The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) has been a feature of American culture and entertainment for decades. “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Cars” are NASCAR-inspired box office hits, and Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are drivers that became American icons.
Despite being steeped in tradition, the racing series has faltered in popularity recently. Viewership of the Daytona 500, one of the most highly anticipated races of the year, peaked at just under 20 million in 2007, and in 2024, less than nine million people tuned in. The decrease in viewership is because of several factors, from the constantly changing playoff format to failing to modernize and adapt to the new media landscape. Despite NASCAR no longer drawing the same attention as it did in its heyday, the Atlanta Motor Speedway still hosts two races a year, with the Ambetter Health 400 consistently delivering thrilling racing to the around 100,000 spectators.
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Format has changed numerous times. In 2004, NASCAR implemented a format called “Chase for the Championship.” This format takes the top performers of the season and resets their points, with the best performing drivers starting the postseason format with more points. The chase format remained in place until 2018, with several experimental iterations. After “Chase for the Championship,” NASCAR piloted the Playoff format, of which is still used in the sport. The Playoff format awards points based on different stages within the race. Stage one and two total to around half of the race, and stage three is the final half. On top of awarding points based on performance during different segments of the race, the Playoff format prioritizes race winners. If drivers win a race before the start of the format, they automatically qualify for the postseason, no matter how well they perform in the other races. Emphasizing race wins gives everyone a chance to qualify independent of previous results, hopefully providing intense racing to the very end. Since implementing the Playoff format, NASCAR has tinkered with the number of points to award and number of drivers that qualify, but the main idea stayed the same. In search of the perfect format, NASCAR’s lack of continuity from year-to-year makes the viewing experience difficult to follow.
Outside of the constantly changing postseason format, NASCAR has failed to take advantage of newer media to capture new viewers. NASCAR failed to adapt to social media and streaming services and is paying the price in terms of the overall audience watching the races. A comparison to another high-level racing series is Formula One. NASCAR had a head start in the United States due to the brand that was built during the golden era of the series, but despite the larger starting platform, Formula One is slowly creeping up on NASCAR. The main reason behind the growth of Formula One in the United States is the use of new media. “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix docuseries, engaged new viewers, and approximately half of the Formula One fans in the United States attribute their fandom to the hit Netflix series. NASCAR is attempting to recreate the same success that Formula One has with “NASCAR: Full Speed”, a Netflix docuseries that follows drivers throughout the season. Outside of Netflix, NASCAR has taken advantage of the moments that propelled the series into the national eye. The most notable moment was driver Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” wall riding move, which garnered global attention. Despite the delay, NASCAR has begun to use Netflix and social media to promote the series.
And the Atlanta Motor Speedway has hosted some of the most exciting NASCAR races in recent memory. Just last year, the Atlanta Motor Speedway set a new track record with 48 lead changes in the 2024 Ambetter Health 400, with Daniel Suárez winning the race by just 0.003 seconds, the third-smallest margin of victory in NASCAR history. The 2025 Ambetter Health 400 had the same level of excitement. Stage one of the race was 60 laps and stages two and three both consisted of 100. Stage one had clean racing with no caution flags being flown. The first stage was taken by Josh Berry, with Georgia native Chase Elliot rounding out the top five. Stage two was more chaotic, with four caution flags being issued. The first was due to a tire blowout for Ty Dillon. The second involved Erik Jones being turned around, but luckily, he didn’t bring any other drivers with him. On lap 150, fan favorite Elliot was forced into the wall and collected Brad Keselowski and Corey LaJoie. After Joey Logano led 83 of the 100 laps in stage two, Kyle Larson snagged the win at the end, putting to bed the notion that Larson can not win in bigger oval races. Despite the exciting second stage, the third stage was when the real action started. With five wrecks and exhilarating racing, the last 100 laps were some of the most exciting of the race. After a victorious race last year, Suárez tried to overtake Ty Gibbs, but the two collided and collected five other racers on lap 184. Just 13 laps later, Chase Briscoe nudged Chris Buescher, who proceeded to wreckcollect Alex Bowman to bring out another caution. Ryan Blaney was the next victim of the chaos when Carson Hocevar turned him around, but thanks to brilliant driving from Blaney, he failed to collect any other cars. With just five laps till the end, Austin Cidric and William Byron collided, forcing the race to go to overtime. The race ended just as the entire third stage went — chaotically. Christopher Bell, Larson and Hocevar fought for the lead when a caution flag was flown just half a lap from the end. The winner of the race was decided by milliseconds once again. After a long replay, Bell was announced the winner of the photo finish and capped off a thrilling race weekend. The 2025 iteration of the Ambetter Health 400 outdid the previous year, setting a new track record of 50 lead changes throughout the race.
NASCAR may not be as prosperous as it previously was, but the series can still deliver thrilling racing. The drivers’ skill is unmatched and can best be seen by attending the race and feeling the atmosphere, soaking in the passion of the crowd and the roars of the cars.
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