Not everyone liked Fox’s #DaytonaDay Super Bowl ad

Of course Fox Sports was going to use Super Bowl LI to promote its Daytona 500 coverage, but was its #DaytonaDay spot off the mark?

It’s not an easy task for NASCAR’s broadcast partners, Fox Sports and NBC, to push stock car racing. With ratings seemingly sliding each year, there’s a fine line to walk between appeasing longtime fans and trying to draw new eyeballs, even for an event as big as the Daytona 500.

Fox Sports tried to do something hip and catchy with its #DaytonaDay spot, which was released prior to Super Bowl LI and then featured several times during the game itself. On the surface, it’s relatively harmless, showing fans everywhere getting psyched up for Daytona in their own ways.

It works very hard to remind people that Jeff Gordon is now a broadcaster and even features a staredown between Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., the two drivers who just happened to be involved in the closest Daytona 500 finish ever in 2016. That’s the good stuff. And there’s little arguing the fact that the whole thing is upbeat and kind of catchy.

You can watch the whole thing here:

But is is trying too hard and thumbing its nose on the most loyal segment of NASCAR fandom? Racing YouTuber David Land argues exactly that in this video, and his points are pretty funny, even if you don’t agree with all of them.

Again, the networks showing NASCAR races in 2017 are in a tough spot. They’ve already paid their money to be involved with the sport, so they now have to make it worth their while in any way possible. That makes it difficult to blame them for efforts like this, even if one feels they’ve missed the mark.

Next: More than one Earnhardt in Cup Series full time in 2017?

We’ll find out if #DaytonaDay is a thing that catches on over the next few weeks, as the Daytona 500 is coming up fast on Feb. 26. In the meantime, let us know if you enjoyed this ad or side with Land in the comments section.