Overwhelmingly old.
Seventy-percent born before 1970 old.
That is what we learned ahead of the 2024 season opener. Due to a supermajority of the fanbase approaching retirement age, the series is planning on emphasizing attracting younger fans this year, and that was unfortunately met with backlash that IndyCar was abandoning its current fanbase.
A fanbase is not an exclusive club. There are not a finite number of seats in the place and if one comes in, one must leave. It can accommodate everyone, and frankly, everyone should be welcoming newcomers.
The combined percentage of the present fanbase between the ages of 18 and 44, born between 1980 and 2006, is 12%. That is not a healthy distribution, especially when you break the older portion of the fanbase down further and find out 45% is 65 years or older. That is not a stable foundation to be standing on. It is part of the population that is retiring, living on more fixed incomes and approaching death. If the average IndyCar race draws one million viewers, 450,000 people are 65 years or older. Not all those 450,000 people will not be around in 20 years, and even fewer will be around in 30 years
If IndyCar does not attract more younger fans, it will be in a critical position within the next two decades. You can argue it is in a critical position now.
Fandom is not a precise science. IndyCar isn't just going to have new fans show up when they turn 65 years old because there is something in the air that makes 65 years old watch IndyCar. The current 65-year-olds have been watching likely for most of their lives. They grew up watching A.J Foyt, Mario Andretti, the Unsers and Rick Mears, and the only video games they grew up with were down at the arcade or Pong.
At the same time, just because you don't have a 30-year-old watching now doesn't mean you will not get them in 15 years when they are 45 years old. A nine-year-old that is obsessed with race cars might not be as interested and hardly watch 20 years later when he or she is on the verge of turning 30.
It must be a constant cycle to try and attract fans of all ages. Gains must be made across the board for overall health of the series.
Motorsports isn't as transferable as football, baseball, basketball, soccer or hockey. You cannot just pick it up in the backyard. It isn't accessible to a number of people depending on where they live. Exposure might not come until an older age. Interest might not develop until an older age.
A person might not see the appeal at the age of 12 and think it is just cars going around in circles, but at the age of 20 or 21, while studying engineering in college, that person might see motorsports in a different light and spark an interest in how the cars work and want to be apart of it.
While some people might grow into it, there will always be that life-long fan, someone who was enthralled from the age of five seeing the cars zoom by and the noise and colors. They will play with the toy cars on the carpet, going around in circles and mimic engine sounds for hours. It will continue into teenage years with video games, birthday parties at the indoor go-karting place and that person will continue watching races and attending races and it will become a passion into adulthood and for decades to come. You cannot rely on every fan following this path. This is the anomaly.
No series will have all its future fans locked up when those people are seven years old. People will come and go at various different points in their lives. The important thing is to have various jumping-on points for people of all ages.
At the present moment, IndyCar must turn its attention to drawing young adults and those recently out of college. That doesn't mean IndyCar is turning its back on older fans.
If you are already watching IndyCar races and you are 55 years old, IndyCar is happy to have you. Just because it is having a concert during a race weekend with a musical group you have never heard of doesn't mean you are no longer welcomed. Just because IndyCar is going to college campuses and offering ticket packages doesn't mean you are being cast aside.
This isn't a competition.
IndyCar isn't telling the older fans to scram. It is attempting self-preservation because it needs more people it can count on that will be fans 20 and 30 years from now. It cannot afford to lose a segment of the population for decades. Motorsport in general, but IndyCar in particular at this moment, needs a rather causal following.
The best thing we can do is use non-motorsports specific avenues to gauge what the interest is in motorsports. As a listener of The Tony Kornheiser Podcast, last month, the famous co-host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, Tony Kornheiser noted he tuned in for the finish of the Daytona 500, something he feels is important to do because of the importance of the Daytona 500 to NASCAR. When asked if his son Michael tuned in, Michael said no. When he asked his assistant Nigel saw it, Nigel said no.
It is only three people, but it is a microcosm of motorsports in the general sports landscape in the 2020s. To Kornheiser, the Daytona 500 represents an important American sporting event that has been around his entire life and is meaningful. However, to the younger members of his show, both in that late-30s to early-50s range, neither thought it was worth tuning into even as causal sports fans. This will likely be the case come May, where Mr. Kornheiser will tune into the Indianapolis 500 somewhat out of a generational reflex to the Memorial Day holiday while a younger crowd, represented by his son, will likely go through the weekend and have no clue the race even happened.
That is what every motorsports series is facing today. That is what IndyCar is facing today. The Indianapolis 500 winner was once something the average person might have known on the street. Today, you could probably stroll through New York City on Memorial Day and ask 10,000 people if they saw a lap of the "500" before finally finding someone who did.
IndyCar isn't going to get 100 million people watching the Indianapolis 500. It would be an accomplishment just to get ten million people watching, but it must improve awareness of the series, and at least having more younger people willing and comfortable to tune in, or possibly attend a race if it is in their local area, and give it a shot.
The 450,000 65-plus viewers still have a seat at the races. IndyCar isn't looking to kick people out and take away from that current 450,000 number and fill it elsewhere. IndyCar is looking to add to that 450,000 number in other younger age groups. Only about 120,000 people between the ages of 18 and 44 are watching. IndyCar is trying to make that number bigger, perhaps having it equal the 450,000 senior citizen crowd.
There cannot be fear that IndyCar is trying to get younger, especially from older fans. Don't forget, you were once young as well. There should be some encouragement to increase the size of the congregation and fill in more seats, if not force more seats to be added.
Anyone that is new will not have the same amount of knowledge or experience with the series. They are going to learn about the drivers, the past, the rules, etc. Just because they don't know everything doesn't mean they don't belong. Not everyone at a baseball game is analyzing bullpen decisions and not everyone at a hockey game is thinking about rotating line mates. Some people are just there to have a good time, and occasionally dip in to care about what is happening on the field. A race can be the same way. What we should be happy with is a person is choosing to have a good time at a race. That is progress.
This isn't an either/or situation. This isn't choosing one over the other.
This is about bringing many different people together from different backgrounds and age groups. That is what a truly healthy IndyCar will look like.
