The Truth About NASCAR and Its Fans | 2024 NASCAR Championship

I went to the 2024 NASCAR Championship to find out what NASCAR and its fans are really like.

Why? Because I grew up hearing a lot about NASCAR: stories of legends like Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, movies like Talladega Nights with Ricky Bobby, and enough Hot Wheels cars to fill a small house. Despite all of that, and despite going to countless races for other series (F1, IndyCar, WEC), I’d never had the chance to go to NASCAR. Until the 2024 NASCAR Championship.

When the opportunity came through, I jumped at it. Attending NASCAR races is a tradition for many fans and they’ll come back year after year, generation after generation to experience the joy of the weekend. From setting up their RV’s the Monday before the race to reuniting with old friends, NASCAR racing has a way of really bringing people together. I wanted to experience it all.

Add in the fact that the NASCAR playoffs culminate with not one but four championships on the line - NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR xfinity, NASCAR Trucks, and Arca Menards West - and it was bound to be a non-stop race weekend.

While the race weekend lived up to the racing hype, what’s most important were the heartwarming moments and lessons I took away from the NASCAR fans I met.

Want to find out what I learned? Watch and see!

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Introduction [0:00]

NASCAR Fan Quote Compilation:

God doesn't take time off your life when you're at a racetrack.

Smell the sound.

A lot of drinking, a lot of partying.

One big party.

I can't say it on this.

You can't say that.

I'm just a really big fan of the sport. I'm falling more and more in love with you every minute.

We're NASCAR fans. Everybody's happy.

Cheers to NASCAR!

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Why I’m fascinated with NASCAR but had never seen a race [0:28]

Greg: Before you watch, there's a very important disclaimer. Admittedly, this is the first time I've ever set foot in a NASCAR race, but don't mistake that with having never heard of NASCAR. If you're like me, and you grew up in the U. S., then you know the simple equation:

Football is the NFL. Basketball is the NBA. Racing is NASCAR.

While IndyCar and Formula One have caught my attention in recent years, their average race viewership in the States is less than half that of NASCAR. In fact, recent NASCAR viewership is actually down considerably from the '90s and 2000s. So, growing up in that time period, we'd regularly play with toy cars, watch racing movies, and hear the names of legends like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.

While I've had the privilege of attending races from many other series, the closest I've gotten to a NASCAR race was a draft email to friends for a Talladega weekend. Unfortunately, we never made that one happen. All of this built up an immense fascination with NASCAR - wondering what it was like to meet these fans that I've heard so much about but had never truly seen.

Then the opportunity came to go to the NASCAR Championship.

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NASCAR Championship: facts, figures, and fans [1:40]

Greg: Phoenix, Arizona has been the home of the NASCAR Finale since 2020. An honor to assume from the Homestead Miami Speedway after an 18 year run.

Every year, over 150,000 fans descend on this one mile dogleg to watch four distinct champions be crowned.

There are fans lining up at the gates as early as 7 a.m. Monday morning, a full three days before a single tire ever touches the track, to set up their campsites for the week. By the end of the weekend, there will have been enough RVs parked that if you stacked them end to end they'd sit taller than five Mount Everests.

That's actually insane.

This was my chance to find out 'why NASCAR'.

Nolan Rickner: Just NASCAR in general, man. Watching cars go in circles.

Gary Murch: This is our fourth visit to this track for the championship.

Greg: Why do fans come back year after year, generation after generation? Ultimately, what did I miss growing up?

Malinda Brown: We're at NASCAR having a hoot and a hollerin' time.

Greg: So what did I discover after a weekend in the desert? Come with me and let's go for a ride.

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Meeting the first fans: The Browns and The Wreck Yard [2:31]

Mike Brown Jr.: We just have this whole setup. My old man, Brown Associates, did the building inspections at the Arizona Cardinals stadium. That's how we got the stadium seating. We bring everything out here and have a great time.

Malinda Brown: We've got hot dogs, chili, a little something. Come on in.

Nick: We call it 'Camp Wreck Yard' because we have a lot of scrap parts from vehicles that have wrecked here at this track. We've been coming out here since 1997. It's a big family tradition that we come out here and have a great time and watch racing and a lot of drinking, a lot of partying.

Sometimes we almost forget that there's racing.

Wendy Carpenter: It's so much fun. The people are friendly.‍

Jack Davis: I've yet to find a fan that wasn't a wonderful human being.

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Comparing NASCAR and Indycar [3:16]

Greg: I've been to several IndyCar races this year. I've never been to the [Indy] 500, but I love the IndyCar atmosphere. This is my first NASCAR race.

Todd Cowan: This is your first?

Greg: This is my first one. How does this compare to Indy and the Indy 500?

Todd Cowan: IndyCar, there's no bumping. You're open wheel, so you're not rubbing each other. The one thing I love about NASCAR is that you can at least rub. I mean, rubbin' is racin', you know?

Greg: I've never heard that phrase, but I like it.

Todd Cowan: Rubbin' is racin'.

Greg: How many NASCAR races have you been to?

Todd Cowan: Oh, God. I've been here two times. I've been to the Brickyard at Indianapolis, probably six or seven times. I've been to Talladega, Pocono.

