NASCAR attendance, social impressions rise under Steve O’Donnell

NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 6, 2026

Attendance gains

Steve O’Donnell used his first State of the Sport press conference as NASCAR CEO to frame the series as a sport with momentum and unfinished business. Speaking at Homestead-Miami Speedway, O’Donnell said NASCAR has “encouraging momentum” as it closes the 2026 season there, then pointed to several indicators that suggest the push is reaching fans. NASCAR said attendance across 38 race weekends is up 5%, while attendance among children 12 and under has climbed 12%. The company also said its social media impressions are up 34%, and interest among fans 18 to 34 years old is at its highest level since 2013. Those gains, along with a 35% lift for NASCAR’s free ad-supported TV channel since October, give the series evidence that its core product still draws attention even as the sport tries to widen its reach. O’Donnell’s message was upbeat, but he also made clear that the progress does not change the scale of the job ahead. NASCAR, he said, still has work to do as it closes the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Competition priorities

O’Donnell laid out five priorities for the series, competition, audience growth and engagement, schedule and media strategy, international expansion and at-track fan development. He said NASCAR’s biggest challenge is making the sport easier for new fans to follow and building more driver star power. That theme ran through his comments on the current TV picture as well. O’Donnell said Cup Series television ratings have sagged, and he tied recent postseason declines to competition from college football and the NFL. That competitive pressure is part of the calendar, but it also shapes how NASCAR thinks about timing, promotion and presentation. O’Donnell said The CW has expressed interest in midweek prime-time races, a sign that the series continues to explore ways to reach viewers outside the traditional weekend window. He also said NASCAR wants to make the sport more accessible without losing what already works. The current challenge is not only to hold the fans the sport has, but also to make the racing easier to enter for people who do not already know the format, the playoff structure or the personalities. That balance, between continuity and simplification, sits at the center of NASCAR’s next phase.

Manufacturer plans

The product side of the sport remains a major focus, and O’Donnell said NASCAR wants to keep improving the current seventh-generation car rather than move to an eighth-generation model. He said the series is still considering horsepower increases for 2027 and possible qualifying changes, two adjustments that would affect both the racing product and how teams approach each weekend. The manufacturer picture also remains active. O’Donnell said Dodge will return to Cup in 2027 as a fourth manufacturer, a move that adds another major brand to the top level of the sport. He also said FedEx Freight will replace Craftsman as the Truck Series title sponsor. Beyond the top-line business moves, O’Donnell pointed to the value of NASCAR’s existing format changes and current car package. He said the return of the Chase has been successful, and he credited the Next Gen car with helping attract new owners and manufacturers. Internationally, NASCAR is still looking beyond North America, but O’Donnell said a race outside North America remains years away. Taken together, his comments painted a sport that sees room to grow in the car, the calendar and the marketplace, while keeping the focus on the same core question, how to make NASCAR stronger for new fans and more compelling for the ones already watching.