Kyle Larson famously, and to the surprise of many, claimed he was better than four-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen. And the fact that the Dutchman brushed that aside didn’t deter the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series champ from his motive: engaging in some banter with open-wheel racing fans and issuing a challenge F1. And while he knows there’s no exact way to determine whether the best in NASCAR are better than the best in F1, there is one edge that the premier stock car racing series has.
CEO Steve O’Donnell presents NASCAR as more of a “sport for the common people.” In a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast with former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, he shed light on his plans to challenge F1 on its home turf in Europe.
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“You know, we’re not F1, right? That’s a different feel, different vibe, and they’ve got their own lane. But I think we can translate more to just everybody who’s kind of growing up, just like it’s sport for common people. And, you know, F1’s that aspirational brand to me, you know, we’re kind of the common person,” O’Donnell said on the podcast.
In terms of worldwide popularity, F1 is certainly ahead of NASCAR at the moment. Per a Hyperset Group analysis, 84% of NASCAR’s total global internet traffic originates from the U.S., whereas just 6% of Americans search for F1, with the rest spread across the world.
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But O’Donnell has plans to change that, and he knows that the Europeans will warm up to NASCAR.
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O’Donnell used the NASCAR Euro Series as a benchmark. They race at Brands Hatch, which is one of the most historic tracks in England, and he recalls —in 2023, when they used the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 — around 50,000 fans in attendance, all embracing the American culture. Many were wearing football helmets, and there were also cheerleaders on track. Things that we don’t see in an F1 race.
“This is, in my opinion, what NASCAR racing’s all about, and I think fans will love it, and I think they’ll realize that, you know, hey, there’s more beating and banging, more personality,” he said in the podcast.
NASCAR does have a European presence, and O’Donnell wants to capitalize on that. They started the Euro Series in 2009, and while not the most popular racing series on the continent, there are signs that there’s serious potential to grow. In 2022, they had a combined total track attendance of over 150,000 fans, with Brands Hatch alone drawing almost 50,000.
There are also F1 drivers who have grown up idolizing NASCAR legends. Former McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo chose the #3 as his racing number to pay homage to Dale Earnhardt Sr., one of NASCAR’s greatest ever icons.
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Crossovers between these two vastly different worlds have also taken place in the past, with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton famously swapping his Formula 1 machinery for Tony Stewart’s stock car in 2011 at Watkins Glen. Former F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen also famously took a sabbatical from open-wheel racing to compete in Truck and Xfinity Series races in the same year. The Finnish driver further took part in Cup Series races in 2022 and 2023, after retiring from F1.
More recently, former Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen took part in the Anduril 250 Cup Series race in San Diego this year as part of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 initiative. He finished 27th but clocked the fastest lap of the race, showing the pace he carried over from his road-course experience.
F1 and NASCAR, strictly in terms of racing, cannot be considered to be on the same level, and the difference in the cars they use is one of the defining factors. The relationship remains respectful, but O’Donnell doesn’t plan on sitting back and being considered second-best. Instead, he plans to appeal to the masses in a very different way, and he has a valid reason for that.
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The post “We’re Kind Of The Common Person”- Steve O’Donnell Details NASCAR’s Edge To Challenge F1’s European Dominace appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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