Going head-to-head with the NFL for the first time in 2017, NASCAR saw a slight slump in TV ratings for their playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway.
Battling against the National Football League in the television department is almost always a losing battle, no matter if football’s TV peak has already come or not. NASCAR, however, continues to push for a direct fight with the football fans, putting the majority of their playoff races for the Monster Energy Cup Series directly against afternoon games. The result is a less than desirable audience number for NASCAR’s TV ratings, but they could be worse some think.
RACER reports that Sunday’s Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland earned a 1.41 rating with 2.3 million viewers on NBCSN to start the playoffs. The race, won by Martin Truex Jr., was down from a 1.64 rating and 2.7 million viewers in 2016. This continues the slide for ratings throughout 2017 for NASCAR, though bouncing back from a near-record low 1.2 rating at Richmond to end the regular season.
In the lower divisions, the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series finished out their regular seasons with smaller audiences. For TheHouse.com 300 for the Xfinity Series, the race earned a 0.53 rating and 807,000 viewers on NBCSN. It fell from a 1.09 rating and 1.7 million viewers in 2016, shown on broadcast network NBC. TV ratings for TheHouse.com 225 for the Camping World Truck Series were not immediately available.
More from NASCAR
- NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
- NASCAR: Will Kevin Harvick’s major record ever be broken?
- NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
- NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
- NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
Why NASCAR continues to try to battle directly with football continues to bewilder some in the media. Often fans of stock car racing are also avid fans of NFL football, and forcing them to choose between the two sports may results in answers that NASCAR officials will not like. But is there a solution? With college football owning Saturdays already in the fall, it leaves little room for NASCAR to find a foothold in the fall.
Fortunately for worried racing fans, four out of the remaining nine races in the NASCAR playoffs for the Cup Series will be on broadcast network NBC. However, the next two races at New Hampshire and Dover to close out the Round of 16 will still be on cable sports network NBCSN. Many fans continue to argue on social media that moving races off of broadcast television has hurt the sport more than any other. However, critics of this argument are quick to cite other sports like baseball, basketball, and hockey, which have seen most of their events and games move to cable but continue to draw solid ratings.
Next: Is Leavine Family Racing Ready to Expand?
Did you watch the Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway? Will you be tuning in to see the ISM Connect 300 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Don’t forget, coverage of this weekend’s second race in the Round of 16 for the Cup Series can be seen on NBCSN and the NBC Sports app.