There’s been an incredible proliferation of inside-access sports documentaries over the last decades. But a big question in the success of those documentaries is just how much access the crews get. And in a conversation with Jacob Robinson of What’s On Netflix, NASCAR: Full Speed executive producer Tim Mullen said their team for that show got more access than previous shows covering NASCAR.
Mullen spoke to Robinson alongside fellow executive producer and director Jackie Decker. That was for a piece, published Thursday, that largely focused on Netflix’s Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson docuseries leading up to the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight earlier this month. But Mullen and Decker also spoke about Full Speed, which they also work on together.
That show released its first season (covering the 2023 NASCAR season) this January. It has a second season (covering the current NASCAR season) in the works, which Mullen revealed will premiere in April 2025 thanks to a more-crowded Netflix winter release calendar. But what’s perhaps most significant here is what Mullen told Robinson about their access relative to past NASCAR shows, and how they’re able to maintain that access, and how teams don’t get editorial control over the series:
NASCAR has had plenty of inside-access shows before. Some aired on NASCAR.com, and I believe Peacock had a show a couple of years ago. But when Netflix comes in, they can flex their muscles a little more, and it’s totally different. It’s always about building that comfortable level with the teams and drivers, but it’s shocking how quickly you’re given better access when you’re the Netflix crew.
But we’re not trying to make anything inauthentic. We won’t have you do something you wouldn’t do in your everyday life, like manufacturing rivalries between drivers who are, in fact, friends. So I think that allows you more access with the drivers, with their families, with their teams. After watching the first season, it was much easier to have those conversations about being inside the driver meets, where they were worried we’d be giving away their secrets and stuff like that. There’s a level of trust being built there, and it’s not like they have the first rights to watch it and say, “Hey! Please remove that.” We want to do seasons three, four, and five, so the last thing we want is to upset anyone. We’re all on the same page here. We want to broaden the NASCAR audience.
Of course, this is just Mullen’s perspective. And he has obvious incentive to talk up the level of access his series received, and to talk up Netflix (where he’s doing a lot of work) and its reputation. But that’s still quite a notable comment, especially considering that the previous shows came from literally NASCAR itself and then a full NASCAR broadcast partner. (It seems likely Mullen is referencing 2022 docuseries Race for the Championship with his “Peacock show” comment; that series actually first aired on USA, but was also available on Peacock, and it’s notable that it came from NASCAR’s own NASCAR Studios). Those are both entities NASCAR teams would seemingly have more incentive to trust (and would provide more access to) than an outside broadcaster without live race rights regardless of its reputation.
Sure, there are more factors at play than just the broadcasters involved. The media landscape is different in 2024 than it was even in 2022, to say nothing of the years before that, and behind-the-scenes docuseries have become a much more accepted part of life in many sports. It’s quite possible the improved access here isn’t about Netflix versus other broadcasters, but rather about teams being more trusting of this idea after seeing it work well in other sports.
This also could be about trust for the specific people involved and what they’re doing to build and maintain relationships. And it could also be that there wasn’t actually more limited access for the preceding shows, only Mullen’s perception of that. And it’s worth noting that there has been significant public friction between certain NASCAR teams and the overall organization, including an ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, so there were maybe some teams skeptical of working with even the in-house NASCAR Studios.
With all that said, this is still a remarkable quote. As noted, there are plenty of possible explanations for it. But if NASCAR teams really are providing significantly-increased access to the Full Speed team versus what they gave previous shows, that’s great for Full Speed, and for fans, but it raises questions about why they were limiting access for those previous shows and why those shows were greenlit with limited access.
