NASCAR ratings have been hit or miss this season, which constitutes a marked improvement after years of decline.
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire earned a 1.7 rating and 2.79 million viewers on NBCSN, up 13% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year, when the race was delayed due to rain (1.5, 2.50M), but down 13% in both measures from 2017 (2.0, 3.21M).
Kevin Harvick‘s win, which peaked with 3.24 million viewers from 6:15-6:30 PM ET, was the eighth Cup Series race this season to increase over last year, the most at this point of the season since 2013 (nine).
It snapped a streak of five straight declines for the New Hampshire race, which last increased in 2013.
The race averaged a streaming audience of 26,000, a record for NASCAR on NBC Sports streaming platforms. Including streaming, the race had 2.82 million viewers.
For the season, New Hampshire ranks second among races on cable, behind only Bristol on FS1 in April (2.81M).
Despite the increase, ratings and viewership remained historically low. Outside of last year, the race earned its lowest rating since at least 1998 and its smallest audience since at least 2000.
For the weekend, Sunday’s race ranked third among all sports telecasts behind the third and final rounds of the British Open.
[Numbers from NBC Sports PR]
