The Road Ahead for NASCAR

by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – February 18, 2020

Officially, I’m not a car guy. I changed my oil once years ago, and also swapped out a headlight on a single occasion. And when needed, I’ve jumped a battery. That’s about it when under the hood.

Photo: Courtesy of Daytona International Speedway

However, in recent years, I’ve gained an appreciation for cars. My interests run along the lines of speed, design, the business and history of automobiles, and how car culture has changed over the decades.

What about you? Are you a car guy or gal? Judging by NASCAR ratings and attendance, it appears that there are far fewer now than a little over a decade ago.

For example, the viewership for the 2019 Daytona 500 came in at 9.17 million (a 5.3 rating), which was the lowest looking at data going back to 1979. The peak was hit in 2006 at 19.4 million viewers (an 11.3 rating). Of course, we can’t really compare this year’s Daytona 500, given that rain pushed most of the race from Sunday to Monday (Feb 17^th).

And while the 2020 Daytona 500 reported a sellout in terms of tickets for the fifth year in a row, it must also be noted that those sell outs came after seating at the Daytona International Speedway was cut by 46,000 to 101,000. Reducing seating or available seats for NASCAR races has been anything but unique over the past decade or so.

Of course, NASCAR still matters in the sports business universe, not to mention beyond, as evidenced by President Trump making an appearance at the Daytona 500 this year. But the question is: How much does it matter and what’s about the future?

For a time in the early 2000s, the term “NASCAR dads” emerged to accompany or contrast with “soccer moms.” Both terms, though, have largely disappeared from political discourse. 

Also, the number of NASCAR sponsors has declined, not surprisingly, along with the decline in the NASCAR fan base.

It’s also not surprising to see NASCAR’s audience declining given the overall fragmentation proceeding in the overall entertainment marketplace. For example, the same phenomenon has been going on for movies, network television, and so on. And it’s not going to stop anytime soon.

What to do? First and foremost, keep your fan base engaged, interested and excited, and of course, build it where and when you can.

NASCAR has made some positive changes in recent times. For example, new views and angles – including in-car cameras and drone shots – along with improved graphics have enhanced the television experience. This should continue to be enhanced and improved. Indeed, it’s critical given that NASCAR is similar to football in that the television experience is far superior to the stadium or track experience in terms of viewing the action.

At the same time, NASCAR needs to make some changes to improve the general outlook for the future.

First, there’s a necessity to move beyond the oval racetrack to more road courses and even street racing. Left turns week after week are just monotonous, and seeing stock cars racing through closed off streets in a U.S. city would be darn cool.

Second, at the track, other forms of entertainment need to be ramped up during each NASCAR weekend, i.e., more concerts, shows and whatever else can be tried.

Third, with cord cutting, NASCAR must improve its online streaming options, especially in terms of affordability. Along these lines, new video technology needs to keep pushing ahead, including offering viewers a deeper dive into the pits, including close up views and more analysis of pit stops during the race, and more about who the people are in the pits and beyond in terms of each racing team.

Fourth, in the 1990s and 2000s, NASCAR made some bets on expanding their market outside the South. Nothing wrong with that per se. But at the same time, it seems like NASCAR lost a chunk of its base. It fumbled its brand, and at the same time, created fewer new, highly devoted fans than anticipated (see earlier reference to increasingly fragmented entertainment market). NASCAR had a rebel feel to it, being born out of bootlegging. Getting some of that feel back into its brand can be a plus that helps to set NASCAR apart in the sports marketplace.

Fifth, in terms of younger generations, yes, far fewer people grow up working on their own cars these days, and therefore, fewer traditional car guys and gals are being developed, which, of course, were the foundation of the NASCAR fanbase in the past. But there’s still the speed, the atmosphere, enhanced video and more to make sure the sport gets passed along to the next generation.

NASCAR isn’t going anywhere. There’s a tremendous amount of money to be made via television or streaming, for example. The sport just needs to get a better handle on its market and brand, and then promote it relentlessly. And NASCAR has never been shy about promotion, so that’s a positive. Perhaps the current and future car guy or gal is more – dare I say it? – like me, not necessarily under the hood but looking for excitement and strategy in the pits and at 200 freaking miles per hour.

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Ray Keating is a columnist, an economist, a novelist (his latest novels are The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12^thbook in the series, and the second edition of Root of All Evil? A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel with a new Author Introduction), a nonfiction author (among his recent works is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know), a podcaster, and an entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own.