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Denny Hamlin says NASCAR has a bigger problem than its car or its playoff format: it needs to get people paying attention again.
On his Actions Detrimental podcast after the season finale, Hamlin said the sport is losing ground to others.
“We have got to find a way to grow this thing and make it more relevant in the sports landscape, because it’s just falling behind others in my opinion,” Hamlin said.
The Ratings
NBC’s broadcast of the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway drew a 1.37 rating and averaged 2.471 million viewers, down from a 1.45 rating and 2.774 million for last year’s finale at Phoenix. The full 2026 season averaged 2.419 million viewers, down 2%. Read more.
Kyle Larson clinched the title in Stage 1, long before the checkered flag.
‘I Think It Feels Right’
Hamlin, who has questioned parts of the new Chase format, said the format itself isn’t the issue.
“Our sport is different. It’s not this one-v-one and it’s either you or me, you know, and so we have to just embrace that this is what we wanted. We wanted a bigger sample size for the champion for it to feel right. I think it feels right,” he said. “And so, it’s going to always feel a little different, but it’s our jobs as a sport to make it relevant in sports.
“And that’s that’s what I challenge more than anything … we have got to make our sport relevant again when it comes to the general sports landscape.”
“It ain’t the car or the format,” he added. “It’s much bigger than that. It’s way bigger than that.”
‘Why Can’t We Own Thursday Night?’
Hamlin said the answer is promotion, and pointed to NASCAR’s midweek races as a missed opportunity.
“I know we tried the whole midweek night races thing, but there was no promotion behind that at all,” Hamlin said. “I feel like the viewership number now is at a point where there I just … what do you have to lose in that sense? Why can’t we own Thursday night in the summer? You know when, when it’s just baseball?
“Like own a night during the summer … I’d love to see us try to own a night of the week during the summer when there’s not much other sports on.”
What NASCAR Has Said
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said at his State of the Sport address that NASCAR remains committed to the Next Gen car and will focus on tweaks rather than a new car. The 2027 schedule is already set, with the season opening Feb. 13 with the Clash at Daytona.
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