A Daytona 500 that opened on pace for a multi-year high ended at a record-low, with an obvious caveat.
The 2020 Daytona 500 averaged a 4.4 rating and 7.33 million viewers on FOX across Sunday and Monday, marking the lowest rating and viewership in the history of the race. The record-low comes with the asterisk of a one-day postponement that pushed the bulk of the race to Monday.
The Monday portion of the race averaged a 4.2 and 7.03 million, compared to a 6.2 and 10.94 million for the first 20 laps on Sunday.
Last year’s race averaged a 5.3 and 9.17 million; the 2018 race averaged a 5.3 and 9.30 million.
Denny Hamlin’s win peaked on Sunday with 11.19 million viewers from 4:21-4:30 PM ET. The Monday portion peaked with 10.36 million from 7:45-7:57 PM.
This year’s 500 was one of the most bizarre in history. It began with a presidential visit that lifted Sunday’s numbers to a multi-year high pace. Then came the weather delay and a Monday photo-finish that was marred by a serious accident involving Ryan Newman. The Newman situation, which at first seemed so dire as too evoke memories of the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt, will be the lasting memory of the weekend.
Given the anomalous circumstances of both Sunday and Monday, it is impossible to gauge any idea of NASCAR’s ratings health coming out of the 500.
The only other time the Daytona 500 was postponed to Monday was 2012. That year, the entire race aired in primetime, averaging an 8.0 and 13.67 million. That race was also bizarre, featuring an incident in which Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet dryer and caused a fiery explosion.
Jacksonville lead all markets for the race with an 11.6 rating and 22 share, followed by Greensboro, N.C. (11.1/22). Orlando ranked third at a 10.8/23, with Indianapolis (9.7/19) and Charlotte (8.8/17) rounding out the top five.
The race averaged an additional 79,000 viewers across Fox Sports’ digital platforms, up 48% from last year (53K).
A list of Daytona 500 ratings dating back to 1979 is available here.
[Nielsen estimates from Fox Sports]
