• Loading stock data...
Monday, July 14, 2025

Celebrity Owners, International Ambitions, and $7B Media Deals: Welcome to the New NASCAR

  • The Daytona 500 kick-starts the newest season for the 75-year-old domestic racing league.
  • A possible influx of big names, landmark new TV contracts, and a ‘Drive to Survive’–like Netflix series highlight an evolving NASCAR.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23), in a Star Wars rebel alliance X-wing fighter pilot-inspired race suit, motions to the crowd to get louder during the driver introductions for the Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale on Nov. 5, 2023.
Alex Gould/Special for The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Exclusive

Cal Raleigh’s $11M Season a Steal As He Slugs His Way Into History

The Mariners star considers himself an everyday guy, while his play isn’t.
Read Now
July 14, 2025 |

Full Speed, the NASCAR equivalent of Formula One’s Drive to Survive, wastes no time highlighting perhaps the biggest star in the sport: Michael Jordan. The first half of the first episode features a segment on 23XI, the NASCAR team that the NBA Hall of Famer launched in 2021 with Denny Hamlin, who still drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. Last year, both 23XI drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace (above), made the playoffs, and Reddick won two races (one regular-season and one postseason).

Released Jan. 30, the Netflix show, which documents the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, came just in time to get fans both new and old ready for Sunday’s Daytona 500, which officially begins the ’24 season.

Jordan’s ownership is just one of several evolving aspects of NASCAR that Netflix explored—and that the sport is trying to capitalize on further this year. New $7.7 billion media rights deals will change how viewers consume races, which continue to venture to new locations. Last year, NASCAR took over the streets of Chicago for a brand-new event that—despite a delayed start and rain-shortened outcome—became NBC’s most-watched NASCAR broadcast since 2017, with 4.795 million viewers.

Now, as more U.S. fans give their attention to globally dominant F1, the 75-year-old NASCAR thinks it still has serious room to grow with a bold media strategy, increasingly recognizable faces (drivers or otherwise), and the series’ own international ambitions.

On the Silver Screen

Despite a slight overall viewership decline in 2023, NASCAR was able to secure new media rights deals that will pay out 40% more annually than its current deals. The seven-year contracts, which take effect in ’25, will include incumbent broadcast partners Fox (which is broadcasting the Daytona 500) and NBC, and welcome Amazon and TNT Sports, as well as The CW, which is taking over the second-tier Xfinity Series.

“The days of locking in massive increases for every property out there is not a lock,” Steve Herbst, former NASCAR senior vice president of broadcasting and production, tells Front Office Sports. “It’s not a guarantee anymore, so you have to get creative.” That helps explain, in part, why NASCAR is doubling its broadcast partners, which Herbst—currently vice president of sports, media, and entertainment at financial advisory firm K2 Integrity—is a fan of.

Fox and NBC will still air large portions of the beginning and end of the season, respectively, while Amazon and TNT will be slotted in the middle. But NASCAR hasn’t determined exactly how the 2025 schedule will be divided among the four partners, and there’s no guarantee viewership numbers will stay the same, especially with the move to streaming.

The strategy reminds former Turner president David Levy of NASCAR’s 2015 move off his network (and Disney’s channels) and onto NBC and the now defunct NBC Sports Network. “The ratings declined a lot, when you go from an ESPN or a TNT down to a new channel,” he says. “But guess what? That’s who pays the bill sometimes.” (In ’15, the first year of those new deals, NASCAR’s season-long viewership was down 4% from ’14 and 12% from ’13.) 

Levy, who is now co-CEO of sponsorship agency Horizon Sports and Experiences, speculates NASCAR may have lost some of its fan base because of the TV moves, but he gives the series credit for reinventing itself with events like the Chicago street race and thinks the new deals are smart. “It’s always good to stick with your incumbents,” he says. “But then you also have to fish where the fish are—where the viewers are going. And the viewers are obviously going to streaming services.”

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Power Boost from the GOAT

Last summer, Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets as part of a deal that valued the franchise at $3 billion. In October, NBC Sports reported that Jordan’s presence at team meetings had increased in the aftermath of the sale. “He showed up at six or seven of the playoff races last year because he had two drivers in it,” Hamlin said during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast this week. “That matters for our team.” But even before that, Jordan’s passion for NASCAR was evident.

