Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski has explained the biggest problem hurting NASCAR’s finances, highlighting the sport’s excessive dependence on “TV money,” which has given rise to other issues.

The statement comes amid the reported drop in viewership numbers, leading the 41-year-old driver to hint at a much-needed change in the business model. The most recent race at New Hampshire recorded 1.29 million viewers, a drop of 28% from last year’s tally.

But with viewership influencing sponsorship and media rights deals, the drop in audience figures could affect the sport in a significant way. Keselowski highlighted the problem on the Stacking Pennies podcast and explained the areas affected by the reduced viewership. He said:

“The number one problem with the sport right now is the model with the tracks. The tracks aren’t able to generate enough revenue on their own. They’re wholly reliant on the TV money and they’re comfortable with that, which is the scariest part of all.

Timmy Hill, driver of the #66 Garage 66 Ford, Zane Smith, driver of the #38 TitleMax Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern… Timmy Hill, driver of the #66 Garage 66 Ford, Zane Smith, driver of the #38 TitleMax Ford, and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2025 in Darlington, South Carolina. More Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“That creates a subset of problems [that] flow down through the ecosystem where we don’t promote enough to the fans that are at the track to sell tickets, cascade into other issues where… where the teams have to [find revenue] because they’re not necessarily incentivized. That flows down into revenue problems for the teams, which makes the teams wholly reliant on sponsorship.

“That creates another subset of issues where your authenticity of your drivers and your people in the sport is decreased because they’re beholden to representing Fortune 500 companies, or they don’t have a job. So there’s a cascading set of flowdown problems.”

Keselowski compared NASCAR to other team sports, such as American football, where teams don’t have to raise a substantial amount of money on their own. He said:

“You look at any other professional sports and the team’s costs are good, right? They don’t have to raise a tremendous amount. And then you look at NASCAR, 60 to 70% comes from sponsorship, partnership.

“…I can’t entirely blame it on the track. Some of it’s just the system. You look at your typical sports team. We’re in Carolina right now, Carolina Panthers. You have the Charlotte Hornets. Their arena costs for a large part are paid for by the city.

“They get constant cash flow from whatever grant the city gives them on any given decade of 10, 20, $100 million. NASCAR doesn’t have that. So, they’re beholden to a different model.”

While certain racetracks have brought about positive changes, Keselowski believes others need to follow, or else the problems could continue holding back NASCAR. He said:

“I would start there personally, that the tracks need to find new revenue streams and pass. Now, some of them have done a good job at that, but not enough. I

would look at Las Vegas Motor Speedway or even here in Charlotte, where they have a lot of external events to drive revenue participation, engage the community, and I commend them for that. But others have not been able to do that, and it’s a big roadblock for our sport.”