Midweek NASCAR struggled in the ratings even when there was no competition, so it is no surprise that the latest effort hit a record-low opposite MLB Opening Night.
Thursday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Kansas averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.47 million viewers on NBCSN, marking the least-watched Cup race on any network since at least 2000. The previous low was 1.51 million for another midweek race this season, Charlotte on FS1 in May. The 0.9 rating tied Charlotte as the lowest since at least ’00.
Midweek races now account for the three smallest Cup Series audiences since at least 2000, with Martinsville in June ranking third (1.71M).
Denny Hamlin’s win fell 25% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year (1.2, 2.18M) and 25% and 28% respectively from 2018 (1.2, 2.04M), when the race was run as scheduled on a Saturday night in May.
The four midweek Cup Series races this season have averaged 1.71 million viewers across FS1 and NBCSN, down 37% from the average for Sunday races on those networks (2.73M). Adding in last week’s NASCAR All-Star Race, the midweek average of 1.75 million is still down 36% from Sunday levels.
Not helping matters Thursday was strong competition from Major League Baseball Opening Night. NASCAR was trounced by both Yankees-Nationals (2.45, 4.01M) and Giants-Dodgers (1.6, 2.76M). Even the rain delay in Yankees-Nationals finished comfortably ahead of Thursday’s race (1.5, 2.39M).
[Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 7.24]
