Good News and Bad in NASCAR’s Darlington Ratings

NASCAR scored its largest Labor Day weekend audience in eight years Sunday, but the Darlington race barely benefited from its return to the holiday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Darlington drew a 3.7 final rating and 5.9 million viewers on NBC Sunday night, up 16% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year’s Labor Day weekend race from Atlanta (3.2, 5.2M) and up 16% and 11%, respectively, from the Atlanta race in 2013 (3.2, 5.3M). Those telecasts aired on ESPN.

Carl Edwards‘ win ranks as the highest rated Labor Day weekend race since Fontana on NBC in 2006 (5.1) and the most-watched since that same race on ESPN in 2007 (6.4M). It also ranks as the highest rated and most-watched NASCAR race on any network since Charlotte on FOX in May (3.8, 6.4M).

Compared to previous Darlington races, however, it does not fare as well — up just a tick in ratings and down 2% in viewership from last year (3.6, 6.0M) and down a tick and flat, respectively, from 2013 (3.8, 5.9M). Keep in mind those races aired on Saturday nights in the spring on FOX.

The 3.7 rating is the second-lowest for any NASCAR race from Darlington, including the long-discontinued 400-mile race, since 2001 on TNT (3.5). Only last year’s aforementioned race pulled in a lower number. Viewership ranks as the lowest for NASCAR from Darlington since at least 2001, ahead of only 2012 (5.7M).

The last time the Darlington race took place on Labor Day weekend, 2003, it drew a 4.9 and 8.0 million on NBC.

Ratings For NASCAR’s Darlington and Labor Day Weekend Races
Dating back to 2002

(Sun. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box, Media Life Magazine)