Should NASCAR Run With Other Series To Bring Fans?

NASCAR is desperate to bring new fans to the sport. Are they missing opportunities by not running weekends with other forms of racing and being tied to the Xfinity series?

This weekend at New Hampshire NASCAR runs a typical weekend, Sprint Cup and Xfinity paired together for the weekend. Both series have basically the same fans, so you do not bring in different fans by having them in the same weekend package. Would NASCAR be better served by splitting the Sprint Cup series from the Xfinity series and running NHRA, Indy or IMSA companion races?

Each of those other series has a different fan base, and the combined event could give both series an opportunity for exposure to new fans. Most tracks that the NASCAR Sprint Cup series visit have a road course in the facility. With IMSA being owned by NASCAR the partnership would seem to almost be a natural. The manufacturers would be able to display multiple street models of the cars they are racing in both series. More fans at the track means more sponsor exposure for everyone to different fans. NASCAR fans have been clamoring for more road courses, maybe a road course event paired with IMSA and bring the two fan bases together.

The reason that NASCAR puts Sprint Cup qualifying on seemingly odd days it is to try and drive multi day ticket sales. If you ran an Indy race on Saturday, tracks would be able to draw significantly more fans in for the Saturday event than they do for Xfinity races. That of course would make for more of those multi day ticket sales for NASCAR fans curious about the Indy show. The IndyCar series just ran the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as their companion event in Iowa, so the relationship is there. With most tracks struggling with ticket sales, it would provide an opportunity for fewer empty seats in the grandstands and create some long needed demand for tickets.

The most interesting and creative combination would be with the suddenly growing NHRA. Several tracks like Charlotte, Bristol, Las Vegas and others have NHRA facilities on property. If you have a Cup event that runs on Saturday night, the schedule would be fantastic for fans. Friday NASCAR would practice in the early afternoon and finish in time for first round qualifying for the NHRA. Saturday would have the NHRA qualifying during the day and the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at night after. Sunday the NHRA gets to run their headline eliminations. It fits perfectly and would bring the two fan bases together. Not to mention it turns into a less expensive two day show for the NASCAR teams saving money but a quality three day ticket for the fans.

The side benefit of pulling the Xfinity series away from the cup schedule would be to bring some needed identity to it. There has been such debate on the series and the cup regulars dominating that it has lost its purpose as a developmental series. It could go back to smaller tracks and return to some of the areas that fans decry NASCAR for abandoning. They could go back to single day shows with practice qualifying and race in a single day saving teams money. Its a win win for the teams and NASCAR.

NASCAR needs to bring more fans into the fold, and the only way they can do it is to expose its product to more people. By pairing with different racing series you get that exposure to people who are already race fans and might be more willing to give NASCAR a chance. If NASCAR is going to build its audience again, it needs to get as many people giving NASCAR a chance as possible.

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