Greg: What's your favorite one?

Todd Cowan: I think Talladega was a lot of fun. I think that was because of a lot of people.

It's crazy in Alabama. The fans are just crazy. It's the South. It's Talladega. I mean, it really is the root of NASCAR, you know. This seems to be more subdued than Talladega.

Greg: Favorite memory from any of the races that you've been to?

Todd Cowan: Some memories I would rather forget. No, this is a great experience here.

You know, I love NASCAR, I love Indy, I love racing. I grew up in Iowa. That's what we did, dirt track race.

Greg: And what do they say? Rubbin' is racin'.

Todd Cowan: Rubbin' is racin'.

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What makes NASCAR special [4:39]

Greg: If they weren't going to give me the full scoop on Talladega... how about, what makes NASCAR special?

Nolan Rickner: Watching cars go in circles. Watching cars wreck.

Maggie: Of the drivers, of the cars.

Malinda Brown: I really like when my pit crew guys come up to say hi to Mama Brown. All the friendships and relationships that we've had.

Jenni Scoggis: Being around friends and staying out of trouble. That one gets me in trouble all the time.

Gary Murch: I guess, we love American people. They're so friendly. I think even if you never saw the races, the camping experience is worth the week. Hanging out at Cowboy's Bar, of course.

Lucinda Murch: I go home and tell all my friends about all these men that have hit on me.

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Cowboy’s Saloon - Part 1: racing, camping, and Jeff Gordon bartending [5:18]

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: My name's Dave Roberts, and I go by Cowboy. Everybody knows me by Cowboy here. We've been here for 21 years now. We started off with like a card table and a pop up, and we turned it into the space that we do. We enjoy doing it. My wife's more of a NASCAR fan than I am. She comes for the races, I come for the camping experience myself.

Greg: That's what I found, I feel like a lot of people are doing it like that- we'll find out I guess over the next three days.

There's a championship race, but it seems like people are here, as soon as they can be, and they're leaving as late as they have to just to enjoy this part of it, which is just hanging out.

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: Well, throughout the years they opened the gates Monday morning. We're usually out there in line waiting because we've got a lot of stuff to set up. So, by the time Tuesday night comes around. We're pretty much set up, ready to go, and we stay until Monday/Monday morning after the weekend's over. We start packing up our camp and head for home on Monday afternoon.

Greg: What is the mantra and the mindset of this place for people coming by?

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: Party and have a good time. It's 100 percent hanging out.

Like I say, it's easy. When you come here, you're more than just friends.

I've known some of these people for the whole 21 years that I've been doing it, and they still come every year and come say hi. We get friends all the way from Canada, Mexico, New Zealand.

I've met some of my good family here at NASCAR.

Greg: I've heard you've had Jeff Gordon come in a couple times. Do you get a lot of drivers that come through?

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: We've had quite a few throughout the years. Jeff came probably... four years ago. I think it was his first time, and I'm sitting at the corner of the bar and all of a sudden I turn around and look over and there he is sitting at my corner of my bar saying, "How you doing?"

Greg: When he came, who freaked out more, you or your wife?

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: Ah, the wife. He came behind the bar and took pictures with the fans and served some drinks to the fans.

Greg: That's awesome. When you get a legend like him to come into your camp and serve a drink behind the bar beside you, it's fun, it's memorable. Who makes a better Bloody Mary, you or him?

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: Oh, I do. Oh. Yeah.

Greg: That's the fighting words, then.

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: He was actually behind the bar making drinks for the patrons out here. That's what was cool. So, some people can come up and say, 'hey, I was at a camp, Camp Lesbian, and NASCAR where Jeff Gordon made me a drink'.

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Favorite drivers [7:42]

Greg: I can see everyone here has different merch. Who's your favorite driver?

Nolan Rickner: Christian Eckes, AJ Allmendinger, and William Byron.

Wendy Carpenter: I cheer for Larson. He didn't make it.

Various other Fans: I'm a Hendricks fan. Chase Elliott! I like Larson!

Jackson: Larson yay!

Lucinda Murch: Can we tell you our grandson's name? Larson. What does that tell you?

Gary Murch: Our son is Anthony Joseph, which is what AJ Foyt's name is. His son is Buddy Baker. Their other grandson is Colton, you know, Colton Herta. Oh yeah, we have a problem.

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Getting into NASCAR (Jeff Gordon, dads, husbands, and more) [8:14]

Greg: How long have you followed NASCAR for?

Terry Wiloughby: Oh, since Jeff Gordon started. I was sitting in a bar, restaurant, and we saw this guy come decorated. You know, DuPont, and, I thought... I asked him, "are you a bass fisherman?" Because I started getting into bass fishermen. So he goes, no, I do NASCAR. Then he took us to the hotel at like 3 in the morning after we got done drinking.

He took the car and started it up. It was loud. We had people come out and yell at him, "turn that f'n thing off!" Because it was loud. He took it out, he didn't care, you know. So that's where I become a NASCAR fan. 35 years ago.

Greg: That's hilarious. Can you say on record what happened that night?

Terry Wiloughby: Well... nervous laughing

Greg: So what got you into NASCAR?

