NASCAR strikes pact with CAA as sports documentaries gain traction

NASCAR is joining the race to beef up its presence in Hollywood as behind-the-scenes sports documentaries continue to gain traction.

The auto-racing league has signed on with CAA for representation, and the alliance will bolster NASCAR Studios, a production arm established in 2022 to work with teams, sponsors, tracks and drives to develop an array of media projects. CAA will work with NASCAR Studios to develop strategic relationships across its existing IP in film, television, music, and podcasts, and grow the brand with diverse new talent

NASCAR Studios produced the docuseries “NASCAR: Full Speed,” which debuted on Netflix in January, with Words + Pictures. The project is one of an increasing number of in-depth looks at sports activity granted by the leagues that promote it that have become popular on streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, among others. Similar projects have looked at golf and other forms of auto racing.

The two sides have already have forged ties. CAA’s investment bank and advisory firm, CAA Evolution, served as the media-rights advisor to NASCAR on the new media rights agreements it struck in November. As a result of those negotiations, NASCAR reached seven-year agreements with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon’s Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports to telecast all 38 races in the NASCAR Cup Series. The CW, meanwhile, has become the exclusive home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

NASCAR, also known as the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the sanctioning body for one of the best-known forms of motorsports in the U.S., and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 states in the U.S., including the iconic Daytona 500. Variety