"Embarrassing"; "NHRA has personality": Fans erupt as NHRA surpasses NASCAR in most-viewed motorsports weekend chart

The NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener at Las Vegas brought more frustration than excitement off the track. As numbers came in, the pinnacle of stock car racing finds itself behind the NHRA on the weekend’s motorsports viewership chart, despite the high-stakes Round of 8 race.

The latest ratings deepened concerns over NASCAR’s declining TV presence during what should be its most-watched stretch of the year. According to figures shared by journalist Adam Stern, the NHRA’s broadcast on FOX averaged 1.872 million viewers, narrowly surpassing NASCAR’s 1.717 million on USA Network. Xfinity Series on The CW drew 745,000, while IMSA’s event on NBC rounded out the list with 440,000.

He posted the numbers on X:

"With an NFL lead-in of 7.2 million viewers, NHRA slightly topped NASCAR on the most-viewed motorsports chart this past weekend."

For comparison, last year’s Las Vegas playoff race attracted 2.3 million viewers on NBC’s main network - a 25% drop in just one season. The data reflects a broader pattern that has haunted the 2025 postseason.

Across seven playoff races so far, not one has crossed the two-million mark. The South Point 400 is now the most-watched playoff race, as the 2025 playoffs average the lowest postseason audience since 2004.

Fans didn’t hold back once the Las Vegas figures went public. Many took to X to highlight what they believe are deep-rooted problems with the sport’s image and accessibility. One fan wrote:

“NHRA has personality. NASCAR, as hard as they try to convince us otherwise, is too vanilla, too corporate. Kyle Busch was a great natural villain — that’s gone. Denny tries, but he turns people off. Then there’s the kit car, the charter BS…”

Another comment pointed to the fractured broadcasting schedule, which is potentially a major cause behind the fall in ratings, according to fans and insiders alike. They said:

“That’s embarrassing. I hope NASCAR is happy they took the biggest possible payday to put their races on too many channels and locked them behind cable subscriptions.”

Xfinity’s steady performance on The CW, with only one major network, drew more praise, with multiple fans noting that the series consistently breaks a million viewers. Others echoed the sentiment.

Between inconsistent scheduling, scattered TV coverage, and limited free-to-air visibility, fans say NASCAR’s media model has created confusion and diluted loyalty. The deal, which runs through 2031, gives them stability, but also locks them into a format fans increasingly view as inaccessible.

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Kenny Wallace weighs in as NASCAR’s playoff ratings continue to slump

Kyle Larson's daughter, Audrey, places his name on the 2024 Playoffs Grid. Source: Getty

The Las Vegas race was the most viewed in the playoffs this year, with every playoff round registering year-over-year declines. NFL continues to dominate the Sunday slots, drawing more than 20 million viewers weekly, and Formula 1 steadily climbs, as Cup Series struggles to sustain even 1.7 million.

Amid the outcry, former driver and analyst Kenny Wallace shared his perspective on why the NHRA outperformed NASCAR that weekend. Speaking on Coffee with Kenny, Wallace said:

“First of all, we got good views this week. It was 1.7 million people that watched NASCAR. So, the question is this, what the hell did the NHRA do to get so many views? That’s the question. Why was NHRA so popular this weekend? Well, first of all, it was one of the first times in ages they was on prime time... and there was a football game going on and the football game got over or it was leading into it... In other words, when the NHRA race was coming on, I think there was an NFL game getting ready to start and it got like friggin 7.9 million views.” (5:07 onwards)

Wallace’s point reflects that strong lead-ins and broadcast exposure remain critical, and the Cup Series’ shift toward cable and streaming has weakened its mainstream visibility. With only nine Cup races - five on FOX and four on NBC - airing on major networks this year, the bulk of the season is spread across platforms like USA Network, Prime Video, FS1, and TNT, all with smaller reach.

Meanwhile, the Xfinity Series on The CW has quietly flourished, crossing a million viewers in over half of its races this year and seeing its best numbers since 2014. This is definitely down to the fact that the CW is a broadcast network available over-the-air to all homes. By contrast, the Cup Series’ reliance on cable channels, which require a paid subscription, has isolated a chunk of its core audience, particularly casual viewers.

In the aftermath of this slump, NASCAR executives are reportedly revisiting both the playoff structure and broadcast approach ahead of the 2026 season.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar