The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the NASCAR Cup Series, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. NASCAR also administers a number of regional racing series, including the Whelen Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, as well as international series in Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Similar to other professional motor racing leagues and sanctioning bodies, NASCAR has been a target of criticism on a variety of issues. Some critics note the significant differences between present day NASCAR vehicles and true "stock cars". Another topic of debate has been NASCAR's move to larger markets; in 1997, NASCAR added the California and Texas Motor Speedway, respectively located in the metro areas of Los Angeles and Dallas. This caused NASCAR to move away from traditional tracks such as North Wilkesboro Speedway (which NASCAR brought back as the Cup All Star Race between 2023 and 2025. In 2026, North Wilkesboro will host a Cup points race for the first time since 1996) and Rockingham, which has led to some fans feeling that NASCAR abandoned its core market.
Others cite the dominance of the France family (and Brian France in particular) in NASCAR's business structure, policies, and decision making. Recently, the increased number of Cup drivers competing consistently in the Xfinity Series races has been frequently debated. NASCAR has been challenged on the types and frequency of caution flags, with some critics suggesting the outcome of races is being manipulated, and that the intention is not safety, as NASCAR claims, but closer racing.
Since its peak in 2005, NASCAR has seen a gradual decline, with its television viewership reaching record lows in 2018 and race day attendance suffering to record lows as well. Reasons cited for its decline include the aforementioned track changes, the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow which both drivers and fans alike criticized, the constant tinkering of the rules of its championship and the racing itself, the change in its race day experience, the perceived decline in the quality of its racing, NASCAR changing its image to appeal to a more mainstream audience while alienating its southern fanbase and the retirement of its past stars, such as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and others.
Another general area of criticism, not only of NASCAR, but other motorsports as well, includes questions about fuel consumption, emissions, engine noise levels, and pollution, and the former use of lead additives in the gasoline.
Changes in stock car style
Beginning in the early 2000s, NASCAR researched and worked on a new model to introduce towards the end of the decade. One particular area of scrutiny was driver safety; Dale Earnhardt fatally crashed at the 2001 Daytona 500, and the safety of the cars used at the time was questioned.
The Car of Tomorrow (CoT) was first tested in December 2005, and was first revealed to the public in 2006, with numerous safety improvements being touted. The CoT made its debut at the 2007 Food City 500, and was almost immediately criticized by both fans and drivers alike. Many fans disliked the large and boxy design, its more generic appearance and the use of a detached wing. Kyle Busch, who won the debut race of the CoT, proclaimed that the car "sucks" after his victory and expanded on this criticism at Dover in 2008 by noting how the CoT was "hitting a wall of air" in the wake of a leading car, thus neutralizing ability to close up on leaders. Busch was not the only driver to vent his frustrations; Jeff Gordon was also critical of the car, stating after the 2007 New England 300, "I'd like to know who it was who said this car would reduce the aero push because I could have told you from when I first drove this car that it would be worse."
Despite the criticism, NASCAR implemented the model full-time in 2008, and overall brought dramatic safety improvements and reduced costs of car maintenance. Despite the overall safety improvements, one point of contention was that the rear wing increased the severity of on-track accidents by causing cars to be more prone to flipping over or going airborne at higher speeds. After three such incidents between 2007 and 2010, NASCAR switched to a more traditional rear spoiler instead.
In a retrospective interview in 2015, Brian France believed that the introduction of the model as his biggest failure, due to the lack of manufacturer identity, as well as its perceived effects on its racing. Even after the implementation of the Generation 6 model, some fans still cite the CoT for causing the decline of NASCAR. Writer Christopher Smith of Car Throttle wrote that, "...NASCAR rules pretty much require all the race cars to be the same - no individuality aside from stickers that differentiate the models. NASCAR television ratings and fan interest has been decreasing for years, and as far as I'm concerned, this is the main reason."
The Generation 6 cars themselves, while somewhat better received than the CoT (Generation 5) cars were at the time, have received some blow-back. Denny Hamlin was most critical, saying, "I don't want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our generation 5 or regular CoT cars did." Hamlin received a $25,000 fine for his comments, which he refused to pay (NASCAR instead took that amount from his race winnings). NASCAR later faced criticism over the Generation 6 cars over the change to high downforce and reduced horsepower in later years that increased passing difficulty.
Next Gen car
In 2021, NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car. It was promised to provide better racing, save teams money, and be safer than previous generation cars. It debuted in 2022. However, on track performance has largely fallen well short of expectations. Drivers and fans alike say the cars are too similar, which makes passing hard. Teams also say it is much harder to find small differences that make their car better.
Another problem with the Next Gen car was racing at short tracks like Martinsville, Bristol, and Richmond. Short track racing for years, aside from superspeedways had the best racing due to the compact track configuration. The Next Gen car has made passing short track extremely hard, meaning less passing and less wrecks.
Safety concerns have also been criticized. The first problem came in July 2022, when Kurt Busch was qualifying for a race at Pocono Raceway. He suffered a concussion after making minor contact with the outside wall. After this, Kurt Busch did not race again and decided to retire.
In late September 2022, Alex Bowman suffered a concussion on lap 98 at a race held at Texas Motor Speedway. He missed 5 races and was only able to return at the season ending race at Phoenix Raceway.
In the 2025 Daytona 500, Ryan Preece flipped his car. This marked the seventh flip for the Next Gen car since its debut. The Next Gen car had a marked increase in flips compared to previous gen cars due to its aerodynamics.
Engine noise levels In 2007, a New York Times article cited two studies conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), conducted during races at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2005, which found that engine noise levels can reach as high as 140 decibels, which can do severe damage to a person's sense of hearing. One NIOSH engineer stated that 43 cars during a race was "equivalent to a jet engine". The first study focused exclusively on Bristol Motor Speedway, while the second study took other NASCAR race tracks into account, and both studies found that noise levels regularly exceeded 140 decibels when the race cars were accelerating at full throttle, and that the noise levels lasted, on average, about three to four hours, the average duration of a NASCAR race. The article cites seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty, as well as other drivers such as Jeff Burton, now requiring the use of hearing aids due to hearing loss caused by engine noise. According to the article, a NIOSH engineer suggested putting mufflers on the cars in order to reduce the noise, but a NASCAR spokesperson stated that they already tried that in the 1960s, and it did not work as intended.
Mufflers were re-tested with NASCAR's Next Gen car in 2023 and ran them at the Busch Clash that year. However, there remain challenges with the heat mufflers generated that are yet to be solved.
Business structure and decision-making policies Since its founding in 1947 by Bill France Sr., the overall NASCAR organization has been majority owned by the France family, ensuring that the family controls a majority of the revenue that the sport generates. NASCAR is also criticized for its reluctance to promote some aspects of safety that it would have to pay for (e.g., traveling safety crew), and other allegedly monopolistic aspects such as merchandising and race-track ownership.
In addition, due to its influence and lack of drivers' say, NASCAR has been described as a "benevolent dictatorship", with a top-heavy command structure that tends to keep dissenters in line.USA Today, June 20, 2005 Examples of such influence included the cancellation of the Speed Channel television show Pit Bull (which frequently criticized many of NASCAR's decisions and policies and enjoyed modest ratings), frequent use of the vague "detrimental to NASCAR" rule, and the creation of rules on whim, especially during a race. NASCAR has taken to penalizing drivers in recent years, with fines, point penalties, and lap penalties in races for drivers or mechanics who use obscene language in interviews to the media.
The charter system, introduced in 2016 with the involvement of Race Team Alliance, has also been criticized as increasing entry barrier for new teams to enter the Cup Series while favoring larger, established teams with multiple cars and allowing smaller ones possessing charters to stagnate on-track. Following the announcement that Leavine Family Racing was shutting down at the end of the 2020 season, team owner Bob Leavine claimed that the team did not get the most out of the charter for what he paid for it.
Driver competition in multiple series
NASCAR has long allowed drivers to compete in as many series and events as they like, with few restrictions. However, in recent years, many Cup Series drivers have competed in and dominated the lower national series O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races on a regular basis, earning Cup drivers the nickname "Buschwhackers" (derived from the 1984–2007 sponsorship of NASCAR's second-highest series by Busch Beer). The situation is compounded by the close timing of the races in the two series: a typical NASCAR weekend has an Xfinity race on Saturday followed by a Cup race on Sunday at the same track. Some have wondered why "major league" Cup drivers are allowed to compete in the "minor league" races with such frequency, and whether Xfinity is an adequate developmental series. Sportswriter Bob Margolis noted that much of this is due to the similarities between the cars used in the two series (they are mostly alike except for the engines and the wheelbase), and the desire for Cup drivers to receive as much practice time as possible to learn about the track and car setup before the main race.