Amid the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, Denny Hamlin is in town to take it all in. Of course, he has some thoughts on the whole thing. We already saw Hamlin talking with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, but what does F1 have to do with NASCAR?
In a conversation with Susan Wade of AutoWeek, Denny Hamlin talked about the mutual benefit of having F1 in Las Vegas. NASCAR goes to the city two times a year. Notably, the stands aren’t always packed.
So, if F1 introduced motorsports to new fans, and they want more, hopefully, they give NASCAR a try.
“I mean, you hope so, right?” Hamlin said. “Certainly you would think that there’s going to be a lot of casual, first-time fans going to a motorsports event, fans going to F1 in Vegas because of how convenient it is, right?
“When I say convenient, I mean it’s right here in the States in a heavily populated area. You’ve got the whole West Coast. And if there’s just a handful—10, 12— people that go to that and then say, ‘When the NASCAR race comes to Vegas, I’m going to go to my very first NASCAR race,’ then that’s a good thing. I certainly think that there will be some of that that goes on, just because of people experiencing motorsports for the first time.”
Motorsports are thrilling. They make your blood pressure rise and your skin tingle. Denny Hamlin just wants more people exposed to racing, and that will end up benefitting everyone involved.
Denny Hamlin credits NASCAR for ‘access’
Of course, there is a huge difference in the fan experience between NASCAR and F1. I mean, just ask the folks who were kicked out of practice after just eight minutes after spending tons of money on tickets.
Denny Hamlin believes, if there are new fans and they give NASCAR a try, they won’t regret it.
“It’s a great sport [NASCAR] with a lot of access,” Hamlin said, via AutoWeek. “NASCAR’s strongest, biggest asset is the access that fans have, and that’s why I always encourage people go to a race, because it’s unlike any other sporting event. I’ve never seen anyone go to [a race] one time and say that they didn’t have a great time.”
There seems to be a new wave of motorsports popularity. It might just be a small tide, or it could end up being much larger than that. It feels like the conditions are right, but will F1, NASCAR, and other motorsports be able to capitalize on the opportunity?