Sports car racing has seen an interesting rise in popularity around the globe, thanks to Formula 1 (F1). Launching all the way back in 1950, F1 had seen a large amount of success within Europe, Asia, and certain countries in Latin America before the year 2000. Since the turn of a new century, the European racing sport has pivoted, making more effort to become a global brand. A massive spike in interest from the United States in the late 2000s and 2010s helped this initiative, alongside the rising popularity of social media.
Additionally, the 2019 Netflix documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive helped introduce more people to the sport, garnering more interest. Currently, F1 has garnered an 827 million-sized fanbase in 2025 alone, and an average US viewership of 1.3 million. With all of this success, many are wondering if NASCAR would follow a similar trajectory.
The question remains uncertain. F1 and NASCAR have fundamentally different styles of racing, and F1 has a far longer history of reaching out to international viewers. That said, there is work to get NASCAR a steady presence in the coming decades. A decline in television viewership has led the racing sport to encourage more younger viewers. While it still sees cable television as a viable source for getting viewership, 2025 saw NASCAR put streaming services on the same level of importance. Additionally, NASCAR is set to follow F1’s playbook of airing a series similar to F1’s “Drive to Survive” to get more audience interest.
