IndyCar might be the latest sports property to take advantage of the power of an NFL lead-in.
The open-wheel racing circuit is reportedly “open to extending future seasons into the fall” to schedule a race (or races) following NFL programming on Fox, according to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. Currently, the IndyCar season intentionally ends one week before the NFL season begins to avoid direct competition with the television behemoth. Some of its motorsports peers, like NASCAR and Formula One, still race into the fall despite competition from football.
However, IndyCar has seen the success some niche sports properties have had in leveraging massive NFL audiences as lead-ins. Last year, the NHRA drag racing circuit secured its largest audience in history by airing immediately following a Cowboys game on Fox. Similarly, Professional Bull Riders (PBR) outdrew a Yankees playoff game last year by utilizing an NFL on CBS lead-in. In recent years, college basketball has used Thanksgiving NFL games to secure its largest regular-season audiences.
“Our philosophy has been over the last several years that we don’t want to compete with NASCAR, and NHRA had a really good event last year where they worked with Fox and had a football game that was a lead-in, and I think we’re open to that if it’s the right event,” IndyCar president Doug Boles told SBJ. “We can have that kind of lead-in, but I still don’t think as a series we want to go too far into the fall. You’re not going to see us going into the season like you see Formula 1 or NASCAR. But if it’s the right event, I could see where we push a week or two or even three beyond where we are right now, but not much beyond that.”
Fox acquired a one-third equity stake in IndyCar parent Penske Media last summer, which could simplify any scheduling arrangements for a race with an NFL lead-in next season. The decision to utilize the NFL’s massive audiences for a race or two would seem like a no-brainer for both sides, especially as fans complain about IndyCar’s “elongated offseason,” Stern notes.