IndyCar tapping into new younger audience with 86% growth recorded in new report

IndyCar has gained traction among a younger audience with an impressive 86% spike in growth, as per a report. In 2023, it was reported that the sport's viewers were much older, with 70 percent listed as being at least 55 years old.

FOX has taken over the broadcasting duties of IndyCar since the start of the 2025 season, and it also co-owns the sport following the recent deal with Roger Penske's Penske Entertainment. Ahead of this week's final round at the Nashville Superspeedway, FOX Sports shared demographic data produced by Nielsen Research, which highlights the change in the audience composition of IndyCar.

Through last weekend’s Snap-on 250 Milwaukee event, the year-to-year growth in the move from NBC in 2024 to FOX this year has seen a 28-percent rise in viewers between the ages of two and 17.

Moreover, the most notable development with the audience is found in the 18-34 age bracket. A solid spike of 86 percent has been recorded by Nielsen. After the upcoming Bourchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, IndyCar will be able to tally the entire 17-race season and provide numbers on where the final age ranges are for this year.

The FOX Sports president of insights and analytics, Michael Mulvihill, in line with the popularity of America's highest class of open-wheel racing among the younger generation, recently told Racer:

"The growth of IndyCar among younger viewers is a vivid demonstration of the power of broadcast TV. We had a belief that if we simply put every race on the biggest and best platform viewers would find it, and they have."

The drivers' champion for the 2025 season has already been crowned, and it is the now four-time champion and Chip Ganassi Racing driver, Alex Palou.

IndyCar's 2025 season witnessed Alex Palou's dominance amid a popularity spike

109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

While the sport is on the right track in terms of its growth going ahead into the future, the 2025 season has belonged to one man, and that is #10 CGR racecar driver, Alex Palou. He is a popular figure among fans, and the way he has driven this year, he has surely gained a few more fans all over the globe.

The 2025 campaign is 16 rounds down, and Alex Palou has already amassed eight victories, six pole positions, 13 top-fives, and 14 top-ten finishes, alongside his drivers' title. He could have even added a ninth triumph in last week's Milwaukee Mile 250, but was just overtaken for P1 by Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen during the closing stages.

With the 2025 season coming to a close this coming Sunday, the stands could be packed to full capacity to see top stars like Palou and the others one last time fighting it out on the racetrack in IndyCar this year.