IndyCar fan survey delivers some interesting surprises, curious reactions from paddock

Over three weeks with 53,579 respondents from 147 countries, the NTT IndyCar Series recently commissioned its most comprehensive fan survey.

The results were released shortly after the paddock opened for the 2022 season-opening race weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, and the online fan data provided by Motorsport Network and analyzed by Nielsen Sports made some waves for its reactions and revelations.

Here were some of the most interesting findings from the online fan polling (which was conducted over three weeks in January 2022) — as well as how they were perceived by the IndyCar industry (click here to review a 36-page summary of the survey):

There already was anecdotal evidence that Romain Grosjean’s rookie season occasionally bordered on Beatles-esque fandom, and the survey backed up the splash he made last year in moving to IndyCar after surviving a firey crash in Formula One.

Grosjean was ranked No. 1 in global ranking (and the only driver to crack 10 percent in the favorite driver category), made the top three on 32 percent of ballots and was voted first in Europe and in the age 16-24 demographic.

“It felt amazing,” Grosjean said. “After only one year in IndyCar being voted most popular or favorite driver has been quite incredible. I’ve got a story; I come from 10 years in Formula 1 before. I think it was a rebirth. I use ‘The Phoenix’ as a nickname. It’s not only related to the fire thing, it’s related to a rebirth of myself through IndyCar.

“The fans give me so much, and I tried to give back last year through all of my experiences (in) the States.”

Riding the strength of being No. 1 among female fans, Pato O’Ward ranked second (and the Mexican star was first among South and Central American fans).