Kyle Busch Blames the “Culture Problem” for Drop in NASCAR’s Popularity

Richard Childress Racing veteran Kyle Busch has shared his thoughts on culture change that altered NASCAR fandom forever.

Kyle Busch Blames the “Culture Problem” for Drop in NASCAR’s Popularity

Kyle Busch (Via @KyleBusch/X)

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NASCAR has way past its glory days and is desperately looking to find ways to go back to the good old days. But despite having the some of the best racers ever, competitive cars in the Next-Gen era and more resources at disposal, no changes seem to make a big change. Two times Cup Series champion Kyle Busch seems to have an answer to it.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, Kyle Busch was asked about the drop in NASCAR’s popularity. In its peak years, the premier stock car racing averaged 6-7 million views per races, and over 12 million for Daytona 500. Now the number has dropped to 2-3 million and 7-8 million respectively. This drop come at a time where there more ways for the sport attract new fans.

Talking about the disappointing situation, Kyle Busch pointed figure at the change in the world culture compared to the 80’s and 90’s. Unlike in the past, the car culture is dying and the there is no huge passionate race fans market to tap into at the moment. Now NASCAR is fighting other sports series to gather the attention casual sports fans.

That’s a tough one. I think it’s a culture problem — and I say that in regard to the world culture. In the ’80s and ’90s, you had a bunch of Hot Rod guys who were cool with souping up their 1970s, 1980s street rods. A lot of those guys are aged out. … I just think the problem we’re running into is there’s not a lot of race fans anymore.

Kyle Busch said via The Athletic.

Another major issue is the change in temperature alongside other factors that is restricting the entry of young fans, the major thing a sport needs to have a solid future, as parents no longer brings them to race tracks. The veteran himself admitted that even he wouldn’t attend a NASCAR race in such situation with his kids, showing the dire situation the sport is in.

People would always bring their kids to the track, but now there are just so many other things people can do otherwise… Who wants to sit in metal bleachers under the sun for three hours? If you’re out there — God bless you. More power to you. I appreciate that. We need to do more for those people who are here and who give us their time and their money. But you’re not going to find me out there.

Kyle Busch added.

Kyle Busch is getting more respect from fans after exiting JGR

The 2023 season marked a major change in Kyle Busch’s career, as after over 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing, he joined Richard Childress Racing. This not only started a new chapter of him as a racer, but also marked a new chapter in his status as racing superstar.

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

At JGR he was considered a villain by majority of the fans, mainly due to his aggressive racing and the Toyota factor. But now with the return to Chevy and his public persona growing as a family man, has attracted more fans to him. Talking about this change, Busch admitted that he is getting more respect from the fans.

I would say the perception over the years was always the “black hat” thing, right? And now it’s definitely different, where it just automatically flipped because I changed teams (from Joe Gibbs Racing to RCR). So, that’s a little weird. But I’m just taking things more in stride, and I feel like people are respecting that a little bit more.

Kyle Busch said.

The comments from Kyle Busch shows there has been a massive change to his career, with the RCR move both positive and negative. It would be interesting to see if the veteran would ever get back to the race winning form he was at in his JGR days, as it’s been over two years since he last won a Cup event.

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