For the third time in as many weeks, NASCAR’s ratings story depended primarily on the methodology used to measure the numbers.
Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Michigan averaged a 1.0 rating and 2.07 million viewers on Prime Video, per the Nielsen “Big Data + Panel” metric that is the official currency, and a 0.9 and 1.81 million per the previous ‘panel-only’ methodology that NASCAR is now reporting for its races.
The “Big Data + Panel” figure, which peaked with 2.6 million in the 6:30 PM ET quarter-hour, increased a tick in ratings and a season-high 17% in viewership from last year’s 0.9 and 1.77 million. But the panel-only audience, which peaked with 2.2 million, was flat in ratings and down 3% in viewership (vs. 0.9, 1.9M).
NASCAR Michigan viewership, Nielsen “Big Data + Panel” vs. panel-only
The first three Cup Series races on Prime Video this season averaged 2.45 million on a “Big Data” basis, up 8% from last year (2.27M). For all three races, the “Big Data” figure outpaced its panel-only equivalent by a double-digit percentage. By comparison, the “Big Data” figure was slightly lower than the panel-only number for the nine Cup Series points races on linear television this season (all on Fox Sports).
Michigan was the first of the three races in which the direction of the year-over-year comparison differed based on the methodology, with “Big Data + Panel” up double-digits and panel-only down slightly. Note that it is Nielsen policy to compare this year’s “Big Data” figures to last year’s panel-only data, meaning that officially, viewership for the race increased about 10% from last year’s panel-only 1.9 million to this year’s “Big Data” 2.07 million.
NASCAR opted after the Fox Sports portion of the season to cease reporting “Big Data” figures and return to publicizing its panel-only numbers.
2026 NASCAR viewership, Nielsen “Big Data + Panel” vs. panel-only
Beyond the race itself, viewership for the Prime postrace show differed significantly depending on the methodology. The telecast averaged 1.10 million per “Big Data + Panel,” but just 591,000 on a panel-only basis.
As previously noted, it is entirely possible that there would be similar differences between “Big Data + Panel” and ‘panel-only’ for other sports properties. The only reason it is possible to make these comparisons for NASCAR is because it is the only sports entity currently publicizing its panel-only figures.
