Kyle Larson's victory at Kansas Racing in front of sparse crowds is a great example of Nascar's fundamental problems in the 2020s and beyond.

To be clear, this issue has nothing to do with Larson's excellence overall and his dominance on Sunday. He won all three stages and obviously owned the fastest car, despite the last lap with some drama. Larson's car suddenly slowed down on the last lap as he cared for less than a second to Christopher Bell. If the game is 268 laps instead of 267 laps, then Larson may not be the winner.

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Instead, the problem is watching Larson win his second second win in Kansas. After years of selling out in the 2000s and 2010s, Sunday's stands were about halfway through. There is plenty of room for people to spread, and if you look closely you can roughly see how the middle seats spell out the "Kansas Raceway."

Kansas is the best track on NASCAR. The 1.5-mile oval asphalt is too large compared to the rough and huge Midwest winter worn by large tires, while progressive banking creates multiple racing lanes. On the worst days, it’s a three-lane track that can be played immediately after restarting four or even five-width games.

Just a year ago, Larson defeated Chris Buescher in the closest game in NASCAR history. After the direct timing and scoring loop, Larson won the game by 0.001 seconds, indicating that Buescher crossed the finish line first.

Yes, close-up completion is the product of a reboot, with two laps, but it's the right way to describe how the car is performing in Kansas. If the track is located a few hundred miles south, it would be an effortless candidate to host the championship game in early November, when NASCAR began spinning its championship game field after the 2026 season.

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But, even if Kansas does compete in the championship game, will fans show up?

Marketing the best tracks for NASCAR should be easy. Yes, Sunday’s game is on Mother’s Day, with high school graduation season coming in Kansas City. But the local accumulation of the competition is almost non-existent. NASCAR weekend has been a major event in the city for many years. They recently thought of an afterthought.

This isn't a problem with Kansas City either. In recent years, NASCAR has re-cut its public relations division in the name of cost savings. It is hard to see the correlation between these cuts and lack of promotion.

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NASCAR can still tout itself as the top motorsport in the United States. A week ago, the Cup Series at Texas Raceway was heading forward with the Formula One Miami Grand Prix. Although the NASCAR competition was on Fox Sports 1, the Cup’s TV audience won more than the Miami Grand Prix on ABC. However, F1 games easily won the coveted 18-49-year-olds in both total and share. More than one-third of F1 viewers are in that age range. Less than 20% of NASCAR's audience.

It is still a hyperbolic to say that NASCAR is facing an existential crisis. The ratings of the Cup Series have stabilized after years of decline, and NASCAR is in its first year of a new TV contract. However, it can be said that NASCAR has little hope to return to the heights it experienced 20 years ago. If NASCAR can't fill the stands in the form of the best product, how can it still work?