NASCAR’s experiment with midweek racing has not paid off yet in the ratings.
Wednesday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville (Va.) averaged 1.71 million viewers on FS1, topping only a midweek Charlotte race two weeks ago (1.51M) as the least-watched Cup Series race since at least 2000.
The three midweek races this season now rank among the 11 least-watched over the past two decades, with Darlington just outside of the bottom ten (2.09M).
Combined, the three races have averaged 1.78 million viewers on FS1, 39% below the network’s average for its lone Sunday race this season at Bristol (2.93M).
Viewership sank 30% from last year’s Martinsville race, which was run as scheduled on a Sunday afternoon in March (2.46M). This year’s Martinsville race was originally scheduled for May 9.
As goes without saying, Martin Truex Jr.’s win was the least-watched Martinsville race — spring or fall — since at least 2000 (excluding rainouts). The previous low was 2.15 million for the fall race in 2018.
Charlotte led all markets Wednesday night with a 3.3 rating, followed by fellow North Carolina market Greensboro at a 3.1. Indianapolis (2.7), Cincinnati (2.65) and Nashville (2.6) rounded out the top five.
If weak by NASCAR standards, the race did well enough for cable, ranking fifth for the night in adults 18-49. Viewership comfortably topped the competing Major League Baseball draft on ESPN and MLB Network (611K).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 6.11]
