Formula 1 may be the ratings darling of motorsports, but NASCAR has its own positive story to tell.
NASCAR Cup Series races have averaged 4.76 million viewers on Fox Sports so far this season, up 17% from the first eight races last year (4.09M). Every FOX race that can be compared to last year has posted an increase in ratings and viewership; the lone race on FS1 (Martinsville) declined. All three major racing series — NASCAR, F1 and IndyCar — are up double-digits to start their respective seasons, with NASCAR easily the most-watched of the three.
Sunday’s Bristol Dirt Race averaged a 2.2 rating and 4.01 million viewers on FOX, marking the largest audience for the race since 2016 (5.46M). Keep in mind it was only the second edition of the race to be run as scheduled over that span, with the other — 2019 — airing on FS1. Last year’s race, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain, averaged a 1.8 and 3.11 million.*
Kyle Busch’s win, which peaked with 4.5 million viewers, delivered the largest NASCAR audience since Las Vegas six weeks earlier (4.54M) and the sport’s top audience in adults 18-49 since the Daytona 500.
The race averaged fewer viewers than the competing NBA playoff games on TNT (Bulls-Bucks: 4.77M; Pelicans-Suns: 4.02M), but its 2.2 rating tied the former and exceeded the latter (2.0). Both NBA games were considerably stronger in the young demographics.
Bristol was the first NASCAR race on Easter Sunday since 1989. Easter has typically been associated with lower-than-usual TV viewing — particularly for the Masters — but it appears as if there is a greater-than-usual out-of-home lift on the holiday. Bristol had the same rating as COTA on FOX three weeks earlier, but its audience was 8% higher.
In other NASCAR action, the Truck Series averaged a 0.65 and 1.17 million on FS1 Saturday night — the largest Truck Series audience of any kind in five years and the most-watched Truck Series race at Bristol on record.
* Last year’s figure is subject to revision due to Nielsen’s out-of-home undercount.
Season-to-date motorsports viewership
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 4.19]
