Whether due to last week’s brawl, the new chase format, or a mixture of both, it appears NASCAR has recaptured some momentum.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Phoenix, the second-to-last race in the Chase For the Cup, drew a 3.1 final rating and 5.1 million viewers on ESPN Sunday — up 15% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year (2.7, 4.3M), up 11% and 15%, respectively, from 2012 (2.8, 4.4M), and the highest rated and most-watched edition of the race since it last aired on ABC in 2009 (3.3, 5.2M).
The race tied NASCAR’s largest year-over-year increase in ratings this season, and set the mark in viewership. Of the 31 races that can be compared to last year, it was just the fifth to have an increase in ratings and the eighth to do so in viewership.
The previous week’s Texas race also had increases in ratings and viewership, making this the first time NASCAR has had gains in consecutive races since Watkins Glen and Michigan in August — the first two races after a highly publicized fatal incident involving Tony Stewart.
The circumstances this time are far less serious, as NASCAR has appeared to benefit from the conclusion of the new Chase format and the bad blood it has engendered. Phoenix came one week after a brawl between Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski attracted mainstream media attention, the second such altercation in less than a month.
(Sun. numbers from ESPN)
