In May 2011, an article I wrote for AutoRacing1.com caught the attention of Dave Despain and was featured on his television program, Wind Tunnel. The article argued that motorsports needed to stop thinking of traditional television as the only road to building an audience.
Despain took the idea a step further. During the segment, he said that racing series needed to recognize “the rapidly changing media world in which we live.” Then came a remarkably prescient prediction:
“I guarantee you that in ten years time the notion that a racing series can only survive if it’s on one of the currently big TV networks will be considered downright quaint.”
That was May 2011.
Fifteen years later, it is difficult to read those words without recognizing just how accurately they anticipated what was coming. Streaming, digital platforms, social media, direct-to-consumer programming and online video have fundamentally changed how racing reaches its audience. A major television contract remains valuable, but it is no longer the only doorway to the fan.
Despain concluded the segment by saying it was “a good time for outside the box thinking.”
Looking back from 2026, perhaps the simplest conclusion is also the most satisfying:
We were right. The media world did change.