Steve Phelps 'really encouraged' by direction NASCAR is heading

With the 2024 season in the rearview mirror and the 2025 NASCAR season slowly rising on the horizon, is the sport going in the right direction? President Steve Phelps thinks so. And he has a lot of reasons to believe that.

The NASCAR Cup Series has seen better days. No one will try and say that the sport is as popular as it was in the 90s and early 2000s. However, there is reason to think that the sport is in a healthy place.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps spoke to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic about the state of the sport. The executive is happy with where the sport is but is continuing to work to improve.

“I am actually not,” Phelps said when asked if he was still having sleepless nights. “I’m really encouraged by the direction that the sport is going. I think we are well positioned as we get into ’25 with new media partners, a great product on the racetrack, some really good storylines, and overall a healthy sport. So to me, I’m sleeping very soundly.

“Now, it doesn’t mean we don’t have things to do. We’ve got lots to do and there are lots of opportunities for us to grow, both domestically and internationally.”

In 2025, NASCAR is going to new and interesting destinations as well as old favorites. Not just with the Cup Series but with the Xfinity and Truck Series. Mexico City, Rockingham, Lime Rock Park, Bowman Gray, Chicago, North Wilkesboro, and other tracks show the variation in this schedule.

But is everything great in NASCAR? I am not sure I would go that far.

NASCAR has to land, maintain premier partners

In 2025, GEICO will no longer be a premier partner of the NASCAR Cup Series. That’s a major loss. Xfinity is rumored to be leaving as the title sponsor of the secondary series after 2025. If I were Steve Phelps, that might keep me up at night.

Now, I may be completely off base here. NASCAR might have the funding and commitments it needs from the partners that it is maintaining through 2025 and beyond. But on the outside looking in, those are two things that, off the top of my mind, are not good signs of things to come.

But there is a lot of reason to feel the way Phelps does. Ratings are solid. The sport will go to a major streamer next summer with Prime Video. While Xfinity could leave as series title sponsor, I believe NASCAR can land another partner for that second series.

The Cup Series has a lot going for it. It also has a few things like sponsor-retainment, Next Gen car, short track racing, rules enforcement, etc. that are working against it as well. At any rate, Steve Phelps feels good about where the sport is under his direction.