NASCAR Heir Adopts ‘Secret Shopper’ Approach to Address Fan Concerns in New Era

Kennedy’s point would also come as a relief for loyal NASCAR fans who have complained in the past few years about the dwindling value of their experience for the price they pay for it. Following the reports of decreasing fan attendance at Bristol, it came to light that the cost of attending a NASCAR weekend for a family of four could cost as much as $4,000.

On top of that, with NASCAR earning a big chunk of revenue from its media rights deal worth over $7 billion, they were less incentivized to improve the fan experience at the track.

But the new NASCAR leadership’s ideas are a bit different. They want to improve the fan experience by talking to the fans about what needs to be improved in their experience. They want to listen, as NASCAR’s CEO Steve O’Donnell claimed.

“To start out, we’re going to be listening, and that means genuinely listening before making any decisions … I think it’s important for us to go out there and spend the time listening to everyone in this industry … not just the leadership team but those who are out selling the tickets, those who are out interacting with the fans and can tell you what’s really happening and where we need the sport to go,” O’Donnell said.

Now that NASCAR is preparing to listen to the fans to improve their experience, it could lead to an increase in the appeal of attending a race, which would, in turn, help the sport on a larger level. After all, it all begins and ends with the fans for any sport, especially one like NASCAR.

Ben Kennedy backed by Dale Jr. as the future of NASCAR

When Steve O’Donnell was announced as NASCAR’s new CEO, it was a historic moment. For the first time, the leadership of the sport was no longer in the hands of a member of the France family.

But Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes that won’t be the case in the future. The NASCAR Hall of Famer revealed that O’Donnell’s promotion wasn’t exactly a big one from President to CEO. The more significant upgrade was of Ben Kennedy, from Senior Vice President of Racing Development and Strategy to Chief Operating Officer.

Earnhardt claimed this suggests that Kennedy is ‘the guy’ for the future. “They’re positioning him to be the guy. He’s going to be the guy, and whatever this sport is in 25 years will be through the vision and eyes of Ben Kennedy. He will if he’s given that opportunity; he will run this business with all the best intentions. He’s a great guy,” he described on his podcast. Interestingly, Kennedy is the son of Lisa Kennedy, who is the daughter of Bill France Jr.

Therefore, NASCAR’s leadership would still more or less be in the hands of the France family in the future if Kennedy ascends to the top role. If that ends up happening, fans would be hoping he does so with a fan-first approach in mind.

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