“We love having Michael out at the racetrack,” NASCAR chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell tells FOS. “One of the cool things with his presence is you can tell he’s got a love of the sport.” 

As 23XI looks to become more of a week-to-week force on the NASCAR circuit this season, O’Donnell says any and all MJ sightings can only be a good thing for attracting new fans: “It’s just been neat to follow his enthusiasm for the sport, and we’d love to see him at every race, for sure, but I know he’s a busy guy. … Just having him at the racetrack, in and of itself, is fantastic.”

Jordan’s genuine love of racing may be to credit for his stewardship, but the business of owning a NASCAR team has been attracting other celebrity investors, too. In 2021, Trackhouse Racing launched with financial backing from Pitbull (yes, the rapper), who is a co-owner of the team. Floyd Mayweather started The Money Team Racing in ’22, though that squad has not competed on a consistent, full-time basis.

O’Donnell says interest remains strong from other potential investors looking to buy into NASCAR teams. Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time Cup Series champion (and one of the final qualifiers for Daytona) who is the co-owner of Legacy Motor Club and has been living in London for the past year, tells FOS that interest extends across the pond—more evidence that the sport is succeeding in expanding its identity beyond its prominently Southern roots, into perhaps a “sexier” product like F1. “There are these sports funds and these conglomerates that would like to own franchises, own the real estate the franchises sit on,” he says. “There’s a lot of interest in cash deployment, far and wide.”

And just as Johnson details interest from potential U.K. investors, NASCAR has its sights set on expanding internationally.

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Traveling Circuit

NASCAR has developmental series in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Europe. In recent years, officials have spoken about mutual interest with partners in Canada and Mexico about holding a Cup Series race outside of the U.S. (Montreal was reportedly close to getting a race in 2024, and ’25 appears to still be on the table.)

At the Daytona 500, there will be representatives from seven different countries who are interested in hosting a race or at least starting to have a relationship with NASCAR. Looking at Europe, O’Donnell sees an immediate potential for one-off races with top Cup Series drivers in the continent. “That’s more probably the angle we’re taking right now is around our exhibition races,” he says. Johnson points to NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum, which has raced inside the iconic Los Angeles stadium since 2021. “That is something that could be taken on the road and be used in a European football stadium pretty easily,” he says.

NASCAR will reveal its 2025 schedule before this season ends and, in turn, will answer questions about what the new broadcast flow will look like and which new countries, if any, the series will be visiting. But until then, there’s plenty of rubber to burn. For everyone in Daytona, it’s time to start your engines.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Joy Taylor

Joy Taylor Out As FS1 Armageddon Ends Three Shows

All three shows were struggling to attract audiences.
NBC Sports
exclusive

NBC Hiring Ex-Hawks Exec Grant Liffmann As NBA Front Office Insider

Liffmann spent the last three years with Atlanta after covering the Warriors.
DraftKings
exclusive

DraftKings in Talks to Acquire Prediction Market Railbird Exchange

Sportsbooks and prediction markets are becoming increasingly intertwined.

Featured Today

May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
The 153rd Open Championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland

Open Championship Considers Ireland: Portrush ‘Will Open’ Gates

Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland is hosting this week’s tournament.
July 14, 2025

MLB’s HR Derby’s $1M Prize Tops Salaries for Three Rising Stars

Three derby competitors could more than double their 2025 salary.
July 14, 2025

NFL’s New Headsets Are Designed to Survive Coach Tantrums

New NFL coaching headsets underwent “extensive drop testing.”
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 13, 2025

Nationals Take HS Star Willits No. 1 in MLB Draft, Eye Potential..

Washington shocks observers by selecting a 17-year-old high schooler.
July 13, 2025

Chelsea Wins $110M in FIFA’s Revamped $1B Club World Cup

Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final match.
July 13, 2025

Bill Ackman to Give $10M to Tennis Hall of Fame After Tournament..

Ackman defended the decision and closed with a challenge to Andy Roddick.
July 13, 2025

Sinner Outduels Alcaraz for First Wimbledon Title and $4M Payday

The best two players in men’s tennis battled once again.