Yep, my dad said in the 90s that all the money NASCAR was getting was going to ruin the sport and he was right. I think the same can be said about College Athletics soon.
Then look at a league like MLS that strictly manages the financial aspects of their league. It is absolutely booming and growing at a really nice sustainable pace.
Same can be said for other “salary cap” leagues like the NFL and NBA, but I feel like MLS is a better comparison to your nascar example.