The Complete 2024 NASCAR TV Ratings Tracker - The Daily Downforce (2024)

• May 15, 2024
• 11:36 am

What’s Happening?

There are few things more important to NASCAR than TV ratings. TV networks are largely responsible for funding the NASCAR circus, and TV is how most NASCAR fans watch races. This year, we will keep track of the 2024 TV ratings and compare/contrast them to the previous year.

• We will keep track of TV ratings totals for the entire season along with individual races. The totals will be compared to the 2023 season totals. The individual races will be compared to what we consider the most comparable race on the 2023 calendar.
• Some races have outside factors that influence TV ratings. We will provide a brief explanation for what those factors are, and what it really says about NASCAR TV ratings.
• Fans are always curious about TV ratings. They understand how important ratings are, and that it impacts the sport heavily.

Clash at the LA Coliseum on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 1.511 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.647 Million*
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): -2.136 Million (-58.6%)

*Note: The 2024 Clash at the LA Coliseum was both moved up one day due to weather and moved from free, over-the-air TV on FOX to a cable channel, FS1. This is why there was such a major drop in TV viewership.

Duels at Daytona on FS1*

• 2024 Viewership: 1.640 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 1.535 Million
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.105 Million (+6.8%)

Daytona 500 on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 5.964 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 8.173 Million*
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): -2.209 Million (-27.0%)

*Note: The 2024 Daytona 500 was moved from Sunday afternoon to Monday evening due to rain. The race did stay on Fox, and it pulled in almost twice as many viewers as the highest-rated Monday race of 2023, the Coca-Cola 600. It also peaked at just over 8 million viewers according to Fox, which was almost as high as the 2023 Daytona 500s average.

Atlanta (Spring) on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 4.546 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 4.315 Million
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.231 Million (+5.4%)

Las Vegas (Spring) on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 4.359 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.991 Million
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.368 Million (+9.2%)

Phoenix (Spring) on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 4.028 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.389 Million
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.639 Million (+18.8%)

Bristol (Spring) on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 3.809 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.422 Millon*
• Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.387 Million (+11.3%)

*Note: This race weekend was Atlanta in 2023, so, that’s our 2023 Viewership comparison. Bristol Dirt was held on Easter Sunday 2023, and that race garnered 3.45 Million Views.

COTA on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 3.310 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.129 Million
• Viewership Comparison: +0.181 Million (+5.8%)

Richmond on Fox

• 2024 Viewership: 3.310 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.303 Million*
• Viewership Comparison: +1.007 Million (43.7%)

*Note: Richmond in 2023 was held during the day and on cable, whereas the 2024 race was at night on network TV. The 2024 race was also held on Easter Sunday, and it compiled 0.140 (4.1%) FEWER viewers than the 2023 Easter race (Bristol Dirt)

Martinsville on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.191 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.218 Million
• Viewership Comparison: -0.027 Million (-1.2%)

*Note: The 8th race of the year in 2023 was Bristol Dirt, but, that was on Easter on network TV. We used the spring Martinsville race for this comparison since the two races were only one week apart. However, the Bristol race will be used for the “Season as a Whole” Comparison used below.

Texas on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.310 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.000 Million*
• Difference: +0.310 Million (15.5%)

*Note: The 9th race of the year in 2023 was the spring Martinsville race where Chase Elliott returned. We used the fall Texas race for this comparison since that was the same track, but, the time of year means there is no great comparison. The Martinsville race will be used for the “Season as a Whole” Comparison used below.

Talladega on FOX

• 2024 Viewership: 4.307 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 4.554 Million
• Difference: -0.247 Million (-5.4%)

Dover on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.401 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 1.067 Million*
• Difference: -1.334 Million (-83.0%)

*Note: The 2023 race was postponed to Monday, and run during the middle of a weekday on FS1. The viewership is much lower than a typical Cup Series race as a result.

Kansas on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.296 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.352 Million
• Difference: -0.056 Million (-2.4%)

*Note: The 2024 race was delayed by around 3 hours due to rain, even though it did race on the scheduled date.

Darlington on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.630 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.689 Million
• Difference: -0.059 Million (2.2%)

North Wilkesboro All-Star Race on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.573 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.203 Million
• Difference: +0.370 Million (+16.8%)

Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on FOX

• 2024 Viewership: 3.103 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.339 Million
• Difference: -0.236 Million (-6.9%)

*Note: Both the 2023 and 2024 races dealt with weather issues. The 2023 race was postponed to Monday (Memorial Day) due to rain, and the 2024 race was rain-shortened after a (roughly) 2-hour rain delay. Both races lagged significantly behind the 2022 race run on schedule, with the 2024 race dropping 19.8% from 2022.

Gateway on FS1

• 2024 Viewership: 2.459 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.160 Million
• Difference: +0.299 Million (+13.8%)

*Note: The 2023 race at Gateway saw Chase Elliott suspended and a 2+ hour lightning delay six laps into the event. This likely sliced the TV ratings some.

Sonoma on FOX (ESTIMATE)

• 2024 Viewership: 2.895 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 2.912 Million
• Difference: -0.017 Million (-0.6%)

Iowa on USA

• 2024 Viewership: 2.693 Million
• 2023 Viewership: 3.211 Million
• Difference: -0.518 Million (-16.1%)

*NOTE: There is no direct comparison to Iowa due to it being an inaugural event, and this race is compared to the first NBC broadcasted race of 2023, Nashville on network TV (NBC), for our season as a whole comparison. However, Adam Stern reports that this is the most-watched NASCAR race on cable since Pocono in 2023, making it the most-viewed cable race of 2024 so far.

Season as a Whole

Totals

• 2024 Total/Average Viewership to Date: 62.355 Million/3.118 Million Per Race
• 2023 Total Viewership to Date: 64.199 Million/3.210 Million Per Race
• Total Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): -1.844 Million (-2.9%)
• Average Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): -0.092 Million (-2.9%)

Points Races

• 2024 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 59.184 Million/3.481 Million
• 2023 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 58.937 Million/3.467 Million
• Total Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.247 Million (+0.04%)
• Average Viewership Comparison (2024 vs 2023): +0.014 Million (+0.04%)

Exhibition/Qualifying Races

• 2024 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 5.724 Million/1.908 Million Per Race
• 2023 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 7.385 Million/2.462 Million Per Race
• Total Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): -1.661 Million (-22.5%)
• Average Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): -0.554 Million (-22.5%)

*NOTE: The Clash at the LA Coliseum was moved up a day due to rain and moved from network to cable TV, skewing the total numbers. However, the Duels at Daytona and the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro both beat their 2023 event counterparts.

Cable

• 2024 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 22.704 Million/2.270 Million Per Race
• 2023 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 16.527 Million/2.066 Million Per Race
• Total Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): N/A (Uneven at This Point in the Schedule))
• Average Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): +0.204 Million (+9.9%)

Network

• 2024 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 39.541 Million/3.954 Million
• 2023 Total/Average Viewership To Date: 47.912 Million/3.993 Million
• Total Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): N/A (Uneven at This Point in the Schedule)
• Average Viewership Difference (2024 vs 2023): -0.039 Million (-1.0%)

FOX As a Whole

Despite the Daytona 500 being postponed due to rain, FOX saw an overall 1% increase in TV viewership compared to 2023. This included 11 out of 19 broadcasts seeing overall increases in TV viewership.

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