Will NASCAR Play the TV Game or Redefine It?
Part two of NASCAR’s Moment. Paul Pfanner looks at the sport that wrote American motorsport’s TV playbook as it faces a reset of its own, with its biggest broadcast partner now part-owning a rival and its own sports car series passing it on YouTube.
The Power of Now
We can bring nearly anything to a screen, yet people keep paying more to be there in person. Paul Pfanner looks at what that tells us about racing and live entertainment, and why the present moment carries so much value.
Now Racing to What’s Next
Paul Pfanner on why Petit Le Mans is his favorite race, and why watching IMSA at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is still watching a race to the future.
The Driver
Chip Ganassi just passed Roger Penske for the most championships in IndyCar history. Paul Pfanner on the racer behind the record, and why he is nowhere near done.
Marque Down
The car brands you grew up with are being repriced all at once, and the sport that depends on them hasn't gotten the invoice yet. Paul Pfanner on Porsche, the yen, China, and a pattern he has watched form before.
The Fastest Thing Off the Shelf?
Paul Pfanner asks whether IndyCar has permanently turned its race car into standard equipment, what that trades away, and why the choice that builds what comes next has to be made now.
The Museum and the Paddock
Paul Pfanner sets the reimagined IMS Museum against today's paddock and asks what the Indy car after the IR-28 should add to a century of cars that made change visible
Who Pays The Witness?
Motorsport no longer needs magazines to reach its fans. Paul Pfanner on the independent people who make the work worth saving — and the spirit of RACER magazine he still believes in.
IMSA: The Future is Now.
The future isn't coming to IMSA. It has always been here. Paul Pfanner’s half-century perspective on the sport, the brand, and the spirit that connects them.
The Caretaker
Jim France never wanted to be CEO. He wanted to build things and stay out of the spotlight. Then the sport needed him. Paul Pfanner on what those eight years meant.
The Audience Has Already Voted
Paul Pfanner traces the three data points that have already decided the future of sport, mobility, and media — and asks why the industry is still arguing with the scoreboard.
Now. 34-Years Ago.
On the anniversary of RACER's launch at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 1992, Paul Pfanner reflection on what it costs to build something that lasts — and what it teaches you.
The Hardest Thing a Leader Can Do
Paul Pfanner watched Jim Michaelian tend the Long Beach Grand Prix for fifty-one years — and never once make himself the story. When Michaelian died at 83, he had already done the hardest thing a leader can do.
2031: Racing Isn’t the Business
The economics are strong and the audience is growing. But the systems now controlling distribution, behavior, and value are reshaping what the sport actually is. The most important asset may be the one no spreadsheet captures.
The Race to Next
Every era has a moment when the future stops being theoretical and starts moving. Leaders who think they're keeping pace may want to reconsider. Are you moving — or just reacting?