Raising the Red Flag

he National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American institution. While NASCAR has struggled in recent years over issues such as lack of diversity among drivers and owners, its historic affinity for the Confederate flag and its weighty carbon footprint, it is still a wildly popular spectator sport, bringing in over $500 million in annual revenue. After a two-year dip in viewership, in 2022, NASCAR’s marquee event, the Daytona 500, saw its audience nearly double to close to 8.9 million—though still down from its historic highs in the early 2000s like 2006’s almost 19.4 million viewers. And among NASCAR drivers, Kyle Petty is known as “royalty.” A third-generation driver, son of NASCAR’s winning-est driver ever, Kyle won his first stock-car race at the record-breaking age of 18, only to be bested by his own son Adam 19 SWERVE OR DIE