Brad Keselowski calls for NASCAR to 'serve current fans' after returning to Iowa

NASCAR hit a new location last week, hosting the first ever Cup Series race at Iowa. It was a smashing success.

From a thrilling race won by the local, Ryan Blaney, to an all-around fun week for the fans, just about everyone came away raving about the selection as one of the new spots on the NASCAR circuit.

That’s not always the case, though.

“I think our sport goes through these kind of ebbs and flows where — I have to be careful what I say here that I don’t get in too much trouble — but we go through these ebbs and flows, though, where we’re like ‘Hey, let’s go to Big Market X’ whatever that might be, LA, Chicago, New York,” Brad Keselowski said. “Pick your kind of big market of the day, or maybe it’s international. And we get kind of excited about the idea of competing in these markets that they might have 10 million people living in the city or whatever it might be.

“And sometimes we lose sight of the fact that why don’t we just serve the fans we already have?”

Keselowski was slightly critical of how often NASCAR chooses new venues, particularly ones that seem to be only a product of market size. But he was admittedly a big fan of last weekend.

“What I saw in Iowa, and I loved it by the way, was fans that wanted us there,” Keselowski said on the Kevin Harvick Happy Hour. “Passionate fans that are like, ‘I’ve been waiting my entire life.’ I did an autograph signing Friday and there were people that were, ‘Hey, I live two hours away, this is the closest track to me and I’ve waited my entire life for there to be a Cup race close by. And I finally have it and it means the world to me.’

“And those are the fans that come back, like they don’t just go for one year just to see what this is all about. But they love our sport. And I just think that sometimes we forget about that and we’re kind of chasing the new, shiny thing of whatever market it might be.”

Having said his piece on NASCAR moving around quite a bit and chasing markets, Keselowski further opened up on what the organization got right with Iowa.

“And the other thing I really liked about Iowa, and I’m not from anywhere close to Iowa, but I’m from Michigan which is considered the Midwest,” Keselowski said, “But all the sponsors that sponsored the race were kind of brands that you didn’t see anywhere else. Hy-Vee or Casey’s or Iowa Corn, like you don’t see those anywhere else. And it’s always great to bring kind of fans that are underserved, but also brands that are underserved, because that really serves, for me, the business model of our sport.”

NASCAR will almost certainly continue looking to expand its footprint going forward, choosing new tracks here and there to race at.

Keselowski just hopes the organization continues to choose its venues carefully.

“Kind of lastly, one of the things that I look for in a great event is does it have the support of the community?” Keselowski said. “Not just the fans, but the government or whatever. And when the governor shows up for your race, that’s a big deal. That tells me the community wants you there. And I just have this simple kind of philosophy in all things in my life, ‘Go where you’re wanted.’ And it was clear Iowa wanted NASCAR.”