David Brown

The 2020 season ultimately delivers 17 races.

That's five fewer than originally planned, but enough to keep the championship alive.

And with millions of people stuck at home looking for something new, Formula One's audience begins to surge.

And it finally makes a breakthrough in the United States.

Viewership there almost doubles between 2018 and 2021.

Live attendance at the United States Grand Prix climbs at a similar rate.

And with interest rising, Formula One announces its return to Las Vegas.

The larger audience soon translates into revenue,

In 2022, Formula One renews its TV deal with ESPN.

Just a few years earlier, ESPN got the rights for free.

This time, it pays an estimated $90 million per year for them.

Now, sure, this is a big leap forward for Formula One, but NASCAR's television rights are worth around 10 times that.

And a typical NASCAR race still attracts about three times the viewers of a Formula One Grand Prix in the US.

But it's the trend that matters.

Formula One is accelerating.

NASCAR, well, it's coasting.

And its executives are starting to glance in the rear view mirror a little more often.

With Formula One coming up fast, NASCAR's bosses don't think they can wait years for a full reinvention.

They want faster results, so they borrow from Formula One's playbook.

First, they change where NASCAR races.