Wendy Carpenter: Ah, dated my husband years ago. He was on a pit crew and brought me Saturday night.

Maggie: My dad. He's been a lifelong NASCAR fan. I sat down and watched the Daytona 500 one day and I was like, "alright, fuck yeah".

Pickle Pat: Also, my dad back way back in the Eighties.

Jenni Scoggis: My husband had been to Indianapolis many, many times, and he was a NASCAR fan and so they invited me here.

Aunt Lorie: We have four generations here, so once they have kids, I'm sure they're gonna carry it on too.

Mike Brown Sr.: Mike Brown. Scottsdale, Arizona. I've been here for 35 years. Brought my father-in-law, my brother-in-law, and some family friends, and this used to be called The Trackside Club up here.

Greg: When you started, way back when, were you a fan of the sport?

Mike Brown Sr.: Well, we were a fan of the sport, but then our son, who was 19 years old, finished up going to UTI. They had a UTI NASCAR Institute in North Carolina. He excelled and got picked up by Roush (RFK Racing) in Charlotte.

During the All Star Race - I'm watching them on TV when he- that was 2014 Road America - he jumped off a high wall. He jumped off the wall and snapped his foot, fell down in front of moving traffic, got back up with a broken foot, threw his jack over his shoulder, and ran the pit stop. It wasn't a great pit stop, then you see him come back around in front of the car.

He cuts in front of the car with a broken foot. Then, the next thing after the pit, you see him sitting over on the wall. "All right, medic." So, we've probably hit 20 tracks over the years. We've had a ton of fun. The stories, friendships, it's, well,...

Mike Brown Jr. (off camera): SWAT coming up here

Mike Brown Sr.: (laughs) Well, that's a long story. We're not going there.

Greg: You had the SWAT team here?

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Cowboy’s Saloon - Part 2: turning racing into charity [11:16]

Greg: So what did the camp evolve from? You said before it started as a poker table. So describe for the people, what is it that you do today? Cause we're sitting in a compound.

Dave “Cowboy” Robertson: We've got six spots, and we circle five motorhomes around the spots. I do a non-profit donation bar.

The profits, most of them, we do the pop top and stuff, they go to help the kids out. We've helped Parker out (a child with cancer at the Ronald McDonald House). He was one of my first sponsors that every gallon of pop tops we saved to him was worth money for the parents to stay at the hotel across the street from the hospital. Then, our last sponsor, we helped him get a wheelchair and a wheelchair accessible van for his mother.

Started off with people bringing a handful or a gallon baggie full and turned into last year - I donated 75 gallons worth of pop tops to the Ronald McDonald House.

Greg: Do you know how much you've been able to donate over the 21 years?

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: No, I wouldn't put a dollar sign on it. It's more of the helping part of it.

When I sent Parker 25 gallons of pop tops, I mean - to him and his parents, that's $2,500. To me, it's just time and collecting pop tops.

Greg: Yeah, well, it's more than that. It's a chance at whatever the future holds.

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: Yeah, Parker was one of my favorite ones because we probably had him for five years.

Then one year, I get a postcard in the mail with him standing next to a big box of pop tops I sent him in front of the hospital doors: "Cowboy's Bar, thank you for all the pop tops throughout the years. I'm now cancer free."

So that just yanks on your heart and it makes you feel good that you can come hang out and party with your friends, but still do good for somebody else.

Greg: I wasn't expecting that aspect of it and I think it's pretty incredible to be able to say you helped cure a kid of cancer. It's a pretty incredible thing. I've never seen anything like it

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: Well, we didn't cure him of cancer, but we helped his parents get through it easier and more comfortably!

Greg: Well, I mean, it all feeds into the process, right? You need to have a good heart. You need to have a good home. You need to have a support system.

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: That's what you'll find in this NASCAR camping community is we're a lot of like minded people. We all have good hearts, and we all want to.... we're going to welcome you right in.

Greg: Thank you for the time. I really appreciate it. This is awesome. We'll see you throughout the weekend.

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: Sounds good. Come back later on when it's busy and take some pictures.

Greg: I'll get you making the Bloody Mary's.

Dave "Cowboy" Robertson: It'll be hopping and popping at night - once the sun goes down and all the hooligans come out.

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Reflections from my first NASCAR race [13:53]

Greg: Every fan I met in Phoenix pointed me to Cowboy's Bar. Cowboy's said that last year he donated 75 gallons of pop tops.

To put that in perspective, it's nearly 240,000 of these (holds up one pop top).

And that's really the perfect way to sum up my weekend at the NASCAR Championship.

I came looking to discover why fans come back year after year, generation after generation, and it turns out the answer's simple:

They're there for the community.

Here are people, coming together over a shared love of motorsports, looking to connect and to make lifelong friendships. And while I didn't get the chance to see the legendary Jeff Gordon out in the wild - and trust me, I went back to Cowboy's Saloon every night hoping to spot him bartending - I did get to meet so many other legendary people that I hope you get the chance to meet at a future NASCAR race.

All you need to do is walk up to one of the campsites and say hello!

Malinda Brown: Cheers to NASCAR!

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