nascar darlington raceway

NASCAR at Darlington posts fifth-straight week of viewership increases

As the NASCAR season continues, the viewership ratings increase. The sport saw another bump in television ratings during this weekend’s trek to Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400.

Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal reported on the viewership totals from the weekend’s race. FS1 received a 1.43 rating for Sunday’s coverage from Darlington Raceway. A total of 2.689 viewers tuned in for the event.

Per Stern, that marks the fifth straight week in which NASCAR has seen viewership increases for a race. He also mentioned that Sunday’s Goodyear 400 was the No. 2 sport watched of the weekend, behind the NBA playoff games.

Compared to last year, NASCAR drew a 1.45 rating for its race at Darlington. The 2022 race had 2.614 million viewers.

William Byron took home the checkered flag on Sunday. It was his third win of the 2023 season, becoming the first driver in NASCAR to hit that total this year.

Byron also drove his car to Victory Lane in back-to-back races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The 25-year-old currently sits fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings.

This week, the NASCAR field heads to North Wilkesboro for the All-Star Open Race. In two weeks, the Cup Series travels to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600.

NASCAR Cup Series hits midway point of 2023 season

The conclusion of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 from Darlington Raceway marked the halfway point of the NASCAR season. So far, it’s been pretty entertaining.

Nine different drivers have claimed at least one checkered flag this season. Byron is the only Cup Series driver to reach three victories so far. Other drivers with multiple wins include Kyle Larson (2) and Kyle Busch (2).

Drivers with one win on the year include Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Interestingly enough, the NASCAR Cup Series points leader, Ross Chastain, has yet to visit Victory Lane in 2023. We’ll see if that changes at any point in the second half of the season.

Here’s a look at the top-10 Cup Series points leaders at the halfway point of the year:

  1. Ross Chastain – 429 points
  2. Christopher Bell – 402 points
  3. Kevin Harvick – 400 points
  4. Denny Hamlin – 393 points
  5. William Byron – 387 points
  6. Martin Truex Jr. – 385 points
  7. Ryan Blaney – 381 points
  8. Tyler Reddick – 371 points
  9. Brad Keselowski – 365 points
  10. Kyle Larson – 363 points