According to a report from Forbes, NASCAR faces a significant battle off the track as per recent financial analyses. The 2024 GlobalData report, The Business of NASCAR, indicates a worrying 16% drop in sponsorship revenue.
After the 2008-2010 Great Recession, NASCAR changed from a publicly traded behemoth to a privately held entity, limiting visibility into its financial operations. Despite a downsizing of corporate sponsorships, the sport has maintained overall financial robustness but not without facing hurdles. The latest figures point towards a downturn, with sponsorship revenue visibly declining.
GlobalData’s annual reports provide a look into NASCAR’s financials in the absence of direct disclosure from the organization itself. The Business of NASCAR 2024 reveals a stark reduction in sponsorship revenue to $362.34 million from the previous year’s $425.06 million.
Sunoco, which led with $26.25 million in 2023, saw its contribution halve to $12 million in 2024, while Goodyear took the top spot with $25 million.
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Looking forward, NASCAR has secured a hefty $7.7 billion media rights deal over seven years starting in 2025, involving big names like FOX Sports, NBC Sports, and Amazon‘s Prime Video. This deal not only promises fresh revenue streams but also allocates significant shares to race teams and tracks.
Speaking about the new media rights deal, NASCAR president Steve Phelps commented, as quoted in a separate report by Forbes:
“NASCAR has been a cornerstone property for both new and established platforms for several decades. These agreements demonstrate the staying power of our sport and the consistent, large-scale audience it delivers. This landmark deal underscores our collective growth opportunity to drive engagement across this diverse collection of platforms – whether on broadcast, cable or direct-to-consumer.”
NASCAR SVP/media & productions Brian Herbst also explained:
“The media landscape is rapidly evolving, with new distribution platforms providing more options to the consumer than ever before. This is the right mix of media partners to promote and deliver content around our sport – positioning NASCAR for growth across different mediums and giving our fans uninterrupted access on the established platforms that they are already using. We are excited to work with this best-in-class group of media companies to deliver the best of NASCAR racing and the excitement of live sports to our fans.”
Teams have not been immune to these financial fluctuations. Joe Gibbs Racing, although leading, has weathered a sponsorship dip, and others like Richard Childress Racing have seen sharper declines, exacerbated by performance downturns on the track.
Fan engagement, a critical revenue and branding avenue, has also seen changes. According to the report, NASCAR’s social media followers have dropped by nearly 18%, which can be partly attributed to changes in driver rosters and track performances. However, veteran driver Jimmie Johnson’s return has provided a silver lining, boosting his and potentially the sport’s social media visibility.
