NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell explains how sport hopes to build drivers’ star power

One of the main complains we’ve heard about NASCAR in the last decade has been their inability to build the star power of their drivers.

Unlike the days of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart, and Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Sr. before them, NASCAR drivers have found it difficult to cross into the mainstream, like other athletes in other sports. NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell is looking for ways to fix that.

One of the ways he’s been able to work towards achieving that goal is through a documentary with Netflix, called NASCAR: Full Speed, which focused on a myriad of drivers during the 2023 playoffs. Certainly wheelmen, like Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and William Byron, received ample time to endear themselves to watchers throughout the series.

While O’Donnell was happy with the result, he’s still looking for more ways to show NASCAR in a different light to the masses, and grow the popularity of the drivers.

“When you look at the sport, we are bullish on wanting to invest in the drivers who are investing their time and energy into growing the sport. So part of the Netflix documentary was those who gave access and are going above and beyond, that’ll come through with race fans,” O’Donnel said, via the Sports Business Journal. “But we’re always going to explore innovative ways to bring in more fans, and one of the ways to do it is with drivers.”

Alas, it seems as if NASCAR: Full Speed won’t be the end of us seeing certain drivers in a different light. We’ll see who can break apart from the pack and become faces of a new generation, and who falls into the background as we move forward.

More on NASCAR, Daytona 500

Moreover, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is readying to kickoff in grand fashion this weekend, with the Daytona 500, also known as The Great American Race, taking place on Sunday afternoon.

At the moment, the weather report looks promising, but the tradition year-in and year-out for the race is worrying about whether or not it’ll be affected by rain. Fans and drivers alike are hoping the race goes off without a hitch, but we’ve seen the race run on different days of the week in the past. We’ll see if the sunshine holds out long enough for the Cup Series to get their full allotment of laps in.

One of the reasons the Daytona 500 is such a beloved event is the unpredictable nature of the race. In the past, drivers you wouldn’t expect to reach Victory Lane have come up victorious in the biggest race of the season, even last season with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claiming victory when the final lap ticked off.

With how much pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Daytona 500, the top drivers in the sport all want to win it, but many of the best in NASCAR haven’t been victorious in the event. Drivers like Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson are still searching for their first Daytona 500.

Time will tell if they’re able to get the job done, but they’ll have plenty of competition. We can’t wait for the Daytona 500, and the official start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.