“I’ll put my money on it,” NASCAR legend Clint Bowyer believes F1 won’t dent stock car racing’s popularity in the United States

Clint Bowyer is positive of Formula One's failure in America.

“I’ll put my money on it,” NASCAR legend Clint Bowyer believes F1 won’t dent stock car racing’s popularity in the United States

Clint Bowyer

Formula One has enjoyed a steep growth in popularity in the United States in the past few years. The Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ is often credited with stirring interest in open-wheel racing in a country that has historically favored stock racing. The Netflix series was first released in 2019 and instantly gained popularity. While traditional fans often disregard the credibility of the ‘jazzed up’ version of the sport, it has certainly succeeded in attracting a new audience.

F1 viewership in America increased from just 550,000 per race in 2018 to nearly 1.4 Million in 2022. This was largely due to Netflix’s involvement in the sport. Traditionally, America has remained an untapped domain for Formula One. Introducing new American fans to the sport has allowed Formula One to expand its operations to include 3 races per season in the States.

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Formula One has been racing in Austin for a decade, but 1 race was not enough to cater to the widely spread nation. Upon identifying the spike in interest from America, F1 announced the addition of 2 more races in the country. The Miami Grand Prix made it’s way on the calendar in 2022, with The Las Vegas Grand Prix all set to join in 2023.

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While F1 has been rising, NASCAR seems to have hit a plateau. Popularity for the Stock Racing series has staggered in recent years. Reportedly, viewership numbers have fluctuated between 2.2 Million per race to 2.7 Million per race in the past 5 years. Former Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer believes F1 cannot compete with “tailor-made” NASCAR racing. “You have action like the sport’s never had and a format – we take a break and put on a concert, for crying out loud. This is tailor-made for you.” he said.

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NASCAR pundits believe it will be difficult for F1 to ‘grow’ in America

F1 Miami Grand Prix
F1 Miami Grand Prix

In a recent media appearance during the pre-season Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Bowyer shared his opinion on F1’s attempt at capturing the American market. “I guarantee you I’ll put my money up against this product versus anything F1 brings to the United States.” He said in appreciation of the newly introduced pre-season oval event.

NASCAR’s lap-by-lap commentator Mike Joy also expressed his thoughts on the growing involvement of Formula One in American Motorsport. “I did Formula 1 for Fox from 1998 to 2000 with Derek Bell, a fantastic driver and a great analyst and we had the same 300,000 viewers every week. The rating never varied, whether it was on Fox or Fox Sports Net or however it was positioned, It was very hard to grow out of that.” he said.

Formula One certainly has a lot of scope for more growth in a motorsport-obsessed country such as the United States. While 3 races in 1 country seem excessive to most, Formula One management expects extravagant financial growth. Fans worldwide are curious to see if F1 will become as popular as NASCAR in America.

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