NASCAR started declining in 2007

NASCAR automobiles have become significantly more complex over time

The first generation of NASCAR automobiles were nearly identical to on-the-street models, with no modifications allowed to the body or frame. They even raced with doors. Fast-forward 75 years and the cars are 670-horsepower machines designed for racing.

Reels have strongly influenced NASCAR’s social media strategy

With viewership and attendance tanking from 2008 to 2018, NASCAR knew it needed better marketing to reach the next generation of fans, so it designed a new social media and content creation strategy. Using these new methods, it achieved 27% follower growth in three years.

The death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500 is credited with sparking a safety revolution in NASCAR

NASCAR shifted to a safety-first culture and in 2002 opened a research and development center to focus on safety innovation. No driver has died in NASCAR’s top three series since Earnhardt’s death.

A Netflix docuseries turned the sport into a national obsession

Throughout much of its history, Formula 1 racing was a European sport that failed to ever find a major audience in the US. That changed with the “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix docuseries that premiered in 2019. This analysis from two communications professors unpacks how the series has successfully presented the sport for an American audience and cultivated a dedicated fanbase in the process.

A group of daring bootleggers created NASCAR

When Prohibition made alcohol illegal in 1920, it didn’t stop Americans from making and consuming it. The law drove the practice underground. Runners risked their lives to deliver moonshine and began racing among themselves.

Explore NASCAR’s dozens of tracks across the US and Mexico

See detailed information on every track used for NASCAR’s top three divisions. Tracks vary in shape, length, and seating capacity.

National Hockey League, explained

Founded in 1917, the NHL started with four Canadian teams and now spans 32 franchises across North America. Its iconic Stanley Cup, first awarded in 1893, remains a unique prize, with winners' names hand-engraved each year. The league generates billions in annual revenue, aided by key expansions, lucrative TV deals, and global fan engagement. While player safety and labor disputes have posed challenges, the NHL remains a cornerstone of professional sports, offering an 82-game season culminating in the fiercely contested Stanley Cup Final.

As fantasy football grew more popular, the NFL began adapting

By the late 1990s, CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo had all launched their fantasy platforms, allowing the game to grow even more popular. By 2009, the NFL took note and began offering coverage that explicitly focused on fantasy metrics, including “RedZone,” a popular Sunday show that allows viewers to tune into the most crucial moments from around the league—or across their fantasy rosters.

Explaining the rise in adult sports leagues

Community sports leagues shifted from publicly supported entities to privatized ones in the 1990s, as tech advances streamlined registration processes. Millennial interest drove significant growth in social sports leagues for adults, growing much faster than other kinds of sports. A few industry leaders have benefited from this shift.

The 100 most significant sports moments between 2000 and 2025

This list ranks the 100 most significant sports moments of the first 25 years of the 21st century. The editors compiled the collection based on a list of factors, including the "collective joy" factor, whether it made you curse in disbelief, and how much it transcended the sport and entered the broader culture. The top moment: The improbable "helmet catch" during the Super Bowl in 2008.

The decline in value of the NFL running back

Running backs long held the role of superstar on NFL teams, carrying their team down by down to the endzone. Their salaries reflected that importance as well. But in the last 30 years, front offices and fans have taken more to the quarterback instead, who receives much higher salaries. This podcast episode breaks down the economics of the turn in the game's focus from rushing to passing.

The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 when the Nasdaq dropped more than 76% in roughly 2 years

Between 1995 and 2000, the Nasdaq Composite index jumped from roughly 1,000 to 5,000 amid excitement over new internet companies. As venture capitalists dumped money into startups, those same companies struggled to turn a profit, leading to a bubble. The Nasdaq wouldn't reach its former high until 2015.

Country's popularity skyrocketed in the 21st century

Thanks to the crossover success of '90s artists like Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, country music found a larger audience. By the 2000s, the genre was more popular than ever, at times accounting for nearly a quarter of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Between 2007 and 2009, the housing market saw its most significant downturn since the Great Depression: the Great Recession

The early 2000s were a prosperous period for the housing market, until some lending practices eventually destabilized it, leading to banks collapsing and people losing their homes.

The complicated economics of horse racing

The Triple Crown commands big ratings (and enormous amounts of money in betting) but the sport as a whole is in a precarious position, thanks to limited tracks and an overreliance on subsidies. This special from Freakonomics unpacks what all that means for the future of the sport.

The economics of the WNBA

The 2024 WNBA season shattered attendance and viewership records, thanks in large part to rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The league secured a record 11-year, $2.2B media rights deal. Yet players' salaries are low compared to the NBA. This CNBC video dives into the WNBA’s business model and explores why it may take years before the longest-running women’s sports league becomes profitable.

Among most mainstream sports broadcasts, sports betting ads appear most often in women's basketball and hockey

A random selection of 50 different sports broadcasts tracked one sports betting reference every four minutes. In one of the randomly selected hockey games, the longest stretch of no gambling reference lasted about five minutes towards the end of the game.

Nonfiction books have been struggling to sell in the mid-2020s

In the early 2020s, readers sought out nonfiction books to help explain prominent current events, such as the first presidency of Donald Trump and the BLM movement. That interest has since waned, as publishers note that readers have lately shown a preference for escapism and gather their information from podcasts.

Soap operas are significantly less popular now than in past decades

In the genre’s heyday, soap operas commanded large audiences. But recent decades have found the soap opera in steep decline. One data journalist suggests it's an issue of classification: Shows similar to soap opera, like “Grey’s Anatomy,” remain popular, though they’re not considered soap operas because they resemble “prestige television.”

In 1992, sports betting was outlawed in places where it wasn't already legal

On Oct. 29, 1992, then-President George HW Bush signed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, outlawing sports gambling where it was not already legal.

US cancer mortality rates have been falling for 25 years

The American Cancer Society's "Cancer Facts & Figures 2025" report provides comprehensive statistics on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates in the United States. Cancer rates in the US continued a long-running downward trend, driven primarily by a steep drop in lung cancers (mostly from a decrease in habitual smoking) and better preventative monitoring. This site leads to incredibly in-depth reports and slides on the current state of the fight against cancer.

Explore America’s top companies by revenue in 1994 versus 2023

America’s top companies by revenue have changed a lot in the past few decades. Sears, for instance, isn’t on the 2023 list, while Amazon isn’t in the 1994 edition.

Nike went public in 1980, and the first share sold at $22

Nike stock plummeted in the four years that followed the company’s initial public offering (IPO). The company’s deal with Michael Jordan in 1984 ultimately revived investor confidence.

Snowboarding was first included in the Olympics in 1998

Snowboarding entered the Winter Olympics in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, featuring giant slalom and halfpipe events—a move influenced by the sport’s rapid growth and mainstream exposure through competitions like the X Games.

Carnivals and circuses helped create professional wrestling

Catch wrestling became a fixture of American carnivals, which rose in popularity in the early 20th century. Carnival workers began fixing matches to reduce injuries and earn money from ignorant fans, whom they called "marks."

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.