The television ratings for the latest NASCAR race have been released. The viewership for last weekend’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was just a hair under four million.
Per Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal, FOX’s coverage of the race drew 3.991 million viewers. In terms of motorsports, it was the most-watched event of the weekend, by far.
The bad news? FOX saw a decline in viewership from last year’s race. The Pennzoil 400 attracted an audience of 4.544 million in 2022. So, NASCAR’s viewership totals continue to dip.
William Byron took home the checkered flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday. He edged out teammate Kyle Larson out of the pits after a late crash assisted his cause in reaching Victory Lane.
For Byron, it was the fifth win of his career in the NASCAR Cup Series. Thanks to the victory, he’s up to 13th in the points standings.
NASCAR Ratings Continue to Decline from 2022
We’re only a few races into the 2023 NASCAR season, but the ratings through the first weeks haven’t been particularly good. In all three races, viewership has declined from last year.
Last week at Fontana, 4.315 million viewers tuned in to watch the Pala Casino 400, a race Kyle Busch won. That rating was a decline from last year’s event, which netted 4.570 million viewers.
Even the “Great American Race” — the Daytona 500 — saw a drop in viewership this year.
To open the NASCAR Cup Series season, the Daytona 500 drew in 8.181 million viewers for this year’s event. That’s a pretty strong number for FOX, but it was less than the previous year. In 2022, the race had 8.868 million viewers.
We’ll see if this trend continues throughout the NASCAR season.