Off Brand
Nascar Races to Save Live Sports — and Its Own Reputation
The fading sport’s last shot for relevance is in the form of a splashy post-pandemic televised return
Depending on just how sports-starved you are, you may be looking forward to doing something this weekend you haven’t done in a while, if ever: watching a Nascar race.
With the exception of Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, all major sports have been in hibernation since mid-March, with fans turning to video-gaming as an alternative release. So the May 17 race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, airing live on Fox, gives Nascar something truly singular — a shot at the undivided attention of America’s vast and voracious sports-consuming community.
“I think we’re going to have millions of fans that will tune in who otherwise wouldn’t,” Nascar president Steve Phelps crowed recently, a huge opportunity for newbies to “sample” auto racing. (There will be no fans at the track, and a variety of social-distancing and mask-wearing rules will be in effect for pit crews and team members.)
