Why NASCAR Needs an International Presence

Through various initiatives over the last two decades, NASCAR has worked on taking itself to a global stage and reaching untapped markets. With projects like Garage56 and Project91 still being a staple every season, the efforts seem never-ending, and rightly so. But what is the surging need for an American-born sport to go international?

One of NASCAR’s youngest and brightest prospects in the Whelen Euro Series, Ryan Vargas, spoke to digital content creator Eric Estepp recently and answered the question. Highlighting the excitement that NASCAR was generating amongst its fans in Europe, he said that it was the fandom that needed stock car racing.

Narrating his experience of going to a race in Germany, he noted that the stands were packed with people wearing Dale Jr. jackets and Kyle Busch jackets. He said, “It felt like I was in a NASCAR race. So many fans overseas, in Europe, want NASCAR racing. They are excited about NASCAR racing. They love the culture, they love the excitement of V8 stock cars hustling around these road courses.”

The Whelen Euro Series has been commanding large crowds of late in alignment with Vargas’s words. The sport received further light last year when Australian Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen entered the stock car arenas.

As the Vargas desires, the sanctioning body ought to hear the pleas that are generated from the thousands that throng the stands outside the U.S. and increase its effort towards expanding boundaries.

How close is the NASCAR Cup Series to going full-on global?

NASCAR’s vice president and chief international officer, Chad Seigler, is well aware of the global demand for NASCAR. He said in an interview as per Motorsport earlier this year, “When you go to a place in Europe when you go to a place like Brands Hatch (for a NASCAR Euro race weekend) and you see that we had 43,000 people in the stands, that tells you that there’s a passion for our style of racing.”

He added that a lot of exercises that the body carried out like holding the Busch Light Clash in the L.A. Coliseum have led to a versatility in picking locations for potential international races. With it already being present in countries including Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, it shouldn’t be long before the Cup Series grid flies overseas for a race.

If nothing else, the excitement from overseas should push the promotion to make the call. Seigler’s words of optimism sum up the matter’s current standing: “Not only is it closer than it’s ever been, but the excitement of the fact that international is a strategic part of the growth plan for NASCAR, I feel better about that than I ever have.”