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Is NASCAR more popular than Formula 1?

Author

Sarah Smith

Published Jan 14, 2026

Formula 1 has a higher spectator attendance at racetracks than NASCAR, and also has a higher number of viewers on television and streaming. Therefore Formula 1 is the more popular form of motorsport globally. However, in the US, NASCAR is more popular. Both sports have their fans and their haters.

Is NASCAR or Formula 1 bigger?

Formula 1 also has a higher number of viewers on television and streaming with the 2019 season showing 417 million people tuning into races on TV globally, while for the same season, only 3 million NASCAR viewers. On a global scale, that makes Formula 1 the more popular motorsport.

Is Formula One or NASCAR better?

Formula1 cars are much faster than NASCAR vehicles at their peak performance. F1 cars can reach top speeds of around 250 miles per hour. Meanwhile, the fastest car in NASCAR usually tops out at about 200 miles per hour.

Does NASCAR or F1 make more money?

The short answer is no. Formula 1 drivers, particularly those at the top end, pull in a lot more cash than even the top end NASCAR drivers. Three F1 drivers cracked Forbes' top 60 highest paid athletes in the world in 2020, but no NASCAR driver made an appearance on the list.

Is NASCAR the most popular?

According to the numbers, NASCAR is more popular and IndyCar. 61,000 in-person spectators flock to watch NASCAR races, while only 40,000 attend IndyCar races. NASCAR has a viewership of over a 10.1Million viewers per race versus the 1.8Million for IndyCar. However, there are some exceptions to these figures.

30 related questions found

Is NASCAR more popular than football?

In 2017, approximately 17,253,425 people attended NFL games, while 4,059,000 NASCAR fans showed up to live races. Over four times as many people went to football games over NASCAR races in America, and if the number of race fans keeps declining at its current rate, that difference will continue to get larger.

Is NASCAR still popular?

Since its peak in 2005, NASCAR has seen a gradual decline, with its TV viewership reaching record lows in 2018 and race day attendance suffering to record lows as well.

Which is harder NASCAR or F1?

The question of which requires more skill between F1 and NASCAR doesn't have an easy answer. Although F1 drivers are using much more advanced vehicles with a lot of technology, NASCAR drivers need to have the skills to beat their opponents too, all of whom are essentially racing in the same car.

How much does a average NASCAR driver make?

The salaries of Nascar Drivers in the US range from $21,364 to $577,997 , with a median salary of $103,858 . The middle 57% of Nascar Drivers makes between $103,862 and $260,376, with the top 86% making $577,997.

Do NASCAR drivers get a salary?

A developmental NASCAR driver makes between $100,000 and $300,000 in base salary and around another $200,000 in prize money. Less taxes and about $25k for disability insurance and you're looking at around $200,000 total. A Spring Cup driver can make over 20 million a year. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Is F1 more exciting than NASCAR?

F1 tracks can be any shape, as long as they form a loop eventually. This allows track designers to come up with lot of turns and chicanes. This can make F1 a more interesting sport to watch than NASCAR. In F1 racing, cars are not allowed to make contact with one another for safety reasons.

Why is F1 faster than NASCAR?

IndyCar may have top speed, but F1 cars have the advantage of reaching theirs much quicker. Both Indycar and Formula 1 vehicles sport a V-6 engine equipped with turbo boosts, which are technically more powerful than NASCAR's V-8.

Is Formula 1 popular in America?

According to ESPN, 2021 was the most-watched F1 season on American television on record, averaging 934,000 viewers per race, which was a 54 percent increase over 2020.

Is NASCAR bigger than soccer?

As the first day of World Cup competition begins in Brazil, a new study claims that soccer is more popular in the United States than NASCAR. The sport, according to the advertising intelligence and research firm Exponential (via Adweek.com), dwarfs NASCAR, with 22 times the number of people watching online.

Is F1 losing popularity?

F1 is no longer losing popularity, with viewership of the 2021 season up on that from 2020. Formula 1 viewership had been in a steep decline ever since 2008, when 600 million viewers tuned in worldwide. This declined until 2017 when viewership was at its lowest in the past decade at 352 million.

Why is F1 less popular?

Over the years, there has been poor marketing and promotion of formula one in the United States of America. It is one of the reasons why F1 is not popular in the US today.

What is Bubba Wallace salary?

Wallace reportedly makes around $2.2 million with his 23XI Racing contract. The 28-year-old earning stands around $460,000, placing him in the 31st position on the list of top earners in NASCAR. Bubba Wallace is a much-renowned face in NASCAR and has attracted many sponsorships.

What is Chase Elliott salary?

So, how much is this young NASCAR driver worth? Chase Elliot has an estimated net worth of $12 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In 2019 alone, Elliott earned a total of $10.2 million, with $8 million coming from salary and the remaining $2.2 million coming from endorsements and licensing.

What's faster IndyCar or NASCAR?

Is an IndyCar faster than a NASCAR car? Yes. Although NASCAR cars have a more powerful engine, their top speed is limited to 320 kph (200mph) in a race. IndyCars can attain top speeds of between 380-395 kph(235-245mph).

Is IndyCar faster than F1?

Actually, an IndyCar machine can take its twin-turbo V6 engine to speeds of 235 MPH, but F1 cars will only reach 205 MPH. This is largely due to the priority that F1 puts on aero and proper downforce, restricting some top-end speed.

How fast do NASCAR cars go 0 60?

NASCAR drivers travel at extremely high speeds, over 200 miles per hour. They accelerate so quickly that it takes them only around 3 to 3.5 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph. During this acceleration, the car must exert an average of 2,600 lbs of horizontal force each second against the track.

Why isn't NASCAR popular anymore?

NASCAR made an absurd amount of money with their television contracts in the 2000s, but that ultimately cost them a sizable chunk of the audience when networks were forced to make it worth their while. The broadcasts really were over-saturated with ads enough to drive fans away.

Are NASCAR ratings down 2021?

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season averaged 2.93 million viewers across FOX, FS1, NBC and NBCSN, down 4% from last year (3.06M), down 6% from 2019 (3.11M) and the least-watched season on record.

Is Toyota leaving NASCAR?

Now that Toyota has announced its withdrawal from Formula 1, surely the company would follow suit and quit competing in NASCAR. We all can rest easy. Toyota will stay in American stock car racing. Lee White, Toyota Racing Development president, confirmed the news on Saturday.