F1 Betting be overtaking by NASCAR at SBG Global

F1 betting has for years stood up the pedestal as the great auto racing betting attraction. And it isn’t just a local title but instead F1 is truly a global favorite among the many countries in the world. But as the 2008 Formula 1 season approaches many auto racing betting fans are wondering if the local favorite NASCAR might not overtake F1 betting in terms of popularity.

F1 betting analysts never really considered NASCAR a viable competitor in terms of auto racing betting. For one thing aside from the major similarity the sports shared -auto racing- they couldn’t be more different from one another. Take for example the fact that F1 features open-wheeled racing cars, whereas NASCAR featured closed-wheeled stock cars.

Or simply mention the fact that F1 races are run on road courses and multiple turn closed courses while auto racing betting fans know that NASCAR is nothing more than four left turns on an oval. And the real barrier to NASCAR overtaking F1 was the simple fact that F1 dominated the global stage while NASCAR was simply a favorite of auto racing betting fans in the south of the US.

But as the years went by things begin to change. Where once F1 had an insurmountable popularity in the global market NASCAR has began to make inroads. No longer is NASCAR simply a sport for southern rednecks. It’s now popular nationwide and making slight inroads in the international market as well. That is something most F1 betting fans never thought they would see.

Perhaps more telling of how the tables have shifted is the fact that drivers from F1 betting are now defecting to NASCAR. Five years ago if you would have asked a fan if an F1 driver would ever leave F1 for NASCAR they would have laughed.

Now it’s reality. And that has been one of the biggest forces behind NASCAR gaining ground in the international market on F1 betting. Drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villenueve, former F1 drivers from Columbia and Canada, respectively, have brought a global presence to NASCAR and it’s only likely to increase as NASCAR’s profile rises.

Still it will be many years -if ever- before NASCAR can compete with F1 on equal footing in the global market.