TERRIFYING: Brad Keselowski Claims “Chase Elliott” Factor Is truely a...

NASCAR is a team sport. Crew chiefs, spotters, and crew members are essential to a racing team, facilitating their drivers throughout the race and making it collaborative. However, there is a predominant aspect that glorifies the abilities of the individual who takes onto the tracks: the driver. In NASCAR, over the years, many drivers have taken up the tag of a ‘superstar.’ The star factor and glamour have increased from Dale Earnhardt to Chase Elliott. But as per RFK Racing’s driver-owner Brad Keselowski, building a brand through a driver is a crossroads for many teams.

Ever since his transition to the role of a team owner, Keselowski has not only improved his team’s performance through his technique and experience but he also helped the team find their confidence. As the world of racing united at the inaugural Racers Forum on Wednesday, a major topic of discussion was the necessity of star power and how or whether to ingrain it into racing.

In the last few years, a significant problem for NASCAR has been its connection with the fandom. Despite trying their best, NASCAR still needs to entice the fans through their initiatives, reflected in TV ratings and the turnout at racing venues. Hendrick Motorsports stakeholder and NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon also participated in the convention and expressed his thoughts about the importance of superstars in the sport.

Gordon’s statements described the situation accurately as he pointed out that the reason for the ever-diminishing connection with the fans is they favor drivers more than teams. If we take a fan of Kyle Larson as an example, his affinity is in no way toward Hendrick Motorsports. It is toward the 2021 champion, one of the best drivers, and someone who has built his brand well in the past few years.

As per Racing America, the VC of Hendrick Motorsports claimed, “I think we have a role as race teams to build our brand up, maybe not as much as the star power of the driver, but in a way where drivers — and we’ve seen this recently with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., and myself, several big drivers that have huge fan followings stepped away from the sport, and I think it had a big impact on the sport.” He implied that the stars of the golden generation leaving the sport has made it less individualistic and that is a positive sign for NASCAR

For Brad Keselowski, the prevalent sponsor scarcity has played a vital role in toning down racing stars. Earlier, sponsors used to back their drivers to the best of their abilities. From marketing to payouts, sponsors have propagated stardom since the 90s.

“Right now, there isn’t a really good ROI (return on investment) for the teams to invest — it takes a long time to invest in driver star power unless you have some inherent — you think of Chase Elliott who had the ability to build off of a name and brand, but most drivers don’t,” Keselowski said.

Whether it is 3chi with Kyle Busch, FedEx with Denny Hamlin, or McDonald’s with Bubba Wallace, sponsors try to promote the stars signed with them. But what does it mean for the team that the driver is affiliated with? Going by Brad’s words, a ‘burden.’