After much (or lack of) anticipation, it is finally time for the Chicago Street Race. NASCAR’s newest effort to draw mainstream attention to the sport. The streets of Chicago around Grant Park have been blocked off for stock cars to race on Saturday and Sunday. NASCAR has pulled out all of the stops for this event. Not only will the drivers of the Cup (and Xfinity) Series be racing around Grant Park, but there will be concerts and a bar crawl. The headlining The Chainsmokers concert will feature every Cup Series driver making an appearance on stage so fans attending the race will know who they are. NASCAR is clearly trying to reach a new audience this weekend with the Chicago Street Race.
Now, long-lasting NASCAR fans might be a bit disgruntled about this weekend. To be fair, The Chainsmokers headlining a concert series during a NASCAR weekend makes as much sense as Wiz Khalifa performing the halftime show for The Clash. Wait a second.
Before this article dives too deep into the analysis/criticism on this weekend (and NASCAR’s marketing in general), NASCAR has to attempt to attract new fans to the sport. A company that does not expand its current audience is doomed to lack of growth and at risk of failing. NASCAR cannot simply rely of their fans passing on their fandom to their children. Despite what some may say, it is okay for NASCAR to try new things. However, there is a general wisdom in marketing: do not burn your loyal customer chasing the new customer. NASCAR has consistently bitten the hand that feeds for the hope of attracting new viewers.
NASCAR’s Identity Crisis
What is NASCAR’s identity? That is a key question to how NASCAR markets itself to the general public. Depending on who you ask, you will receive a variety of answers. Some similar answers could have completely different tones and connotations too. There is still a perception that NASCAR is “good ole boy, southern racing”. However, there are contingency of fans who embrace that and outsiders who use that as a slap against the sport. Perception is reality, but NASCAR has the ability to somewhat control that perception. At the same time, there is going to be a certain stigma attached to NASCAR that cannot be altered no matter what the organizing body does.
From their actions, NASCAR seems to be stuck in an identity crisis. There is definitely an angle that they are leaning toward, but cannot escape their history and what them successful. Most likely, that is to NASCAR’s chagrin. Based on recent actions from the organizing body, NASCAR seems to be attempting to position itself as the American F1. While many would argue that claim is IndyCar’s realm (which it should be), it is hard to argue against the fact that NASCAR is attempting to position itself more closely with the culture of open-wheel racing. However, NASCAR cannot fully commit since the roots of the sport are moonshiners racing street cars. Most of their drivers rose through dirt racing or local tracks in nowhere USA.
NASCAR has clearly seen the rise in popularity in F1, especially domestically. Fans have packed the Miami area for the two street circuits hosted there. The Las Vegas GP will also have massive fan attendance. Understandably, NASCAR wants to tap into that racing market in the United States. However, there is a fundamental difference between F1 and NASCAR. F1 cars are engineered to be the most efficient, well-designed racing machines in the world. NASCAR is supposed to be stock cars from the highway supped up to their maximum capability.
The Lefts and Rights
To continue down this F1 path, NASCAR has committed to altering NASCAR into incorporating more of that open-wheel style. Before 2018, there were two road courses on the schedule: Sonoma and Watkins Glenn. In 2018, NASCAR implemented the Charlotte ROVAL to the schedule, boosting the number of road courses to three. Then, NASCAR went all out and plunged into the road course racing. 2021 saw the Cup Series run on seven road courses. COTA, the Indy road course, and Road America made their debuts all in the same year. In three seasons, NASCAR went from three to seven. Now, NASCAR has settled in at six per year.
With this increase in road course racing, NASCAR designed and implemented a car that would theoretically be better on the road courses. In addition to being a cost saver, the NextGen car was supposed to bring high quality road racing to the Cup Series. Ignore the fact that Watkins Glenn and the ROVAL consistently had excellent racing with previous generations of car, NASCAR was determined to make it better. The NextGen car would be another tool to help sophisticate NASCAR as well. While the “stock” in stock car racing was already starting to fade quickly, the three manufacturer NextGen cars barely resemble the model name that is given. NextGen cars are supposed to be well-designed racing machines that handle road courses better than any previous generation of car. Ironic that this car performs best at cookie-cutter intermediate ovals.
Why the Chicago Street Race?
The next logical step for NASCAR was to get their sport running a street circuit one day. There were rumblings of this possibility for awhile, but NASCAR pulled the trigger for the 2023 season. Where would this street circuit be held? Perhaps in a thriving NASCAR market, such as Daytona, Charlotte, or Nashville? If not there, then surely New York City, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles, three states/areas where NASCAR still hosts races and seen as a major market in the United States. Nope. Instead, NASCAR chose Chicago, a market that lost a race after the 2019 season.
