NASCAR fans are betting more on their favorite drivers and teams than ever before. North Carolina got the green flag from authorities to make online betting platforms legal last year, and the state has seen a huge increase in fan engagement since. NASCAR President Steve Phelps touched on how betting benefits the sport in a recent interview.

He said on CNBC, “I think betting is a good thing for our sport because it makes it stickier, right? So, if someone has a stake in the game, if you will, or the race… whether they’re betting live or they’re betting ahead of time. I think having skin in the game allows someone to feel part of it. I think that’s what sports betting does.”

The goal of the promotion is to turn the increased betting interest into better TV ratings and a larger audience. The volume of betting has kept increasing year-on-year in recent times. Notably, there was a spike of over 50% in the first two months of 2024. With North Carolina now involved in things on the internet, the number must be growing exponentially.

Joe Solosky, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Sports Betting, admitted last year that they haven’t yet figured out the correlation between betting, TV ratings, and audience count. However, they’re working on several initiatives to establish a connection and take it forward from there.

Kyle Busch and Joey Logano extend support to legal sports betting

Kyle Busch stated in an interview last year that sports betting increases the attention on NASCAR and that it’s a beneficial factor. “The opportunity for people to go out there and place bets on their favorite drivers or their favorite scenarios throughout the week… I think it’s really awesome. I think it brings more attention to our sport,” he said.

The defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano expressed a similar take. However, he nudged fans to be cautious. He told them to be responsible when betting and understand the risks involved in it. He said, “I can see how it definitely grows our sport and others. I think that’s why you see it exploding. It’s part of the evolution of sports.”

NASCAR prohibits drivers from participating in betting activities. It doesn’t allow teams or drivers to be sponsored by offshore or illegal sports books either. The question that reigns high now is how the promotion is going to grow the sport by taking advantage of the extra numbers involved in betting.