The Chase for the Cup begins on Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway but NASCAR’s renewed push and focus into betting is well underway.
Last week, the league announced a deal with FanDuel as a new Authorized Gaming Operator. The group also unveiled a new partnership with nVenue to create more betting content for NASCAR fans.
This week, there is another big announcement relating to betting, as NASCAR and Sportradar revealed the two have agreed to a four-year extension of their partnership.
The pair initially signed an integrity monitoring services deal last year, adding on to their initial agreement established in 2018. The two companies have worked together in some capacity ever since 2015. The extension expands the scope of the partnership to include official betting data.
The media data rights and betting data rights include not just the NASCAR Cup Series but also the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series as well.
“As the sports industry’s leading technology company and a trusted partner of sportsbooks and media companies, Sportradar is uniquely positioned to support NASCAR in capturing commercial opportunities,” said Eric Conrad, EVP, Strategic Partnerships & Content, Sportradar. “Our ability to leverage these rights in the marketplace will ultimately enrich the NASCAR experience for fans.”
“Our partnership with Sportradar is foundational to our sports betting strategy from ensuring the integrity of our product to quickly providing authorized gaming operators and media partners with accurate, reliable data,” said NASCAR Managing Director of Sports Betting Joe Solosky. “Adding official betting data to the partnership will continue to catalyze NASCAR’s rapid growth in the sports betting space and allow fans to further engage with the sport.”
The 10-race playoff features the top 16 drivers from the past season and will culminate with the Championship race on Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
Initially, there were plans to bring a Barstool Sportsbook retail venue to Phoenix Raceway as part of NACAR’s partnership with Penn Entertainment in Arizona. However, earlier this summer, Solosky said plans were on indefinite hold. With the Barstool brand sunsetting in November and ESPN BET starting up, it certainly seems like those talks are done. It does not help that Phoenix Raceway may be the host of huge events like the Championship but is inactive for the majority of the year.
