Since Joey Logano hoisted the Bill France Cup in Phoenix to close out the 2024 NASCAR season, fans have discussed the playoff format, potential changes to it, and how it compares to stick-and-ball sports.
On Tuesday, NASCAR President Steve Phelps appeared as a guest during Race Industry Week and discussed the playoffs and how well they went in 2024. In addition, the 61-year-old also talked about the overall health of the sport, what is being done to improve it for the fans and how stick-and-ball sports play a role.
“We’ll continue to work on the race day experience for our fans to make it better and better because it is a more competitive environment there than it’s ever been, right,” Phelp said. “You know, kind of keeping up with the Joneses and whether that’s the Jerry Joneses or other Joneses, that race day experience is important and continuing to invest in fan experiences.”
Phelps said one example of the organization’s investment includes spending money on facilities, including hardwiring them for high-speed internet.
“If you don’t have connectivity at a race track, you’re missing something, right?” he said. “And whether it’s phone calls or it’s texts or whatever it might be, the ability to send video across your device to family and friends — whether it’s social media or otherwise is an important thing for us.
“But it’s expensive, right? We spent $50 million at our 12 racetracks for permanent fiber so there would be strong connectivity. And that’s what the fans expect because they’re getting it at other facilities as well that are in stick-and-ball sports. So we’ve got to keep up with what is happening there and make sure that we are investing into the things that make for a more compelling experience.”
An experience that will resume on Feb. 2, 2025 when the cars return to action in the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.
This news appeared first on @ATHLON SPORTS
