NASCAR State of the Sport: Other Cities Looking to Follow Chicago, Host Cup Races

• As with all entertainment enterprises, NASCAR and its member-tracks are fighting to get its share of discretionary spending.

• NASCAR’s positive changes during the 2020 and 2021 seasons included new ownership from celebrities Michael Jordan and Pitbull, increased interest from minorities both within and outside the sport, better TV ratings.

• Next summer’s street race in downtown Chicago has led to interest from other cities.

Last weekend’s annual State of the Sport message from NASCAR president Steve Phelps shed almost nothing new of startling interest, similar to almost every other corporate end-of-year address.

Overall, for the most part, everything in Daytona Beach and Charlotte is going well, save for a few concerns about safety surrounding the year-old Next Gen car.

Phelps acknowledged the sanctioning body had been somewhat shaky when last he addressed his constituency two years ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 2019 season had been a good one and the early portions of 2020 also looked promising. But the sport was deeply impacted when COVID-19 became a national issue that spring.

The pandemic deeply impacted almost everything NASCAR-related: the Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World schedules, attendance, television ratings, sponsorship interest, and potential newcomers to the sport. “There weren’t a lot of bright spots,” he said on Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway. “That was a very scary time, those 71 days (between when NASCAR shut down in March until it reopened in May).

“I stood in front of you (after that 2020 season) and talked about our best days being in front of us. I know that seemed kind of foolish and maybe some of you were snickering, like, ‘I’m not sure that’s going to happen.’ But where we sit here today, I think that’s exactly what’s happened.”

Phelps briefly recapped NASCAR’s positive changes during the 2020 and 2021 seasons: new ownership from celebrities Michael Jordan and Pitbull, increased interest from minorities both within and outside the sport, better TV ratings, a more favorable public perception regarding civic and social concerns, and on-track success from minority drivers Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez.

“All of that is important,” Phelps said. “It’s changing the face of the sport as we move forward. And you can do that without taking away from what’s happening with your existing fans who have been here for 30, 40, 50, 60 years. They want great racing. They want storylines. They want their drivers to win. They want us to serve them content that’s interesting, unique and special. That’s what we’ve done while we’ve been able to serve this new fan.”

As for the just-completed 2022 season:

“The Next Gen car and its introduction were so important,” Phelps said. “Before this year, you had to have a relationship with one of five teams (Hendrick, Childress, Penske, Gibbs, Stewart-Haas) if you wanted to come into this sport. This car changed that and resulted in 19 different winners, more than half the field. The racing has delivered; it’s been terrific.”

Among the other points presented by Phelps and chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell:

• Next summer’s street race in downtown Chicago has led to interest from other cities. “Their phones (O’Donnell and NASCAR vice president Ben Kennedy) are ringing from cities saying, ‘We’d love to host a NASCAR race,’” Phelps said. “And we have calls coming from north and south of the border. Whether that happens in 2024 or not, I don't know. What I do know is we’re going to have continued schedule variation in 2024. (Chicago) will look nothing like any NASCAR race we’ve ever had.”