NASCAR Down Again As Talladega Hits Low

Another week, another historic low for NASCAR ratings.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Talladega 500 earned a 2.9 rating and 4.7 million viewers on FOX, down 17% in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year (3.5, 5.9M) and down 28% and 29% respectively from 2016 (4.0, 6.7M).

Joey Logano’s win ranks as the lowest rated edition of the race in more than 20 years (since at least 1997) and the least-watched since at least 2001. The previous lows were set last year.

The spring Talladega race is traditionally one of the stronger draws of the season. As recently as four years ago, it generated a 4.4 rating and 6.9 million viewers. It had a 5.2 and 9.0 million just seven years ago. Back in NASCAR’s mid-2000s heyday, it soared as high as a 7.6 and 12.3 million in 2005.

Not counting rainouts at Bristol and Martinsville, all eight Cup Series races this season have declined double-digits to multi-year lows. Seven of those eight have fallen to all-time or decade-plus lows.

Only two of the ten races have cracked a 3.0 rating or five million viewers. At the same point last season, six of 11 races exceeded those marks.

Despite the low numbers, Talladega still played its usual role as one of the top races of the season. It was the most-watched since Atlanta in week two (5.6M) and ranks third behind Atlanta and the Daytona 500 (9.3M).

For the weekend, NASCAR ranked third among all sporting events behind ABC’s competing NBA playoff games — Pacers-Cavaliers Game 7 (4.25, 6.8M) and Jazz-Rockets Game 1 (3.6, 5.8M). It was fifth in adults 18-49 (0.8) behind all four of the weekend’s NBA games.

NASCAR Ratings, Viewership, This Season

Excludes rainouts; asterisk (*) indicates data was unavailable prior to listed year

[Wknd. numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.3]