William Byron, a driver with Hendrick Motorsports, offered suggestions on how to boost NASCAR’s profile in the present situation. He emphasized how the sport may attract a wider audience than their existing landscape by drawing a connection with Formula 1’s programming. Although NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in the United States, its global appeal pales in comparison to other motorsports. Since it is a national sport, it is challenging to increase its global viewership. Nonetheless, William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports proposed many strategies to boost the sport’s popularity. The first is increased social media visibility and improved broadcasting methods, citing Formula 1’s decision to use onboard cameras based on spectator convenience.
“We must become much more up to date with the exposure and social media scene. Byron told The Athletic, “My generation and my friends would love to be able to follow the race for their favorite drivers more easily.” “The applications from Formula One have a really nice UI, similar to how you follow Charles (Leclerc) or Lewis Hamilton. Like the in-car cameras (on Max), we must have an easy way to access that,” he continued. Byron also recommended that when promoting NASCAR, the sport’s technicality and the difficulties drivers encounter should be emphasized.
According to him, the majority of non-viewers believe that cars never stop going in circles, and very few are aware of the hurdles that drivers encounter and overcome when driving. And all we have to do is inform people about the challenges of this sport. The difficulty of operating these vehicles is not well understood. “Oh, you’re just turning left at 80 percent of the tracks,” they assume, but in reality, they realize that they’re on the edge. As if you were driving on ice, you are literally battling the automobile on the brink. Therefore, all we need to do is teach people in a modern manner.
Millions of people watched NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500 this year
Despite the fact that NASCAR is not very well-known, its viewership has increased this year as a result of the increased anticipation. The season-opening Daytona 500 in February drew an average of 6.76 million viewers, a significant 13% increase over 2024. Furthermore, FOX later had an average of 4.1 million viewers for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, demonstrating yet another enormous gain. This represents a significant shift for stock racing in general, since sports like the NBA typically draw between 2 and 4 million viewers annually. The number of people watching the sport worldwide has also increased.
