Through 31 races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the quality of competition has rarely been higher. Eighteen different winners in a single year seems like a home run stat when it appears on paper.
Eighteen winners show how close the teams are to each other in the Next Gen car. Every driver has a fan base, whether big or small, and more drivers in victory lane equals more excitement to go around. In an era when a charter is vital to the survival of a full-time team, an influx of winners means more owners see an adequate return on their investments.
The best teams and drivers still put up the best results, but the large gap between the elite and small teams has been bridged. The number of teams in the Cup garage that have the ability to compete for a win on any given Sunday is the highest it’s been in decades.
So what’s the problem? Turns out leaving everyone created equal may not translate into growing a larger viewing audience for which the sport is looking.
Viewers are captivated by and drawn to greatness. The greatest teams, the greatest players, and in the case of NASCAR, the greatest drivers. Look no further than the popularity that Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon experienced during the 1990s, and how their rivalry was one of the catalysts to launching NASCAR into mainstream, national success.
Is that to say underdog winners are bad and that NASCAR’s greatest talents should be the only ones winning races? Of course not. Everyone loves an underdog story and some level of parity. But when underdogs win on a regular basis, they’re no longer underdogs.
A system like NCAA’s March Madness works so well because fans are treated to early underdog Cinderella stories that they so desperately crave but also get to see the best teams and the biggest names battle for the championship in the end. NASCAR needs those underdog and feel-good stories from time to time, but it also needs stars, brands and recognizable names to show up in the end.
Too much parity isn’t good in the same way that too much domination isn’t either. There needs to be the perfect mix of underdog stories and elite talents, and it’s a hard balance for any professional sports league to pull off.
It’s a never-ending tug of war, and the equalization of the Cup field with the Next Gen car pulled it in the wrong direction.
When everyone has a chance to win, fewer drivers stand out in the crowd. The best drivers still put up the best…
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