DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two weeks before the Daytona 500, which marks the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series, Netflix released "NASCAR: Full Speed," another one of Netflix's sports docuseries.
Other motorsports like Formula One have seen growth from releasing docuseries. And now, NASCAR drivers are already seeing a similar spark.
"I thought it was a very good introduction for new fans, because they also teach you 101 stuff like here's how it works," said Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11.
"You hope it reaches the NASCAR fans already. And you hope it reaches somebody that doesn't know anything about the sport. That's what that platform does. Netflix," said Ryan Blaney, 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion. "Heck, I met a lot of people in LA who were like this is our first race because we watched the documentary and we were intrigued and we wanted to check it out. And that's what you hope to do."
"Certainly, a number of drivers including myself saw pretty significant bump in following on social channels," said Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45.
Another aspect the Full Speed docuseries has helped show is the lives of drivers and build these characters which fans or even some drivers haven't really been able to see before.
"It was really nice how in-depth it was. Honestly, the Denny Hamlin stuff was really, really cool. To see all that he does, and he's definitely got a cool personality, so that was awesome," said Todd Gilliland, driver of the #38.
"I was always interested just because I know all these people in real life. Who's going to be different? Who's going to change because of the cameras, it's hard to be yourself in front of the camera, and I thought everyone did a great job of they were who I knew them as," said Harrison Burton, driver of the #21.
The docuseries only highlighted a few players who made last season's playoffs, so some of the drivers said they hope to make it to the postseason so that they can be a part of season 2 if it were to happen.