NASCAR Richmond viewership hit a new low, though the numbers fell only slightly from last year.
Last Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race from Richmond (Va.) averaged a 1.05 rating and 1.74 million viewers on NBCSN, marking the least-watched race at the track since at least 2001. Ratings were flat and viewership down just 2% from last year (1.05, 1.78M).
Brad Keselowski’s win delivered the fifth-smallest Cup Series audience since at least 2000, with each of the bottom six coming this season.
The race faced unusual competition from playoff games in the NBA (Rockets-Lakers Game 5: 1.9, 3.72M) and NHL (Golden Knights-Stars Game 4: 0.9, 1.68M), as well as more typical September fare — MLB on FOX (mostly Astros-Dodgers: 0.9, 1.64M) and ABC’s Saturday Night Football (Clemson-Wake Forest: 2.0, 3.46M).
Earlier in the day, the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond averaged a 0.48 and 766,000 on NBCSN — up 20% in ratings and 21% respectively from last year’s Friday night race (0.40, 631K).
Lowest NASCAR ratings, viewership (2001-present)
This year’s races highlighted
| Lowest rated | Least-watched | ||||||||
| # | YEAR | RACE | RTG | NET | # | YEAR | RACE | VWRS | NET |
| 1 | 2020 | Kansas (Thu.) | 0.91 | NBCSN | 1 | 2020 | Kansas (Thu.) | 1.47M | NBCSN |
| 2 | 2020 | Charlotte (Thu.) | 0.91 | FS1 | 2 | 2020 | Charlotte (Thu.) | 1.51M | FS1 |
| 3 | 2020 | Michigan (Sat.) | 1.01 | NBCSN | 3 | 2020 | Michigan (Sat.) | 1.65M | NBCSN |
| 4 | 2018 | Richmond (fall) | 1.03 | NBCSN | 4 | 2020 | Martinsville (Wed.) | 1.71M | FS1 |
| 5 | 2020 | Richmond | 1.05 | NBCSN | 5 | 2020 | Richmond | 1.74M | NBCSN |
| 2019 | Richmond (fall) | 1.05 | NBCSN | 6 | 2020 | Dover (Sat.) | 1.77M | NBCSN | |
| 7 | 2020 | Martinsville (Wed.) | 1.07 | FS1 | 7 | 2018 | Richmond (fall) | 1.77M | NBCSN |
| 8 | 2020 | Dover (Sat.) | 1.11 | NBCSN | 8 | 2019 | Richmond (fall) | 1.78M | NBCSN |
| 9 | 2019 | Dover (fall) | 1.13 | NBCSN | 9 | 2019 | Dover (fall) | 1.82M | NBCSN |
| 10 | 2019 | Darlington* | 1.14 | NBCSN | 10 | 2019 | Darlington* | 1.86M | NBCSN |
* Race began after 10 PM ET due to inclement weather
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 8.25]
