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NASCAR, for all its foibles, is affordable & accessible - to attend an event doesn't need a mortgage, plus it's part of US TV culture. The drivers actually speak to the fans *gasp*! Aussie V8 Supercars are almost exactly the same - affordable & accessible.
F1 is quite the opposite - it's aspirational, locked away, and you only get in if you have $$$.
Right now I'd suggest that one of the significant problems F1 has, although it might realise it, is the glamour. In days gone by people aspired to it, but in these days of austerity there's perhaps a growing feeling that the money in F1 really is obscene.
It's been like that for years, of course, but compare the costs to fans to attend an event at Silverstone:
2014 British F1 GP, Sunday general admission, adult (no seat): £150
2014 British Moto GP, Sunday general admission, adult (no seat): £75
2014 British WEC, Sunday general admission, adult roving grandstand (sit anywhere): £35
Now look at NASCAR pricing:
2014 Daytona 500, most expensive grandstand seat, race day only: $195
2014 Miami (Homestead) 400, most expensive grandstand seat, race day only: $195 using 2013 pricing
Also pertinent is that F1 has a truly worldwide following, but outside of real enthusiasts, neither NASCAR nor the V8s have any significant following outside of their own markets. That makes the marketing and sponsorship very parochial and much easier to identify with.
Look at your average F1 car - who the hell are all these companies who are paying for stickers? Loads of them mean nothing to me. Not only that, loads of them don't even have products in my home country, or worse, aren't actually consumer-oriented.
It makes me wonder really, really hard just what F1 is trying to be these days.
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