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NASCAR: Where will the fanbase rank in the 2018 Fandom 250?

By Asher Fair

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the #43 Click n' Close Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 18: Darrell Wallace Jr., driver of the #43 Click n' Close Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
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The 2018 Fandom 250 is scheduled to be released later this week. Will NASCAR’s fanbase be ranked higher or lower than where it was ranked last year?

Last season, NASCAR’s fanbase ranked #24 on the overall list and was the highest ranked fanbase of the eight fanbases in the “Other” category that made it into FanSided‘s annual Fandom 250.

As far as individual drivers are concerned, only Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it into last year’s Fandom 250. He ranked #203 on the overall list and was ranked 17th of the 18 sports figures who made it into the rankings.

Where will NASCAR’s fanbase rank in this year’s Fandom 250, and will it be joined by any of the sport’s drivers?

It’s no secret that NASCAR’s fanbase has been declining over the last several years, and it’s no secret that this decline was felt this past season, especially following the retirement of Earnhardt Jr. after the 2017 season ended.

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Considering the fact that drivers such as Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards are no longer competing in the sport coupled with the plethora of recent rule changes, it only makes sense that not as many people are interested in NASCAR as they once were.

However, even with its recent decline, the fact that NASCAR’s fanbase was still able to rank at #24 in last year’s Fandom 250 means that it likely won’t tumble much further, if at all, after only one more season of declining. Even if it does fall, it likely won’t fall too far.

UFC’s fanbase ranked second of the eight fanbases in the “Other” category last year, and it was ranked #48 overall on the list, 24 positions behind NASCAR’s fanbase, which trailed only 23 other fanbases.

Even if NASCAR’s fanbase falls behind UFC’s, which is a possibility, albeit not a likelihood, it is hard to see it falling outside of the top two when it comes to the fanbases in the “Other” category, and it is certainly hard to see it falling out of the top 50. Look for it to rank somewhere between #25 and #40.

On the individual driver side, as stated, Earnhardt Jr. retired from NASCAR Cup Series competition following the conclusion of the 2017 season, and he retired as the 15-time reigning winner of the Most Popular Driver Award winner. Considering the fact that that was only enough to get Earnhardt Jr. to #203 in last year’s Fandom 250, it is highly unlikely that another driver will end up in this year’s rankings.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who won this season’s Most Popular Driver Award in the Cup Series, probably has the best chance to do so, but this isn’t all that likely considering the fact that this past season was just his third season as a full-time driver in the sport and he has won this award only once. The fact that NASCAR’s fanbase is on the decline won’t help the case of the 23-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native much, either.

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Where will NASCAR‘s fanbase rank in the 2018 Fandom 250? Will any of the sport’s drivers end up in the rankings? This year’s Fandom 250 is scheduled to go live on the morning of Tuesday, December 4, so be sure to check it out to find out.

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