NASCAR race in New York may become a reality as the sport continues to reinvent itself

Kicking off its 75th anniversary season with a float at the Rose Bowl Parade at the start of the year, followed by the return of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, NASCAR is a sport that is in the process of reinventing itself. With changes coming in thick and fast ever since the world saw the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governing body has gone through a host of changes, one of which is in its second year of refinement, the Next Gen car.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season also managed to collaborate with the old and new school of venues quite well, with drivers due to visit the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway as well as Chicago Street Race this season. All these efforts by the governing body are in light of a sport that is undergoing a major overhaul this season and is gearing up for several years to come.

Looking into yet another untapped market going forward, NASCAR executives are looking to bring the sport into the New York City region, looking at the Big Apple as the largest media market in the United States of America. While venue locations are a distant reality at this point, probable venues could come in the form of the MetLife Stadium, amongst others.

The sport could also be looking at the prospect of adding another street race to the calendar. NASCAR's Chief Operating Officer, Steve O'Donnell, has reportedly made several site visits as well, without disclosing any specific venues.

New York City's Staten Island has seen the sport try to break through into the market earlier as well, with the International Speedway Corporation buying land in 2004 to build a track. The program, however, fell through due to a lack of local political support.

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F1's rising popularity in America is another reason why NASCAR cannot afford to slow down on re-inventing the sport

While NASCAR is still the most-watched motorsports series in America, F1's comeback into the country has seen an explosion of fans around the open-wheeled racing series. With the upcoming TV rights deal also due, the sport, which is averaging 3 million viewers per race, needs to stay on its toes as F1 takes the country by storm.

The 2023 Cup Series season continues at Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the 65th run of the iconic Daytona 500. The race goes live on February 19th, 2023, at 2:30 pm ET.