Gotta try to get them back.
It’s no secret that it’s been a rough few years for NASCAR. Television ratings have gone down as the fans not-so-privately grumbled about the sport abandoning its roots to chase new fans that it never seemed to attract.
Over the past decade or so, NASCAR decided to take races away from historical tracks and instead move to new markets, and also attempted to compete with the NFL by implementing an elimination-style playoff system in a desperate attempt to get their “game 7” moment during the season finale.
Spoiler alert: It hasn’t worked.
Last year was undeniably a rough year for NASCAR, as they faced an antitrust lawsuit from two of their race teams and were forced to deal with the fallout from some unflattering information becoming public. And they were also under intense pressure from both fans and drivers to do away with the playoffs and go back to a simpler points format – with many calling for an elimination of the “postseason” altogether and a return to a 36-race points season.
Well it seems like NASCAR finally got the message.
The lawsuit with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports finally settled back in December, and resulted in the departure of now-former NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps. Then during the offseason, NASCAR announced that they were doing away with the playoffs and returning to the Chase for the Cup points system that they used before implementing the playoffs.
Combine that with the addition of a points race at North Wilkesboro, as well as the Clash moving from Los Angeles to Bowman Gray Stadium, and it’s clear that NASCAR is trying hard to make up for their past mistakes and win back the fans who have tuned out over the past few years.
It’s something NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell was open about today when he sat down with ESPN’s Ryan McGee at the SBJ National Sports Forum, where he admitted that the sport had alienated its fanbase in an attempt to attract new viewers:
“We deserted our fan base. So now what you’re seeing us do is … yes, we can introduce the sport to new fans, but here’s how we got here.”
O’Donnell also admitted that NASCAR tried too hard to be like the NFL, and in the process made NASCAR too complicated for potential new fans to understand:
“We probably chased a few too many things trying to be like other sports. We assumed that our hardcore fans would stay with us and newer fans would jump in. … Instead of new fans coming in, they did not understand it.”
He says NASCAR even got an ultimatum from one of their broadcast partners:
“Your job is simple. You got to get the industry back.”
I’ve been a NASCAR fan since 2001, so I’ve been watching the sport through the good and bad. I’ve sat at Bristol when fans were packed in so tight that you couldn’t move, so it’s sucked to see the stands half empty during what used to be the biggest race of the year.
But I have to admit that I’m more excited about NASCAR than I have been in a while. We’ve gotten two great races so far in 2026, points actually matter right now, and NASCAR even added more horsepower on short tracks.
Of course the fans aren’t going to come back overnight, and it’s not like there aren’t still problems that NASCAR needs to work on. If short track and road course races aren’t more entertaining this year, they’re going to have to go back to the drawing board with this Next Gen car. And sponsorship is always an issue, especially with so many drivers and teams being forced to turn to business-to-business sponsors versus the consumer-facing sponsors that offered more opportunities for driver appearances and fan engagement. (Remember when you had drivers making appearances at auto parts stores and gas stations? Those were the days).
Regardless, it’s nice to see NASCAR finally acknowledging the fans who have been warning them they were going in the wrong direction for quite a while. Now we just have to wait and see if they really get it, or if it’s just lip service.
