The 2024 racing industry combined expanding audiences with close competition and measurable changes in event operations. Formula 1 ran a 24-race season, NASCAR recorded 834 lead changes in its Cup Series, IMSA’s Rolex 24 at Daytona doubled its attendance compared with 2018, and NHRA statistics captured hundreds of starts decided by reaction time and speed.
Contents
- Formula 1 season and championship statistics
- Formula 1 audiences, attendance and economic impact
- Racing sustainability and event operations
- NASCAR competition and track activity
- NASCAR venues and the Chicago Street Race
- IMSA endurance racing growth and speed
- NHRA reaction-time and performance statistics
Formula 1 season and championship statistics
Formula 1’s 2024 season covered 24 races, matching the expanded calendar used in each of the previous two seasons. The season produced seven different race winners, the same number recorded the last time that outcome occurred, in 2012. Two drivers won consecutive races at most, while three rookies made unexpected Formula 1 debuts.
The winning distribution showed a strong but not exclusive concentration at the front. Lando Norris won four races and Oscar Piastri won two. Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone victory was the 104th win of his career and arrived after a 945-day wait between victories. Ten drivers stood on a podium during the season.
The constructors’ championship was decided by a relatively narrow margin. McLaren finished 14 points ahead of Ferrari, scored 666 points, and ended a 26-year wait for the constructors’ title.
| 2024 Formula 1 measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Races on the calendar | 24 |
| Different race winners | 7 |
| Drivers with podiums | 10 |
| McLaren constructors’ points | 666 |
| McLaren’s lead over Ferrari | 14 points |
| Lando Norris wins | 4 |
| Oscar Piastri wins | 2 |
The season also included several narrow margins. At Imola, Max Verstappen’s lead over Norris was 0.725 seconds. At Belgium, Piastri finished 0.647 seconds behind Hamilton. In Canadian qualifying, George Russell and Verstappen both recorded 1m 12.000s, the first identical pole-worthy lap time in 9,723 days, according to Formula 1 in Numbers 2024.
Formula 1 audiences, attendance and economic impact
Formula 1’s reach expanded alongside its calendar. The series reported a global fanbase of more than 826 million by the end of 2024. Race attendance grew from 4 million in 2018 to 6.5 million by the end of 2024, while the calendar increased from 21 events in 2018 to 24 events in each of the two most recent seasons. These figures are reported in the Formula 1 carbon footprint update 2025.
The United States became a particularly important audience and event market. Formula 1 reported a U.S. fanbase of 52 million, up 11% year on year, and a U.S. social following above 5.5 million all-time followers. Across its first decade, the United States Grand Prix delivered US$7 billion in economic impact. The 2023 U.S. Grand Prix generated more than US$1 billion in direct and indirect expenditure and produced $38 million in Texas tax receipts. Those U.S. figures come from the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix extension 2034 release.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix added another large-scale example. Its 2024 weekend drew 316,000 fans and attracted 145,000 unique visitors. The event generated nearly $1.5 billion in economic impact and delivered a global television audience of 59.3 million, according to the Formula 1 Las Vegas partnership release.
These measures describe different forms of reach. Weekend attendance counts people at the event, unique visitors remove repeat attendance within the reported event measure, television audience describes global viewing, and economic impact describes spending and related activity rather than ticket sales alone.
Racing sustainability and event operations
Formula 1 reported a 26% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of 2024 compared with its 2018 baseline. The figure is presented as a reported change against that baseline in the Formula 1 carbon footprint update 2025, not as a forecast.
Air freight was another measured area. Formula 1’s 2024 sustainable aviation fuel investment cut related air-freight emissions by more than 8,000 tCO2e. The same investment represented about a 19% reduction in related emissions compared with conventional aviation fuel, according to the Formula 1 2024 sustainability update.
Event promoters also reported changes in local operations and travel. Eighty percent of Formula 1 promoters powered parts of their events with alternative energy sources in 2024. More than 90% began offering greener travel options to races during the same year. The Formula 1 2024 season sustainability update identifies both figures as 2024 promoter measures.
NASCAR reported a separate facility and fuel picture for 2024. Renewable energy credits covered 100% of electricity consumption at all NASCAR-owned facilities. Across its three national series, NASCAR consumed 261,289 gallons of Sunoco Green E15. The figures are reported by NASCAR IMPACT healthy environments and refer to the 2024 operating year.
