- Nascar wants to create more global visibility through international series
- Brazil is a contender for a Cup Series race in the future
Nascar is looking to create an intercontinental tournament between its national series, according to Sports Business Journal (SBJ).
At a time when Formula One is focused on growing its footprint in the US, Nascar is looking to create more visibility around the world through international series.
Nascar recently announced a rebrand of its Canada Series, introducing a founding partner model that allows Nascar to build a brand presence and move away from the series being associated with a particular sponsor.
The stock car racing series also introduced an expansion in Brazil last year, something that helped to boost the Cup Series’ ratings in the country.
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“I like to tell people that I don’t think that’s a coincidence that we put a series down there and then it raised the profile [of the Cup Series],” Nascar’s chief international officer Chad Seigler told SBJ.
Other regional series exist in Mexico and Europe, but further expansion could be on the way as Nascar looks to grow globally.
When asked if Brazil is now a candidate for the Cup Series, Seigler continued: “There’s a lot of places, but when we look at it, any of those places we’re looking at for Cup or national series Xfinity and Trucks, a logical place for us to look at is one where we already have a presence, so Brazil — the culture there is so strong, similar to Europe in that there’s a strong passion for American-style racing. No doubt, Brazil is a market you look at really aggressively.”
Once a solid contingent of national series have been established, the idea is to create an intercontinental tournament where the best drivers from each series compete against each other.
The concept, based on soccer’s Uefa Champions League, is in its very early stages, and Seigler confirmed to SBJ that no decision has been made on the type of race car that would make sense for the competition.