NASCAR felt the need to do a street circuit. IndyCar has six street circuits on their 2023 schedule, with five in the United States. As mentioned earlier, F1 is hosting two United States GPs on city streets. If NASCAR wants to keep up, surely they must do a street race themselves. Hence the birth of the Chicago Street Race. Why Chicago? Their marketing answer would be to enter a new market and bring NASCAR racing to people who might not have ever experience it before. That was the thinking behind The Clash in the LA Coliseum and it has worked well (according to NASCAR). However, that logic ignores the fact that the Chicago market had a NASCAR race for nineteen years at track less than hour away from Grant Park.
To call the decision to run the Chicago Street Race controversial is an understatement. Whether it is the location or running a street circuit itself, there is a divide among drivers and fans about the Chicago Street Race. Kyle Busch, who is known to voice his displeasures of NASCAR favoring entertainment over competition, has voiced concern over the race. Meanwhile, former F1 champion Jenson Button is returning to the Cup Series to run the Chicago Street Race with excitement. Fans are split on this race as well. One contingency of fans are optimistic and excited to see NASCAR try something new. Others hope this fails epically and NASACR never does this again.
Chasing the Casual Eye
Every sporting and entertainment organization desires some mainstream attention. NASCAR is no different. The more eyes on the product is better for the sport. In order to get more eyes, you might have to sacrifice the competitive spirit and freedom in exchange for drama and stakes. The key for any sporting organization is striking that balance. NASCAR has recently heavily leaned into manufactured drama rather than allowing the racing speak for itself. Since 2010, NASCAR has made the following decisions for the sake of more casual eyes: stage breaks/points, elimination format for playoffs, making Daytona the regular season finale, throwing dirt on Bristol, changing Atlanta into a superspeedway, and the NextGen car.
All of these decisions have gradually dragged NASCAR away from their purest form of competition. The first drastic step NASCAR took in this direction was the original Chase for the Cup format in 2004. After Matt Kenseth won the championship in the midst of a “boring” season with a race to spare, the Chase for the Cup was implemented to garner more attention for the last ten races. All of the changes NASCAR has made is in an attempt to get that casual viewer to tune in (with the hope they become a loyal viewer). While everyone can understand NASCAR fighting for more fans, how they have gone about it is simply odd.
Again, the quest to draw a new audience cannot be at the cost of the current crop of viewers. NASCAR has been making moves that have upset the loyal fanbase they have cultivated. Does NASCAR have to listen to that contingency of fans? Of course not. Almost all of them will complain consistently then park their rear ends on the couch every Sunday to watch their complaint in real time. That is the beauty of loyal fans: they are difficult to lose. Does that mean NASCAR is not flirting with disaster with some of these decisions? Of course not.
Focus on What Works
While there are a number of fans vocal about their disinterest in NASCAR on the streets, many fans will not bat an eye at the venture. In fact, there will be plenty that will applaud NASCAR for attempting this to draw more viewers. The same could be said about The Clash and Bristol Dirt Race. NASCAR has to try something to gain new viewers. Not only new viewers, but younger viewers. There is that coveted 18-34 year demographic that every company is chasing. NASCAR, much like sporting entities, struggles to consistently draw these viewers. Clearly, the only way to draw and keep those viewers is to try outside the box things or chase the F1 fad.
While attempting the occasional new concept is not wrong, NASCAR’s consistent willingness to stray further away from what made the sport popular in the late 90s/early 2000s is wild. This goes back to the identity crisis NASCAR, or the executives of NASCAR, are suffering from. NASCAR’s identity has (and will) never be clean, polished racing with engineered machines specifically built for racing. F1 has that locked down. NASCAR’s identity is blue-collared, rough around the edges, elbows out racing where the drivers are in turbo-charged vehicles that can be seen on any American highway.
Buy Into the Identity
For whatever reason, NASCAR plays this half-in, half-out game with that identity. While some would argue that NASCAR completely walks away from it, that would be misleading. If NASCAR was fully trying to separate themselves from that identity, they would not have brought dirt racing to the schedule. North Wilkesboro would have remained a forgotten relic. Rockingham and the Nashville Fairgrounds would continue to sit around with no hope of future NASCAR dates. To give credit to NASCAR, some of these “throwback” decisions have worked. Even with Bristol Dirt, the issue is not dirt racing itself rather using Bristol as the venue instead of an actual dirt track.
Instead of constantly changing the points/playoff format or attempting every radical track idea, NASCAR needs to find consistent quality. They need to stop attempting to ensure parity and fairness. Dominance is a draw. When there is a dominant driver or team, everyone tunes in to watch them lose. Parity becomes boring when it feels random. At the same time, buy more into tradition. Nostalgia has been the best product in all realms recently. One of the most popular TV shows recently dipped into 80s nostalgia. NASCAR has great history. They should show it off while promoting the current and future stars. NASCAR gets too distracted by the shiny new toy to follow the best path ahead. The Chicago Street Race is the latest example of that.
