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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 16: WWE Champion Chelsea Green poses with WWE Women’s United States Champion belt and the Toyota GAZOO Racing Supra official pace car before the Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on March 16, 2025, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. Green will be the honorary pace car driver for the race. (Photo by Jeff Speer\/LVMS\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n
When Greg Stimmel joined NASCAR as Senior VP and Chief Commercial Officer in 2024, he brought with him a playbook written by the sports, spectacle, and storytelling of the WWE where he led global sales and partnership.<\/p>\n
The WWE and NASCAR might seem worlds apart, one scripted, one not, but Stimmel sees a striking similarity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think WWE and NASCAR are similar and different all at the same time,\u201d Stimmel said. \u201cWhen you look at how WWE is constructed\u2026 it\u2019s very much about the everyday American, right? And how do you speak to them and how do brands tell stories in that way? That was the through line.\u201d<\/p>\n
His mission then: translate the showmanship, engagement, and brand storytelling he honed at WWE to the racetrack, all without undermining NASCAR\u2019s authenticity. \u201cWhen we were able to tell a story in a different way for a brand at WWE, it\u2019s the same thing we\u2019re trying to do with brands here in NASCAR now,\u201d Stimmel said. \u201cIt\u2019s about blending tradition with creativity\u2014bringing fans and sponsors into the sport without being on-the-nose or heavy-handed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That WWE experience shapes how he approaches one of NASCAR\u2019s biggest challenges: helping brands navigate an ecosystem that is as much about culture and lifestyle as it is about cars and speed. \u201cWe\u2019re very unique as a company where we can take storytelling from the league level down to the track level and partner with teams, and tell that story in such a way that not a lot of other sports can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stimmel points to the competitive product, the close finishes, parity among teams, and unpredictable races, as the hook that draws fans in and keeps brands engaged. That drama, that tension is NASCAR\u2019s secret sauce. It\u2019s what gives sponsors genuine, high-stakes moments to associate their brands with.<\/p>\n
But authenticity is just as important as excitement and the WWE lessons aren\u2019t limited to storytelling; they extend to timing, spectacle, and emotional engagement. He compares NASCAR\u2019s biggest races to WrestleMania moments: \u201cEach track has its own personality, and each race has its own. If you want to partner and tell a camping story, Talladega is the spot. Daytona 500? That\u2019s our WrestleMania. It\u2019s the biggest show, the flyovers, the pageantry\u2014it\u2019s a one-of-a-kind moment for any brand.\u201d<\/p>\n