There is a stark difference between racing in a series and assuming ownership of one. Former NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick experienced this when they dipped their hands into the CARS Tour ownership game along with Jeff Burton and Justin Marks earlier this year.
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The CARS Tour under this management is about to complete its first year and there have been several observations regarding the challenges of running a series. Recently, Harvick joined Junior on his podcast, where they discussed several of these pointers.
Junior stated, “I’ve owned a car, but I didn’t really dive into the books. I was like, ‘We’re racing. I don’t care what it costs.’ It’s the financial challenges of not only the owner but of the series. He added that after a year of ownership, they started to understand the “delicate numbers of the series itself,” and other things regarding the overall improvement of the series.
Speaking further Harvick highlighted a significant challenge in managing the CARS Tour. He emphasized the importance of starting feature events at the advertised time to enhance the at-track and at-home experiences for fans.
Following a problematic race at Hickory Motor Speedway, where delays led to a late start, Harvick stressed the need for consistency and collaboration with teams, race tracks, and streaming platforms like FloRacing to ensure races start as scheduled. This point was put in place to improve the overall experience for both on-track and broadcast audiences.
Harvick added, “That was probably the one thing that was the biggest hurdle that we had to overcome throughout the year. And when you listen to the team owners, that actually helped them get home at a decent hour. I know I wouldn’t take my kids to a race that started at 10:30 anywhere.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick say they bought a series to help it reach a bigger platform
When speaking about their intention to own a racing series like the CARS Tour, Junior stated, “We bought a series that was healthy. We didn’t save the CARS Tour. We bought a series that was functioning and had all of these protocols already in place.”
“We want to be able to help understand what racing is all about at all levels and give them (grassroots racing) a bigger platform to expose how great they are to the world. I think that part is fun, and I think it will get better,” added Harvick.
Of course having former NASCAR superstars as the series’ owners would help in several ways, not just the overall reach. But seeing the series flourish despite the hurdles faced by the new owners is a positive sign for the future.
