With all the recent lawsuits, controversies, and leaked internal messages finally out in the open — NASCAR’s problems no longer have to be whispered about in hushed tones. None of this has actually been the cause of the decline, but it’s finally exposed the concerns that fans have been complaining about for years. And now that everything’s finally out in the daylight, a lot of people are viewing this as NASCAR’s best chance in ages to actually turn things around.
Here are the changes fans are saying NASCAR needs to make in order to save itself.
1. Fire the Current Leadership
One thing fans are demanding is the firing of the current crop of top executives — Steve Phelps and Steve O’Donnell. Now it’s not that people necessarily think they were trying to sabotage the sport, it’s just that their leadership has led NASCAR further and further away from the values and roots that used to make it so appealing to its long time fans- or even appealing to the new ones. The current leadership’s had NASCAR inching more and more into the corporate world, and in a very obvious way.
Getting rid of them might just be the symbolic kick in the pants the sport needs to start rebuilding trust with it’s fans again.
2. Scrap the Playoff System and Reinstate a Full-Season Points Championship
The playoff format has been a huge source of discontent for fans — and NASCAR drivers — for years. For a lot of people, this system made season-long consistency feel like something that got lost in manufactured drama. It’s a system that rewards those who come good at the right time, rather than being consistently good all season long, and that’s something alot of people have been complaining about.
By cutting out the playoffs and going back to a proper full-season points based championship, NASCAR could restore a sense of legitimacy and reward the drivers and teams who consistently deliver across the entire season instead of whoever peaks at the right time. And lots of people think that would help get back the respect that’s been missing from the sport.
3. Rework the Car Package. More Power, Less Spec, Less Over-Engineering
One of the things that’s been really holding people back is the Next Gen car that was introduced in 2022. It was sold as a safer and more cost-effective option, but in reality, it’s been panned by a lot of fans — and even a few drivers — because it’s taken away from the raw excitement and raw emotion of what stock car racing used to be all about.
Even Denny Hamlin has been vocal about it, calling it “a fundamental car problem”. That echoes the same complaints that people have been having about how much power has been taken away, how hard it is to pass, and how much has been engineered out of the cars at the cost of the actual racing.
People say if the cars weren’t so evenly matched and had more power, were a little more free to do their own thing with engineering, then the raw excitement and unpredictability would come flooding back and that’s what stock car racing is supposed to be all about, isn’t it ?
4. NASCAR Needs to Reconnect with Its Soul
Another complaint you hear a lot is that the sport has gotten too far away from what made it great in the first place. Today there are too many road courses, too much artificial drama around restarts, stages, and all the other things that feel like they’re more about putting on a show than actually racing.
Fans will tell you that shift has watered-down the very things that made NASCAR special: oval racing, good old-fashioned competition, cars that are fallible (but safetey shoudl alway at the forefront) and what happens on track has real consequence.
Ditching some of those artificial gimmicks an bringing back a bit of strategy and unpredictability would be a huge step towards making the sport feel authentic again. For long-time fans this isn’t (only) about nostalgia, it’s about keeping the identity of stock car racing.
5. Give the Broadcasts a Much Needed Upgrade
One of the main things that’s been grating on fans is not just what happens on the track, but how it gets shown on their screens. Today it’s easy to compare the broadcast quality of every sport, and it’s safe to say NASCAR’s TV presentation is lagging behind. That’s especially true when you compare it to Formula 1.
Fans are saying they need a modern graphics package, better live info overlays, improved timing screens, and some more immersive coverage.
If they could get that right, that could be just the thing to draw in younger fans and get the sceptics back on board.
