About a decade ago, F1 and NASCAR were more than 5 million viewers apart. However, in 2022, the Miami GP and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway were held on the same weekend and both flaunted an average of 2.6 million viewers. And that brings NASCAR fans to a burning question.
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Can Formula 1 beat NASCAR out in viewership and popularity? Former President of the Texas Motor Speedway and veteran promoter Eddie Gossage doesn’t think so. He has been a witness to several races, not just NASCAR but F1 and IndyCar as well.
Gossage said, “I’ve heard that a lot, that they’re going to overtake NASCAR. No they’re not.” According to him, the chant of Formula 1 superiority is essentially a media thing. “It draws ratings comparable to Xfinity or IndyCar. The inference is Cup ought to be concerned, and that’s not the case at all,” he explained.
Gossage likes watching F1 races but he doesn’t seem after them; he watches them when it’s convenient. Gossage admitted, “I don’t get up at 4 in the morning to watch it. If I really want to watch it, I’ve got a DVR. I’m just a racing fan, but I can’t say I seek it out on TV like I used to.”
NASCAR’s steady decline in viewership since 2005, and the recent meteoric rise in that of F1 have given rise to the possibility of F1 beating NASCAR in being the leading American motorsport.
F1 has newer methods of connecting with its fans. Social media revamps and, most importantly, the Netflix docuseries, “Drive to Survive” have helped in boosting the popularity of the sport in the USA.
Eddie Gossage’s take on today’s world of NASCAR
Gossage feels like NASCAR is the leader, with the sport making a lot of right decisions and calls. He believes that Ben Kennedy, the grandson of Bill France Jr. is the future of NASCAR. “They need to get this car to work exceptionally well on all tracks, not just certain tracks,” he said.
But for Gossage, NASCAR has too many road course events on its schedule. He is particularly critical of the street circuit race in Chicago. “I think they may have a little overreacted in that people were enjoying the road course races like at Watkins Glen and Sonoma, permanent road courses, a proper road course,” said Gossage.
Although he believes that NASCAR is doing new things to entertain its fans, he stated, “They may be overdoing it just a hair, but those are good things. I think they’re strong and getting stronger. They’re No. 1 with a bullet.”
