NASCAR has been an American pastime since the late 1940’s, but NASCAR should expand its audience outside of the U.S. A great way to do so is to have more international drivers.

The first international driver to win a race was a driver from Croatia named Mario Andretti, who won the 1967 Daytona 500. This victory could have started a new generation of foreign fans, but that didn’t really happen.

Since Andretti, there have only been five international drivers who have ever won a NASCAR Cup Series race (three of them have won two races), which is mind-boggling.

According to The Charlotte Observer, the record for most international drivers in a race was seven back in 2022 at Watkins Glen International. 

In the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, there is only one full-time international driver, and that’s Daniel Suarez, who has 22% of all international race victories in NASCAR’s history. 

Compared to the small amount of winner diversity in NASCAR, the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series, as of Aug. 19, had 11 out of 14 race winners born outside of the U.S.

Now, NASCAR does have a few international series, like the NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series and more, but those series are not really well known by fans of the sport, nor is it advertised very well.

If NASCAR wants to have more international viewership, then they need to have more than just one full-time international driver. IndyCar has a good mix of both American and international drivers, to where they have viewers from California to Japan, which would be great for NASCAR.

The twist of having new drivers and an opportunity to participate and win races in America’s most watched motorsport is something that NASCAR should already be looking into and fixing.

Overall, international drivers in NASCAR are essential to help viewership totals, number of fans and the opportunity to have some “new blood” in the sport.