To innovate or die: that is the NASCAR challenge -and is quite literally part of its mission.
Even after celebrating 75 years of racing in 2023, Steve Phelps, President of NASCAR, remains focused on delivering the future of motorsports. According to Steve, for twenty years, the brand took the ‘stable’ route, keeping race locations the same for consistency’s sake. And while there is value in consistency, for NASCAR, it was a long and windy road to nowhere: the cars were no longer performing well, the driving wasn’t as entertaining, and attendance, viewership, and sponsorships were trending down. And his concern was that ‘The brand was slowly becoming irrelevant.’
And for a sport so often synonymous with high-stakes, all-or-nothing risk-taking, NASCAR needed to tap into that spirit to make some big changes. In 2020, they were the first to return to live action, and they took advantage of all eyes on them by taking a stance on diversity and inclusion, welcoming a wider audience, and expanding the sport.
NASCAR swiftly embraced innovation with 3 guiding principles:
- Never lose sight of the fan at the finish line.
- Be bold and innovative.
- Invest in technology.
Innovation at Full Speed
NASCAR has undergone a significant brand transformation in the five years since becoming a Teamworks partner. From consciously attracting a wider audience to amplifying the production value across their events and using the latest tech innovations for logistics, fan engagement, and more – NASCAR hasn’t taken its foot off the gas.
Innovation at NASCAR has meant diversifying their entertainment offering to feature entirely fan-centric content both digitally as well as at the track. From the wow-factor experiences onsite to the binge-worthy Netflix show ‘NASCAR: Full Speed’ that allowed fans ‘under the helmet.’ Their content strategy has met new fans where they are, diverging from traditional methods like cable TV and into streaming platforms, apps and social media. Their expansion required creativity and, as Steve says, ‘Being bold and innovative in everything we do.’ And doing it with speed.
Over the last few years, they’ve expanded globally with strategic partnerships and used technology to elevate the sport.
Technology as a Gamechanger
Technology has proved a vital piece of the race to connect NASCAR and its expanding fan base. Investing in innovations like iRacing has attracted new drivers and grown the sport, and partnering with Teamworks Influencer to build their brand and engage their fans has been a winning formula.
Influencer’s AI-backed content machine empowers all drivers with easily accessible content that engages fans worldwide. The branding & NIL platform has helped NASCAR to meet fans where they are – on social media. With authentic content that showcases the many NASCAR personalities, drivers are even more incentivized than ever to rile up crowds, which, in turn, brings more fans to the track and exploding the sport.
It’s technology at its finest. And we’re proud to partner with NASCAR – fellow innovators on a mission.
Teamworks Leans Into Innovation
For Teamworks, innovation is a value we hold near and dear. With all innovations, our mission remains consistent: to empower athletes and teams with technology that makes their lives easier. As our suite of products expands, we are taking a page from the NASCAR book and getting creative with how we continue to simplify things: to make tech easy to understand, adopt, and use.
The recent introduction of new Teamworks product names are intuitively organized within product categories that mirror the functions within elite sports organizations, making it easy to access the tools needed to perform better – in the office and on the field.
So for us at Teamworks – we accept the NASCAR challenge. We’re in constant pursuit of innovation and are now off on a new lap around the track with one unified brand. We’ve been one login, one platform, one relationship… now we are one brand. We’re a tech engine at full throttle, powering athletes and elite sports organizations around the globe.
