NASCAR TV ratings continue positive momentum In Martinsville
By Alex Herbst
NASCAR TV ratings continue to rise in the middle of the Cup Series playoffs, with Martinsville Speedway capping off the season’s short tracks.
After a season of rating slides and lower viewership, NASCAR officials finally have something to smile about on the television front. After an uptick in the numbers for racing at Talladega Superspeedway, another solid performance was brought in on NBCSN at Martinsville Speedway in the First Data 500.
As reported by RACER.com, the first race of the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs brought in 2.775 million viewers and a 1.68 rating on NBCSN. That’s up from 2016, where the race brought in a 1.61 rating and about 100,000 fewer viewers.
This represents a 4 percent increase year-over-year for NASCAR on NBCSN. It was also the most-watched race of the fall season on NBCSN, per NBC Sports PR’s Twitter account.
Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville is the most-watched fall NASCAR Cup Series race on NBCSN in 2017
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) October 30, 2017
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The race itself carried over much of the thrilling excitement found in the 2016 edition, with Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott coming to blows in the final laps of the race. Kyle Busch would win the First Data 500, punching his ticket to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only two races remain to determine the final three spots in the title hunt.
Elsewhere in NASCAR, the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville drew a 0.35 rating and 489,000 viewers on Saturday afternoon on FS1. The Texas Roadhouse 200 Presented By Alpha Energy Solutions went head-to-head with college football, leading to a slight drop from the previous year’s numbers. Noah Gragson took the win on Saturday, his first ever in the Truck Series and the first for a non-playoff trucker this season.
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The final three races of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season will be crucial in determining if the series is working its way out of the deep hole it has dug on television. While the race at Texas Motor Speedway in the coming weekend will be on NBCSN, the final two races of the year will be on NBC. Homestead-Miami, specifically, will be interesting to watch, as the race will once again serve as the lead-in for Sunday Night Football.
Did you watch Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway? What did you think of the coverage on NBCSN?