As a season of declines draws toward a close, NASCAR received a much-needed jolt in the ratings on Sunday.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Texas, the seventh race in the Chase for the Cup, drew a 2.8 final rating and 4.7 million viewers on ESPN Sunday afternoon — up 8% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year (2.6, 4.2M) and up 12% and 20%, respectively, from 2012 (2.5, 3.9M). The telecast ranks as the highest rated fall Texas race since 2011 (2.9) and the most-watched since 2010 (4.8M).
The race was only the sixth of 30 Sprint Cup telecasts this season to have an increase in ratings and the seventh to have an increase in viewership. In addition, it was just the third race to hit a multi-year high in either measure. Watkins Glen hit a four-year high on ESPN in August, albeit just hours after an incident involving Tony Stewart. Loudon hit a three-year high the following month.
Sunday’s race ended with a massive brawl involving Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski, an incident that has garnered much mainstream attention. It is unlikely that the brawl had any impact on the numbers, as it took place at the end of the race.
More encouraging for NASCAR is the possibility that the Chase format is starting to generate the interest that was intended. The revamped Chase had zero positive impact on the ratings prior to Texas, as five of six races declined from last year. It could be the case that the impact of the new format was not going to be felt until the final few races.
Of course, that is speculation. It is not unusual for a handful of NASCAR races to increase during an otherwise down year. Each time NASCAR has looked like it was on the verge of a turnaround this season — after two straight increases in August and again after a solid start to the Chase — it has fallen back underwater relatively quickly. Even if next week’s race at Phoenix also improves over last year, it would remain to be seen whether that is due to the new Chase, fallout from the brawl, or simply another fluky result.
(Sun. numbers from ESPN)
