Revealed: Five reasons why you should watch NASCAR this weekend

The NASCAR Cup Series can be deeply polarizing, especially for international motorsport fans. There are plenty of negative stereotypes about the series and its fans — but don’t let that dissuade you! NASCAR is a great time.

This weekend, while most other motorsport series are still in the throes of summer break, NASCAR returns with an event at Richmond Raceway. If you’re hungry for a little racing action, this is the perfect time to get involved in NASCAR. Today, we’ll tell you why.

NASCAR has tons of overtaking

In terms of pure visual stimulation, NASCAR is the best racing series out there. That’s because the nature of oval racing — and NASCAR’s mandatory restarts — give you the sense that you’re watching a ton of overtaking.

Added to that is the fact that stock cars are robust, which means drivers are able to use a little bit of contact to help them make critical maneuvers for position. If you’re more familiar with open-wheel racing, where any contact can result in a DNF, NASCAR will keep you on your toes.

NASCAR strategy is fascinating

When you watch your first NASCAR race, it can perhaps seem pretty straightforward — but look deeper, and you’ll discover layers of complex strategy.

Oval racing introduces things like drafts and side forces that are all derived from the world of aerodynamics, and it creates a whole new kind of racing. One driver can ‘push’ another using nothing but air, while one driver breaking out of a pack can either make or break their race.

NASCAR races are quite long, which means fuel strategy comes into play; drivers will also change tires multiple times throughout a race, though they might opt to change just two tires instead of all four in order to gain an advantage on pit road. Overcuts and undercuts play a huge role, while the nature of NASCAR’s playoffs format means drivers may strive for stage points as opposed to a pit stop.

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NASCAR tech is evolving

In 2022, NASCAR debuted its latest Cup Series car, called the Next-Gen Car. While it’s still a stock car, the overall ethos dictating the series evolved to become more worldly. Namely, the Next-Gen Car was designed with international GT3 regulations in mind.

The goal is to diversify NASCAR. A GT3-style Cup car means drivers from other disciplines around the world can more easily hop in and go toe-to-toe with the best of America’s homegrown talent.

It also coincides with NASCAR’s goal in diversifying its schedule. In 2023, the Cup Series introduced the first-ever street race to the calendar, while additional road courses have become regular parts of the season. Now, the Cup Series isn’t just about oval racing; it’s so much more.

NASCAR’s competition is excellent

The nature of stock car racing means the playing field is a bit more leveled than it is in disciplines where every team can develop its technology to a fuller extent. As a result, we’ve had 12 different winners in the first 22 races of the year — and plenty of other folks who have come close.

Further, the 2024 race at Kansas Speedway was the closest finish in NASCAR history, where Kyle Larson took a win by 0.001s over Chris Buescher — while earlier in the season, the finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway resulted in 0.003s gap between first and second place.

NASCAR is just plain ol’ fun

It can be easy to get bogged down in motorsport politics, especially in a global series like Formula 1, where it feels like even the most minor decisions can have far-reaching implications. Thankfully, while there are absolutely intra-series politics in NASCAR, the racing can be just plain fun.

If you’re new to the sport, don’t worry too much about learning the ins and outs, or in trying to understand everything all at once, or in catching up on all the latest drama — you don’t need that context to tune in.

Find a driver to root for and just enjoy the race as it plays out; you might be surprised to find you enjoy oval racing far more than you thought you could.

Read next: Revealed: Seven reasons why NASCAR fans don’t like F1