Two weeks after hitting a record low, NASCAR on FOX earned its second-lowest television rating ever last weekend.
Last Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Kansas earned a 3.5 final rating and 5.8 million viewers on FOX, down 17% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (4.2, 6.5M) and down 19% and 16%, respectively, from 2012 (4.3, 6.8M). Prior to this year, the race took place on Sunday afternoon.
The 3.5 rating is the second-lowest ever for Sprint Cup racing on FOX, ahead of only a 3.3 for the Richmond race two weeks ago. Eleven of the eighteen lowest rated Sprint Cup telecasts on FOX have taken place on Saturday nights, including all three of this year’s races.
Ratings and viewership were also the lowest in the four-year history of the spring Kansas race.
Despite the lower numbers, the race edged last week’s Heat/Nets NBA playoff game on ABC head-to-head (5.8M to 5.6M). The events had the same rating.
Lowest NASCAR Sprint Cup Ratings Ever on FOX
Saturday night races in bold
| Rating | Frequency | Race |
|---|---|---|
| 3.3 | Once | 2014 Richmond |
| 3.5 | Once | 2014 Kansas |
| 3.6 | Three times | 2009 Phoenix, 2012 Richmond, 2014 Darlington |
| 3.7 | Six times | 2010 Richmond, 2010 Phoenix, 2010 Dover, 2011 Richmond, 2012 Dover, 2013 Richmond |
| 3.8 | Five times | 2012 Fontana, 2012 Darlington, 2013 Texas, 2013 Darlington, 2013 Dover |
| 3.9 | Once | 2011 Kansas |
(Last week’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
