NASCAR designated Amazon Web Services (AWS) — the world’s leading cloud platform — as NASCAR’s preferred cloud computing, cloud machine learning and cloud artificial intelligence provider.
So, what does that mean exactly?
NASCAR will migrate more than 70 years of archival footage to the AWS cloud. Footage of every historical moment, photo-finish, classic pass, breathtaking wreck and championship-clinching race will live in the AWS cloud.
“NASCAR is utilizing the breadth and depth of our cloud services to enhance the way people experience the sport and deliver even more impactful content to fans,” said Mike Clayville, Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Sales at AWS.
AWS is reviving NASCAR’s 70 years’ worth of archived footage and will introduce a digital video franchise on NASCAR.com titled This Moment in NASCAR History powered by AWS. Each week, AWS and NASCAR.com will deliver an iconic moment from the upcoming track’s illustrious past for fans to relive and experience. “This Moment in NASCAR History” debuts this week and will feature Ernie Irvan’s 1997 emotional “comeback” win at Michigan International Speedway.
“We are pleased to welcome AWS to the NASCAR family,” said Jon Tuck, NASCAR Chief Revenue Officer. “This relationship underscores our commitment to accelerate innovation and the adoption of cutting-edge technology across our sport. NASCAR continues to be a powerful marketing vehicle and will position AWS’s cutting-edge cloud technology in front of industry stakeholders, corporate sponsors, broadcast partners and ultimately our fans.”
NASCAR’s commitment to innovation goes beyond the competition on the track. NASCAR continues to bring fans a more immersive and visceral experience at the track and at home. This new relationship is an extension of that commitment to enhance the fan experience while delivering value to the industry.
“AWS’s cutting-edge cloud technology will archive all of the defining moments in our sport’s deep-rooted history and will provide fans access to those unforgettable memories throughout the year,” said Craig Neeb, Executive Vice President of Innovation and Development, NASCAR. “Speed and efficiency are key in racing and business which is why we chose AWS — the cloud with unmatched performance, the most comprehensive set of services, and the fastest pace of innovation — to accelerate our migration to the cloud.”
NASCAR will leverage Amazon Rekognition — an AWS service that adds intelligent image and video analysis to applications — to automatically tag specific video frames with metadata, such as driver, car, race, lap, time, and sponsors so the industry can easily search those tags to surface the most iconic moments from past races. By using AWS’s services, NASCAR expects to save thousands of hours of manual search time each year, and will be able to easily surface flashbacks like Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s 1987 “Pass in the Grass” or Denny Hamlin’s 2016 Daytona 500 photo finish, and quickly deliver these to fans via video clips on NASCAR.com and social media channels.
The NASCAR audience is highly engaged, so leveraging AWS to power the new video series is an invaluable way to give NASCAR fans a look at its rich history while offering a sneak peek at what is to come through this new collaboration.