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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →AI is helping NASCAR automate routine work that keeps live data in its official apps configured during race weekends, while giving staff more capacity to improve digital products. Fast Company reported in October 2026 that roughly 90% of the event-state tasks it described had been automated with AI tools and AI-assisted code. That figure is attributed to NASCAR and technology partner Next League; the report does not provide an independent audit or measurement method. The work supports fan-facing services and development—it is not described as AI making race-control decisions or controlling cars.
What fans get from NASCAR’s live data
NASCAR’s official apps offer premium subscribers live race information, including car telemetry and behind-the-scenes driver audio. Keeping those feeds useful across a three-day race weekend involves more than collecting data: event states change, and standings, pit-stop information and audio feeds must be configured or refreshed to match.
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NASCAR executive Tim Clark described the volume behind one fan-facing product: “There are hundreds of points of data that’s coming off of each of the cars that manifest onto this live leaderboard product.”
What AI automates—and what the 90% figure means
Fast Company’s October 8, 2026 report by Steven Melendez says AI tools and code written with their help automated roughly 90% of the event-state tasks associated with maintaining those app experiences, citing NASCAR and Next League. The figure applies to the tasks described in that report; no methodology or independent validation is given there.
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Next League cofounder and CEO David Nugent said manual control tied to event state had largely become unnecessary. In the report’s account, staff no longer need to switch and manage the relevant settings by hand in the same way. The automation concerns the digital operations behind live information, not autonomous decisions about racing or officiating.
How automation can free time for product development
NASCAR’s stated benefit is staff capacity: less time spent on repetitive event setup and maintenance can be redirected toward improving digital products. Clark said, “I think this year that that time has been freed up, it’s allowed our team to look more strategically at what we could be doing better.” He also described the technology burden before that shift: “Just from a technology and a development standpoint, to deliver on all of these things was a full-time job.”
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Next League’s broader work with NASCAR and NASCAR-owned IMSA is described as helping accelerate digital projects for teams and web properties or apps, as well as improving contextual ad targeting. Fast Company reported about a 2% click-through rate for newly personalized, contextual ads, described as 10 times the rate for traditional NASCAR house ads. Those are reported figures; the article does not provide sample sizes or methodology, so they should not be treated as a general benchmark.
Which fan features are live, in beta, or only proposed?
Automation of app-maintenance tasks is distinct from the fan features that it might make easier to develop. Fast Company described possible fantasy improvements and beta work connecting audio highlights with transcripts. One proposed idea is to surface pit-stop audio after a car’s related burst of speed. These are possibilities or beta features, not confirmation that all such experiences have launched.
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NASCAR also used machine-generated Spanish audio derived from an English broadcast for the inaugural Cup Series event in Mexico. Clark indicated that the experiment was unlikely to become the standard approach: he said NASCAR would probably hire a Spanish-speaking broadcaster in future. It was a limited use, not evidence of an ongoing translation service.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this differs from other NASCAR technology projects
Several initiatives associated with NASCAR involve substantial data, but they serve different operators and workflows. The distinction matters: an AI tool supporting a race team’s engineering work is not the same deployment as automation maintaining fan app data, and a room that displays data is not necessarily an AI system.
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| Initiative | Operator and purpose | Stage and evidence | Human role |
|---|---|---|---|
| App event-state automation | NASCAR and Next League; configuring and refreshing fan-facing live data and audio feeds. | Fast Company reported roughly 90% of the described tasks automated in October 2026, citing NASCAR and Next League; methodology is not stated. | Staff remain responsible for strategic improvements and product development; the report does not describe autonomous race-control decisions. |
| Trackhouse AI appliance | Trackhouse Racing; analyzing and distributing real-time data and radio communications to race engineers at the track and race shop. | Qualcomm announced the on-premises Dragonwing AI appliance in June 2026 for Trackhouse’s three-car operation and PROJECT91 entry. The announcement describes intended support, not an independently measured result. | Engineers use the information to support in-race decision-making. |
| Remote race-control room | NASCAR’s production facility in Concord, North Carolina; consolidating camera feeds, telemetry and driver/team radio for monitoring and collaboration with trackside race control. | Samsung’s June 2026 case study describes a display and monitoring installation, not an AI system. Samsung says its 32-foot-by-9-foot display wall draws on more than 80 broadcast cameras. | Officials monitor information and collaborate with trackside race control. Samsung’s Michael McDermott said officials have “a centralized environment where they can view the race with multiple data feeds and video sources in real time.” |
Samsung’s case study also quotes NASCAR competition strategist Scott Miller: “We can now monitor engine data and telemetry, or if anything is failing.” That describes the monitoring capability attributed to the installation, not AI independently diagnosing or acting on a failure.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteQualcomm’s announcement concerns a team competition and performance use case, while the Next League work described by Fast Company concerns NASCAR’s fan-facing digital operations and development. The announcements and reported benefits should be understood according to their sources: a partner announcement for the Trackhouse appliance, a vendor case study for the remote room, and an attributed media report for the app automation and advertising figures.
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