Talladega was just the latest NASCAR race to hit a historic low.
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Talladega (Ala.) earned a 3.5 final rating and 5.9 million viewers on FOX Sunday afternoon, down 13% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (4.0, 6.7M) and down 13% and 7% respectively from 2015 (4.0, 6.3M).
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.‘s win ranks as the lowest rated edition of the race since it last aired on cable 20 years ago and the least-watched since at least 2001. That includes 2006 rainout coverage that had a 4.4 and 7.2 million.
Ratings for the race have been flat or down in seven straight years.
Excluding rainouts, seven of the nine Cup Series races this season have hit a multi-year low in ratings and viewership — Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fontana, Martinsville, Richmond and Talladega. Six of those races hit a decade-plus low, and two hit an all-time record low. An eighth race, Texas, tied a record-low rating but had a 4% rise in viewership.
Only one race this season has cracked a 4.0 rating, compared to six at the same point last year.
Despite the lower numbers, Sunday’s race was the top sporting event of the day and ranked third for the weekend behind the Kentucky Derby (9.3, 16.4M) and a Saturday night Warriors-Jazz NBA playoff game (3.6 to 3.5; 5.91M to 5.90M). It did not rank as highly in adults 18-49, placing seventh behind the Derby, all four NBA games, and a Penguins-Capitals NHL game — but its 1.2 rating in the demo topped every primetime show on FOX Sunday night.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 5.9)
