Is Indy 500 a more popular race than NASCAR's Daytona 500? All you need to know

The Indy 500, held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and NASCAR's Daytona 500, held at the Daytona International Speedway, are two of the most well-known races in motorsports. The former has been on the racing map since 1911, whereas the Daytona 500 has been bringing smiles to the faces of fans since 1959. Both are run for a total of 200 laps.

Moreover, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event, a high-speed race around a narrow oval, is popularly known as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, whereas the NASCAR Cup Series race, a pack-race event featuring stock cars around a wider oval, is called the Great American Race.

While both races are extremely prestigious, let us take a look at which among the two is a more popular event.

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Is the Indy 500 a more popular race than NASCAR's Daytona 500?

#1. Attendance

The crowd watches as Rascal Flats performs during pre-race festivities before the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 60th Annual Daytona 500 - Source: Getty

The Daytona Motor Speedway is a 2.5-mile oval track that boasts a capacity of over 150,000 (depending on configuration/seating division). In comparison to the Indianapolis 500, it is nowhere near as popular. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway event has a capacity of 400,000 spectators. The Daytona 500 is the opening race of NASCAR's Cup Series, whereas the Indy 500 is part of the IndyCar calendar and takes place in May. In 2024, the Indianapolis event had an estimated attendance of 330,000 to 3,50,000 fans, whereas Daytona had around 150,000 (estimated to be a sell-out).

Even in 2023, the Indy 500 event outperformed Daytona. Despite the latter being a sell-out (permanent seats) with over 100,000 seats filled, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event amassed over 330,000 people.

Fans look on during the NTT IndyCar Series 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, 2024 - Source: Getty

The above-mentioned data can be looked at in two ways: one, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway not selling out (400,000 seats) in comparison to Daytona, or two, the latter having a limited capacity (sell-out crowds) because of being less popular among fans.

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#2. Television viewership

Since the inception of the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500, viewership has been up and down for both sports. From 1995 to 2020, US television ratings for the Daytona 500 were the highest for any race of the year. Interestingly, in 2006, the Daytona Motor Speedway event amassed the sixth-largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year, with 20 million viewers (as per Wayback Machine).

However, in 2021, the Indianapolis 500 surpassed the Daytona 500 in TV ratings and viewership. In 2024, the Daytona event was just able to get the better of the Indy 500 with an average viewership of over 6 million (down 27% from 2023), in comparison to Indy's 5.3 million (up 8% from 2023).

However, as per the trend of recent years, while Daytona 500 has had an up-and-down run in terms of TV audience, the Indy 500 numbers have been continuously improving. In 2022, it was 4.8 million, in 2023 it went up to 4.9 million, and it finally surpassed the 5 million mark last year.

Looking at the overall data, it can be said that the Indy 500 is more popular than the Daytona 500 in terms of traction among the fans. Interestingly, last year saw a 12% increase in merchandise sales at Daytona, as per Yahoo Sports.

While it is hard to say whether the sales for the Indianapolis 500 were better or worse, Pato O'Ward and Josef Newgarden spearheaded the merchandise sales for the event.

IndyCar's Indy 500, which is part of the triple crown of racing, alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, is a slightly more popular event (per recent trends) in comparison to the Daytona 500. However, both these events will continue to grow and attract audiences, both new and old.