Over the years, talk about NASCAR’s diminishing popularity has taken over the internet. Fans from all over the world are of the opinion that the premier stock car racing competition has been losing its footing in the United States. To support their stand, most of them have resorted to pointing out empty seats at iconic tracks during race weekends. But is that really true?
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Yes, it’s true that with newer-generation cars, multiple technical changes, the sport has not been the same anymore. But the popularity dipping? That is not what NASCAR experts Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader think, as the duo exposed how the talks about the sport’s diminishing popularity are ‘fake’.
Wallace and Schrader come to NASCAR’s rescueIn a recent episode of the Herm & Schrader podcast, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader discussed the ongoing trend in motorsports in the United States. In their discussion, the duo analyzed and exposed the differences between on-track visuals and off-track rumors.
Wallace first pointed out the talks going around, mocking them in his classic Kenny-style, saying, “Let me just be dramatic here for a minute. ‘Racing’s too expensive. O look, there’s nobody in the grandstand. What’s going on with our sport?’”
Then he threw the bomb. “However, we just watched the Tulsa Shootout in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A record number of cars. Okay, 1987… 2000 cars. We’re not gonna go 1987, but Flo (Racing) said there’s 2000 cars here. This is a record.”
By giving the example of the record entries in the Tulsa Shootout in Oklahoma, one of the renowned Midget racing competitions, the NASCAR experts stood their ground.
Wallace further added, “If everything’s so damn bad, where else is all this money coming from? Gas markets are down, stock markets is up. 2000 cars at the Tulsa Shootout, everything seems good right now.”
Imago
Ken Schrader agreed with Kenny Wallace. “I think, inflation and the stock market, and the fuel prices, that factor isn’t too big. We’ll just have to see. ‘Hey, it’s the new year, where everybody gets the same amount of points, everything’s perfect, let’s go race.’”
Notably, the talk about NASCAR or motorsport in general losing its popularity surfaced after the recent trend of changes in the history of the sport. In order to expand nationally and bring in more revenue, the sport has moved to larger metropolitan markets, like the upcoming San Diego, or the markets like Chicago and Homestead Miami.
This resulted in the removal of old, traditional tracks in the country’s Southern heartlands, such as Rockingham. As a result, the sport lost its fanbase and regional identity. Moreover, the introduction of Next Gen cars or Cars of Tomorrow has also made the sport different from the past.
Nowadays, the cars look similar, aerodynamically the same, and are difficult to overtake. Earlier, the cars looked different and had unique manufacturer identities. These factors have also gone into changing the fan sentiment when it comes to popularity.
However, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace disagree with this. Even though the sport has changed how it looks from the outside, or even though if it has these complaints, fans are still very much interested in the sport. Otherwise, why the participation? How is the sport running?
Then, apart from this, the duo brought their attention to the painful year Denny Hamlin’s had.
Top StoriesKenny Wallace sympathized with NASCAR star Denny HamlinKenny Wallace spoke in support of Denny Hamlin after the Joe Gibbs Racing star faced one of the toughest times of his life.
“Although Denny had a great year, he had a horrible ending. Loses that championship on the last couple laps there, goes through that court case. The father passes away. They say God will only give you what you can handle. And I’m sure, whatever your opinion is, I think Denny had all he could handle.”
Notably, Denny Hamlin had a difficult end to his 2025 season. The 23XI Racing co-owner has been involved in the NASCAR lawsuit all year long. Qualified for the Championship 4, and was in quest for his first ever Championship in 20 years. But ended his campaign as runner-up behind Kyle Larson.
Schrader also chimed in to address that pain, saying, “There was just a situation, something happened. A tire blew out, and a yellow came out, and he wound up not winning it. But then, wanting to be there. Wanting… wanting it so bad like everybody does, but wanting it, and for his daddy, and then for this to happen? You gotta be pretty strong, man. Keep coming back.”
And then, to make matters worse, his father, Dennis Hamlin, died from injuries sustained during a massive house fire on December 29, 2025. His mother was also injured in the fire at their home in North Carolina, but she survived and is recovering. In a nutshell, no driver should have to go through what Hamlin is right now.
