A 50-minute rain delay did not help matters as NASCAR ratings sank yet again last weekend.
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dover 400 earned a 1.7 rating and 2.8 million viewers on FS1, down 19% in ratings and 17% in viewersihp from last year (2.1, 3.4M) and down 32% and 30% respectively from 2016 (2.5, 4.0M).
The race was delayed 49 minutes due to rain, with the delay earning a 1.6 and 2.6 million.
Kevin Harvick‘s win was the lowest rated edition of the race since at least 1998 and the least-watched since at least 2001. That includes the 2007 race, which was postponed to Monday and had a 2.3 and 3.4 million on FOX.
While the rain delay provides a caveat, Sunday’s numbers are in-line with the season-long trend. All nine Cup Series races this season have declined double-digits to multi-year lows, not including the two races that were postponed to Monday (Bristol and Martinsville). Eight of those nine have fallen to all-time or decade-plus lows.
On a packed weekend, NASCAR ranked just eighth among all sporting events behind the Kentucky Derby, all four NBA playoff games, a Stanley Cup playoff game and the final round of the PGA Tour at Quail Hollow.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.8]
