NASCAR has a lot of issues that need addressing but the sport has a lot of positives as well. The amount of fan interaction that is allowed is quite commendable for a top-tier motorsports competition. Fans dedicate a lot of their time and energy to supporting stock car racing and it’s endearing to see the sport repaying their faith in the best way possible. The most recent example of some heartwarming fan interaction came to light during the Daytona weekend.
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Before the race, Harrison Burton visited a family, sat in what they call a “lucky chair” and signed autographs for them. He was the only driver to do so. The 23-year-old even signed the chair he sat on. The eldest daughter of the family, Ariana, said to a reporter that Burton’s win afterward made the “lucky chair” even luckier. However, the more heartwarming moment happened with the younger daughter of the family.
As the #21 car was being pushed out of victory lane, she wanted to take some confetti off it. However, a NASCAR official dissuaded her from doing so as the car could not be touched by anyone at that point. After some time, the girl was given some confetti from the car by the officials, making it a memorable experience for the kid.
Moments like these stay forever with race fans and their families and it’s one of the reasons why the Cup Series is one of the best motorsports competitions in the world today.
Part 3. I went over to talk to the girl and her older sister. They told me they were in Victory Lane because of a "lucky chair" at their camp site that involved @HBurtonRacing 🙂#kidsdrivenascar ❤️
Love this! pic.twitter.com/pxinY5w3XT— Claire B Lang (@ClaireBLang) August 27, 2024
This is just one of several fan interaction moments in the sport’s history. Unlike several top-tier motorsports competitions, NASCAR drivers are a lot more down-to-earth and relatable for fans. They freely interact with them both on social media and in real life. Interaction of that level is unimaginable in sports like Formula One or Moto GP.
Race fans put other competitions over NASCAR for fan interactions
While the fan interaction element is something NASCAR should be proud of, fans believe that other American motorsports events have it more. The likes of IndyCar and IMSA to name a couple allows free access to fans for certain aspects that would require a pass in the Cup Series. Race fans on Reddit made their opinions clear about this matter recently.
“IndyCar, IMSA, and the NHRA are more fan-friendly, and in touring dirt racing series you can go down in the pit area post-race and have a beer with the drivers and crews,” one user commented.
“Compared to other sports it’s very good. Compared to other motorsports it’s the worst, aside from Formula 1 and other international series. Just about everything that NASCAR offers with a pit pass/prerace track access pass is free to everyone in most other motorsports,” quipped another.
Considering that NASCAR sees F1 as one of their biggest competitors in the global market, it makes sense that they have made the sport more open than them. And to be fair, they’ve been performing better than F1 in the American market despite the “pinnacle of motorsports” gaining a significantly large number of fans in the recent past.
