Johnw1104 said:
Well I would have assumed the same but, much like country music, it's apparently hugely popular in circles I'm not as familiar with. This 2012 article from Forbes says that it has the largest fanbase in the US at approximately 70 million, has by far the most spectators attending its races of any sport, and had $3 billion in sponsorships, almost doubling the NFL. By almost any measure, it's actually the most popular sport in the country: https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveodland/2012/02/27/nascars-back/#1fa62db336a1 |
Except TV ratings, which is the most relelvant measure of mindshare in the US.
You can cherry pick a lot of interest numbers to make one sport look better. For instance, the average attendance of MLS games exceeds NBA and NHL. While MLS is certainly more popular than NHL in parts of the country, it's not overall. NFL > NBA and then everything else. That's not debateable.
