- NASCAR is moving to integrate AI to improve its on-track product.
- The sanctioning body appoints Richard Bowman to steer AI use across the sport.
- Already using AI to automate on-track operations with greater precision.
NASCAR has spent the past few years turning to artificial intelligence in a bid to move the needle on its on-track product, and now the sanctioning body is doubling down by putting a point person in charge of the push.
The series has already teamed up with several platforms to integrate AI in the sport, while teams have folded the technology into race craft, from fuel strategy and lap-time calculation to pit-stop calls based on tire wear projections.
In a move to widen that scope, NASCAR appointed Richard Bowman as an AI operations specialist in January. And now, in April 2026, that role was taken up a notch, with Bowman named the sport’s first Director of Artificial Intelligence.
Bowman confirmed the development in a message introducing his role. “Excited to share that I’m now Director, AI at NASCAR. Even in my relatively short time here, it has been clear that this is an organization willing to engage seriously with both the opportunities and responsibilities that come with AI. I’m grateful for the chance to help lead that work.”
How can Bowman change NASCAR forever?
As leagues across the board chase gains from a technology that promises to reshape the on-track product, Bowman has been at the center of NASCAR’s efforts in strategy, governance, policy, and implementation.
In his new role, he will guide the approach by setting direction, identifying areas of value, and backing execution across the business. He will also work with teams to bring AI into operations, digital products, collaboration across the garage, and commercial ventures. Before this stint, Bowman worked in IT with school systems.
His brief now revolves around turning plans into practice, building secure, usable workflows that deliver results. At NASCAR, he leads governance, policy, and daily enablement for enterprise AI tools, including ChatGPT Enterprise, working with Strategy, IT, Legal, and other business units to accelerate adoption while maintaining guardrails.
His focus remains on training, return on investment, and a model that helps people work with more clarity, whether at the shop or at the track.
The sanctioning body has already run pilot programs with OpenAI, which also has a tie-up with Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar, and NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell has said the technology is under study for both competition and business use cases.
Bowman also took part in a webinar hosted by OpenAI alongside NASCAR Managing Director of Analytics Derek Thomas to outline how the series is putting AI to work.
Inside NASCAR’s AI push, transforming the on-track product
On the competition side, NASCAR has threaded AI into multiple stages.
- Since 2020, WSC Sports’ platform has been used to generate, tag, and distribute highlights such as crashes, passes, and finishes to social platforms and the NASCAR app, cutting delivery time by 80% while scaling output.
- Post-race lap timelines are also produced through AI.
- Features like “Leader Cam” and “Most Popular” on the NASCAR app rely on AI to track race leaders and viewer behavior in real time, allowing video feeds to shift on the fly.
- The Satisfi Labs chatbot handles fan queries on the website, while at tracks such as COTA, AI-driven “comp cams” flag course-cutting in sections like Turns 6 and 19.
- Teams have not been sitting on the sidelines either. Richard Childress Racing uses Lenovo’s edge AI to track fueling during pit stops with 99.4% accuracy, feeding into race strategy. AI systems scan images of cars as they pass to spot damage, cutting down decision time for pit crews.
- Hendrick Motorsports leans on AWS tools to mine years of data, test strategies, study radio chatter, and forecast race outcomes. AI has also helped the team to reduce engine-cooling time and trim-testing downtime by about 33%.
- NASCAR is also exploring AI to simulate changes to its playoff format, testing how changes could play out before making calls in the real world. On another front, nVenue’s AI and machine learning models power live betting, projecting outcomes such as stage winners or caution periods as races unfold.
- For drivers, the flood of data from modern Cup cars has reached a point where manual sorting no longer cuts it. Drivers such as Tyler Reddick have pointed out that AI is now part of the toolkit, helping make sense of the numbers that come with each lap.
- From the garage to the control room, NASCAR’s AI push is no longer a side project. With Bowman now at the helm, the sport is betting that this is not a passing phase but a road it intends to stay on.
