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In 75th anniversary season, NASCAR’s biggest challenges include finding new fans

AP photo by Steve Helber / Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon greets fans during driver introductions on Sept. 6, 2014, at Virginia's Richmond Raceway. Gordon helped NASCAR gained mainstream appeal during the 1990s, but he is among the superstars who have retired over the past decade.
AP photo by Steve Helber / Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon greets fans during driver introductions on Sept. 6, 2014, at Virginia's Richmond Raceway. Gordon helped NASCAR gained mainstream appeal during the 1990s, but he is among the superstars who have retired over the past decade. AP photo by Steve Helber / Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon greets fans during driver introductions on Sept. 6, 2014, at Virginia's Richmond Raceway. Gordon helped NASCAR gained mainstream appeal during the 1990s, but he is among the superstars who have retired over the past decade.

By JENNA FRYER / The Associated Press 5 min read

NASCAR is crumbling: That is the image being presented to the casual fan early in this injury-plagued start to its 75th anniversary season.

Through the first 11 points races of the 2023 Cup Series schedule, NASCAR has handed down massive penalties, some of which have been overturned by appeals panels. Team owners are in a stalemate with NASCAR leadership over a new revenue model. Drivers have been unhappy with the second-year Next Gen car’s performance at certain tracks.

Most alarming, as NASCAR is in the thick of negotiating a new television contract, was the dramatic drop in TV ratings when Chase Elliott was sidelined earlier this season. The 27-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, won the 2020 championship for the Cup Series and has been voted its most popular driver by fans the past five years. When he was sidelined for six races after breaking his left leg while snowboarding, ratings dropped by roughly 500,000 viewers.

And when he returned in mid-April? The ratings increased in back-to-back races at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway and Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway.

As part of the celebration of NASCAR’s 75th season, The Associated Press interviewed 12 veteran contributors to the industry on topics ranging from the greatest drivers to key challenges ahead. Seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class in 2010, was succinct in his answer on the challenges ahead: “How to attract new and younger fans.”