Well, after the big success of the LA Coliseum race, NASCAR followed it up with a huge Daytona 500 that raked in the ratings.
Fox was the host of the Daytona 500 and now we have the numbers that show NASCAR might be doing something right after all. Nielsen had the TV presentation averaging a 4.70. That goes along with 8.8 million viewers! In 2021 and 2020, the race had to deal with weather issues. So, perhaps the great weather is part of the success in the ratings.
This race was one that if you didn’t watch, you missed out on a good one. It isn’t every year that you have a rookie win out at Daytona and in such a dramatic way, too. There were key wrecks at laps 30 and 10 to go that led the way. Of course, Bubba Wallace almost snuck up and took the win, but alas the No.23 felt nothing but heartache. This might be a sign that things are going to be different this season for the McDonald’s driver.
It wasn’t just the big race that had good results. The Daytona Duels and the Xfinity Daytona 300 both averaged almost a 0.90 in the rating and pulled in almost 1.5 million views. It was a slight drop for the 300, but all things considered, it was a good weekend of racing. And, when compared with the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, it is clear which side won out.
Daytona 500 Wins While NBA Dunk Contest Leaves Fans Disappointed
NASCAR is going to be riding high off of this Daytona 500 weekend. It should be great momentum moving forward. And, they took on the NBA’s biggest weekend of the year and won. That’s huge. The NBA might be the most online league out there, and fans are really dedicated. So, the fact that NASCAR took down the All-Star Game is a good sign for the rest of the season.
Cleveland played host this year for the All-Star Weekend and despite interesting and fun changes to the Rising Stars Challenge, it was more of the same issues. NBA All-Star Weekend has been plagued with some boring dunk contests in recent years. Even as the 3-point contest was won by big man Karl-Anthony Towns, the All-Star Game which included the Dunk Contest at halftime averaged far below NASCAR. A 3.1 rating to go along with a 5.94 million viewers across TNT and TBS.
When you look at it, Next Gen cars and a new season of NASCAR at the Daytona 500 beats a lackluster Dunk Contest. Give me Cindric taking the win being pushed by Ryan Blaney over the boring repetition that the dunk contest has turned into in recent years. The fact that it is the halftime show for the All-Star Game and not its own event anymore.
Now on to the Auto Club 400 in just four days!
