Why NASCAR Should Race In Europe

NASCAR In Europe? NASCAR moving over the pond for a race might be a good move for the sport.

In the last few years we have witnessed the issues that NASCAR is having in maintaining good numbers in the US TV ratings. Europe could represent the right scenario to get the sport growing again. There, more people are getting closer to this world thanks to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series that races in many European countries with a solid American imprinting of the competition and of the atmosphere of the events, but the problem is a different one: in very few countries of the Old Continent there are TV channels that cover the Sprint Cup Series, making it more difficult to attract new spectators.

Being a European NASCAR fan I can see the struggles that this sport is encountering to form a solid fan base here because the people who love racing (they are a lot I can assure you) find it too different from what they traditionally follow, Formula 1. But I also see that the NASCAR organization is not making an effort sufficient to promote itself in this part of the world. The Indycar Series is way more followed than NASCAR in Europe even if in the US the trend goes the opposite way.

To get closer to the European fans and try to attract them towards the sport one smart strategy would be to organize one or more races in this continent. The Sprint Cup Series has already competed outside of the US more than once, with races in Australia in 1988 and in Japan in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Then why not try it again, this time in Europe? A race well sponsored and at the right track could represent a new show for people to be interested in, getting them closer to the sport. And who knows, it might even turn the heads of the managers of some of the sports channels in the continent. Races on TV on a full-time basis would be a huge boost for NASCAR in the rest of the world.

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That said, Europe is not the land of ovals. There are a couple of them that would be worth racing at though like the huge two-mile tri-oval of Lausitzring in Germany or Raceway Venray in the Netherlands, a short track that the Whelen Euro Series already competes at. As far as the road courses on the other hand there would be plenty of great ones to choose from all over the continent.

To sum up, in my opinion the development of the NASCAR brand in Europe goes through the running of races in this part of the world. The participation of stars of the sport like Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick could turn the attention of the fans and of the TV channels to this world way more than what the minor races of the Whelen Euro Series can do. This would open huge opportunities in the effort to expand the “area of influence” of NASCAR.

What do you think NASCAR could and would do to help promote the sport all over the world even more than now? Tell us in the comments.

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