As one could reasonably expect, the first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Fox Sports 1 generated one of the network’s top audiences since rebranding from Speed Channel.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Martinsville (VA) earned nearly 4.1 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 Sunday afternoon, down 39% from last year (6.7M) and down 41% from 2013 (6.9M), both on FOX. The rating was not immediately available.
Excluding rainouts, viewership was the lowest for the race since it moved to Fox Sports in 2001. The previous low was 5.4 million on FX in 2002, the last time it aired on cable.
Though down substantially from last year, Sunday’s race ranks as the most-watched motorsports telecast on FS1 since the network rebranded from Speed Channel in 2013. The previous record was held by the 2014 Sprint Unlimited, which earned 3.5 million on the network.
It drew the fourth-largest audience on FS1 overall, trailing only Game 2 (4.4M), Game 5 (4.9M) and Game 4 (5.0M) of last year’s MLB National League Championship Series.
Predecessor Speed Channel earned a larger audience on multiple occasions, scoring 4.2 million viewers for the 2011 Sprint Cup All-Star Race, and just over 4.1 million for the 2008 and 2009 editions.
(Sun. numbers via Fox Sports)