NASCAR competition and track activity
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series produced a broader winner list than Formula 1. NASCAR recorded 18 different race winners and 23 different stage winners. Forty drivers scored at least one top-10 finish, while 33 drivers scored at least one top-five finish. Those counts come from NASCAR By the Numbers 2024 Cup Series.
Lead changes offer another view of race intensity. NASCAR recorded 834 lead changes during the season. Seven track lead-change records were set, and eight races had at least 30 lead changes. Thirteen Cup races ended in overtime, while six ended with a last-lap pass.
Individual driver and event figures show how unevenly laps can be distributed within a season. Martin Truex Jr. led 555 laps in 2024. Kyle Larson led 462 laps in the Bristol Night Race. Joe Gibbs Racing won 13 Busch Light pole awards.
| 2024 NASCAR Cup Series measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Different race winners | 18 |
| Different stage winners | 23 |
| Drivers with a top-10 finish | 40 |
| Drivers with a top-five finish | 33 |
| Total lead changes | 834 |
| Races with 30-plus lead changes | 8 |
| Overtime finishes | 13 |
| Last-lap-pass finishes | 6 |
Together, these numbers distinguish participation depth from race-by-race action. The 40-driver top-10 count reflects season-wide finishing results, while the 834 lead changes and six last-lap-pass finishes describe movement during races.
NASCAR venues and the Chicago Street Race
NASCAR operated 15 racetracks and staged major events in more than 30 markets each year, according to the NASCAR IMPACT home page. The series’ venue footprint therefore extended beyond a single championship circuit and included a wide range of event markets.
The Chicago Street Race supplied a distinct urban-event case in 2024. At 127.6 miles, it was the shortest Cup race since 1992. The event generated more than $108.9 million in local economic impact. More than 80% of its ticket buyers attended a NASCAR event for the first time, according to the NASCAR Chicago Street Race award release.
The first-time-buyer measure is especially useful for understanding audience acquisition. It does not describe total attendance or total economic impact; it identifies the share of ticket buyers who were new to a NASCAR event. The result points to a substantial opportunity for street-race formats to reach people outside the established racegoing audience.
IMSA endurance racing growth and speed
The IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona drew close to four million unique viewers in 2024. IMSA’s social and digital platforms generated 31 million video views in January 2024, according to the IMSA record-setting pace release. The same release reported that Rolex 24 attendance doubled compared with 2018 and that merchandise sales increased 30% compared with 2023.
The 2024 event also produced a clear speed benchmark. Pipo Derani’s Daytona qualifying lap was 1:32.656, which was 1.029 seconds faster than the 2019 record. All nine GTP cars that qualified at Daytona in 2024 beat the old track record. The figures compare the qualifying performance with the prior record rather than with a race-average lap.
IMSA’s commercial and industry activity extended beyond the track. The IMSA Rolex 24 Twenty-Four Premier welcomed more than 160 automotive leaders at the Chairman’s Breakfast. That attendance measure is separate from the close-to-four-million unique-viewer figure and from track attendance.
NHRA reaction-time and performance statistics
NHRA’s 2024 statistics illustrate how drag racing can be measured through starts, penalties and class-specific performance indexes. Top Fuel recorded 31 holeshots, with 20 of those occurring in the first round. The Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd produced 11 holeshots across the three professional classes. These figures are from NHRA Stats-Mas 2024.
Red-light counts differed by class. Funny Car recorded nine red-lights, Pro Stock recorded 18, and Pro Stock Motorcycle recorded 30. The class totals should be read independently; they are not a combined series total in the supplied reporting.
Speed Index results also varied by competitor and class. Justin Ashley’s Top Fuel Speed Index was 68.64% for the season. Erica Enders’ Pro Stock Speed Index was 91.87%, while Greg Anderson’s Pro Stock Speed Index was 92.8%.
Pro Stock recorded 45 holeshots in 2024, and Enders was involved in 10 of them. The proportion is not calculated here because the supplied figures identify involvement and total holeshots without specifying the exact statistical treatment of “involved.” The direct counts remain useful for comparing the breadth of the class’s start-line activity.
Across the major series, the 2024 numbers connect sporting performance with audience scale, event economics and operational change. Formula 1 combined a 24-race calendar with more than 826 million global fans; NASCAR paired 834 lead changes with activity across more than 30 markets; IMSA reported close to four million unique Rolex 24 viewers; and NHRA documented class-level holeshot, red-light and Speed Index results.