for the fans compared to the Cup.

And there’s no context for fun, is there?