Can NASCAR Become as Popular as F1?

Both the 2026 seasons for NASCAR and F1 have just begun, with fans eagerly anticipating another year of high-octane motorsports action from their respective series. But it is easy to see which of the two organizations can count on more fans watching the races throughout the year.

NASCAR has held a special place in the hearts of American car fans for decades now, but F1 is regarded as a more global brand. Have no doubt, if you want to follow and bet on NASCAR races, you should check out VegasBetting.net for expert insight, and will have no problem keeping in touch with what is going on wherever you are in the world. But there just isn’t the same attention on the Cup Series, compared to the F1 Grand Prix calendar.

Is there anything those in charge of NASCAR can do about the current situation? Or should it just accept its place in the motorsports hierarchy and cater to its millions of already devoted fans?

US Popularity

For a long time, if you enjoyed car racing and you were in the US, you were watching NASCAR. It’s races still command huge viewership numbers and big crowds at every racetrack throughout the season. The average viewership last season was around 2.7 million, and NASCAR is still number one in the US.

Drive through entire regions of the US, and you will see just how popular NASCAR is. Flags, bumper stickers, and apparel is proudly displayed by fans who would not even consider watching anything else. But for all that homegrown love, F1 is the global motorsports brand – and one that is now threatening NASCAR at home as well.

Cultural Power

It is unfair to the fans of NASCAR, but there is a cultural power struggle at play here. NASCAR fans are stereotyped as coming largely from the southern states, and the organization as a whole is definitely considered to be blue collar. NASCAR is proudly a “working man’s” race series.

F1, on the other hand, has always been regarded as something for the elite. While NASCAR delights the crowds in places like Georgia and Texas, it is Monaco, Monza, and Abu Dhabi that host F1 Grand Prix races. This air of glamor and money is attractive to many people, especially younger fans, and F1 plays on its status to bring in more investment. NASCAR just cannot compete with the money involved with F1.

Need for Expansion

If NASCAR is to threaten the status of F1, it would need to expand its current horizons. Part of the charm of NASCAR is that it races on the same circuits every year, to large crowds, and remains true to its origins. It doesn’t tend to try and be anything it is not, but that way of thinking will not boost viewership.

F1 is continually attracting a younger audience, and that is something that NASCAR has had issues with. It enjoys a largely older, more traditional audience, and has seen its ratings drop in the last 20 years. There have been moves to host races in Canada, Mexico City, and Brazil, however, and this expansion could help reverse recent trends. The real test would be to successfully hold competitive races in Europe and the Middle East.

Household Stars

Another reason why NASCAR is now attempting to expand and grow its brand is that F1 has become so popular in the US as well. It used to be the case that F1 was watched only in Europe, Australia, Asia, and, more recently, the Middle East. But a TV show changed all that, with North American audiences now just as hooked.

The Netflix Drive to Survive series, following F1 drivers throughout a season, was incredibly popular across the world – including the US – and brought the excitement and drama of the series to many Americans for the first time. F1 drivers became household names, while their NASCAR counterparts remained big fish in their own relatively small pond.

Modernize the Product

Changing the perception of NASCAR is one thing that those in charge could do to compete with the glitz and glamor of F1. It shouldn’t try to compete on that front, as it would be rejecting the history of the organization as well as providing a false story of the present. But it could use the same methods as F1 to get a new message across.

Engaging with fans is everything these days when it comes to sports, and NASCAR is still relying on the traditional method of TV. It could utilize modern social media and streaming platforms to provide younger fans with a new view of NASCAR. There is nothing about NASCAR that wouldn’t be interesting to a younger audience; they just have to be reached in the ways that they are used to – and those that F1 has been able to use to great effect.

F1 will probably always be the global #1 brand. Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL40 Mercedes leads Charles Leclerc of Monaco driving the (16) Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 and the rest of the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on March 29, 2026 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images for McLaren)

Make NASCAR More Popular

Although there seems to be plenty that NASCAR could do to be more popular and win back, or even share, some of the fans that have been attracted by F1, it should also recognize that it probably won’t be able to compete for numbers alone. F1 is a more global competition and will probably remain the number one in motorsports.

NASCAR needs to figure out how to remain number one in the US and then work from there to boost its viewership and fan base abroad. Accepting your place in the hierarchy is not the same as not doing anything to improve. NASCAR has the potential to be much bigger than it already is; it might just have to borrow some of the pages from the F1 playbook to achieve those aims.