NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was a mixed bag in the ratings.
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Charlotte averaged a 2.3 rating and 4.06 million viewers on FOX, down a tick in ratings but up 2% in viewership from last year, when the race faced zero competing live sporting events but finished after Midnight ET due to rain, and down 12% and 5% respectively from 2019 (2.6, 4.26M).
Kyle Larson’s win, which peaked with 4.8 million viewers, was no match for the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day (5.58M*). The 500 has now outdrawn the 600 the last six times they have occurred on the same day.
The race did top all-but-one of the weekend’s eight NBA playoff games, exact figures for which were not immediately available.
Historically, the 2.3 rating is tied as the lowest for the race since at least 1997, while viewership exceeded only last year as the lowest since at least 2000. This year marked just the second time in a decade that viewership increased for the 600, which back in ’11 had a 4.5 rating and 8.13 million viewers.
For the season, the Coke 600 ranks sixth in viewership out of the nine regularly scheduled races on FOX, ahead of Phoenix (3.86M), Atlanta (3.72M) and Richmond (3.32M). A tenth race, Bristol, was postponed to a Monday due to rain.
In other NASCAR action, the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte averaged a 0.59 and 999,000 on FS1, peaking at 1.16 million — the largest audience for the race on cable since 2016 (1.41M). The Truck Series race there pulled a 0.37 and 614,000.
* Includes additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen.
