A soft NASCAR season ended on a quiet note last weekend.
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season averaged 2.86 million viewers across FOX, FS1, NBC and USA Network, down 5% from last year (3.03M) and the least-watched season on record. The previous low was 3.00 million for the 2021 season. Including the preseason “Clash” from Daytona and the All-Star Race, the season averaged 2.87 million — down 6% year-over-year.
Viewership had been down as much as 15% following the Bristol Dirt Race in April.
Last weekend’s season finale from Phoenix averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.92 million viewers on NBC (3.03M including streaming data measured by Adobe Analytics), marking the least-watched Cup finale on record and the least-watched fall Phoenix race since 2019 (2.57M).
Ryan Blaney’s title-clinching win, which peaked with 3.8 million viewers, declined 13% in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year (1.9, 3.21M). Twelve of the final 13 Cup Series races declined from the prior year.
2023 NASCAR Cup Series viewership compared to prior year
Despite the quiet finish, the NBC portion of the season actually finished with a slight increase in viewership. Races on NBC and USA Network averaged 2.47 million (including Adobe Analytics), up from 2.45 million last year. The FOX portion of the season is what dragged down the numbers, as the average of 3.32 million across FOX and FS1 marked a 10% decline from last year (3.69M).
The top race of the season was — as is always the case — the Daytona 500 (4.4, 8.17M), followed by the debut of the Chicago street race over July 4 weekend (2.5, 4.62M). On the flip side, the Bristol Night Race was the least-watched of the year (excluding rainouts) with a 0.9 and 1.56 million.
As for the other NASCAR series, Xfinity Series races averaged 1.01 million viewers this season (flat) and the Truck Series averaged 594,000 (-5%).
Last Saturday’s Xfinity Series finale from Phoenix averaged a 0.55 rating (-5%) and 951,000 viewers (-4%) on USA Network and the Truck Series finale last Friday averaged a 0.24 (-4%) and 415,000 on FS1 (+2%).
