Netflix hit series Drive to Survive has directly led to a huge resurgence in the popularity of Formula 1 racing in the united states.  Average TV viewership per race has grown from just shy of 500,000 viewers in 2018 to around 1,000,000 in 2021 and through the first five races of 2022, that number has skyrocketed again now at 1,400,000 viewers per race. This is nearly triple that of just four years ago before the series launched.  Indycar is getting a bit of a bump as a result of this as well going from 465k to 828k to 1.1M viewers per race during those same time periods. One main reason for this is the move from the now-defunct NBC Sports to having the races on the main network channel NBC as well as the launch of the Peacock streaming service

Considering that many Drive to Survive viewers knew little to nothing about open-wheel racing prior to being exposed to the series and would not have known an Indycar from an F1 car if one showed up in their driveway, there is a huge opportunity here for IndyCar to piggyback on this surge of interest and create a whole new generation of fans.

Many Indycar purists scoff at having a soap opera type show of their own but they do this at their own peril. F1 is pushing hard into the American market. From 2013 to 2021 there was only one US-based race at COTA in Texas. With the launch of Miami this year and Vegas next year Indycar will be sharing the domestic stage with the pomp and glamour of F1. There are only so many dollars to go around for people to attend races and it is imperative that Indycar grab as many fans as it can during this open-wheel boom in popularity

With a mix of American drivers and ex F1 drivers along with iconic races such as this week’s Indy 500 and the annual Grand Prix of Long beach. A similar type of show to Drive to Survive focused on the Indycar series can only help to attract and retain long-term fans to the series as well as bring back those that it lost during the infamous Split years of the early 2000s.

The series is full of large personalities and has a deep history. Much like people stream murder doc after murder doc on Netflix. There is no reason to think they would not pop over from Drive to Survive to an Indycar-based series when they have exhausted all of the DTS episodes. With NBC owning the Peacock service it would be seamless and cost-effective to get one going…..  we suggest they get on it NOW!