The Xfinity 500 at Martinsville was the most-viewed motorsport this past week. However, NASCAR TV Ratings are slightly down from last year.
Sunday’s race marked the 19th-straight week the NASCAR Cup Series topped the Motorsport chart. This is the first time since June 13-19 that the sport did not hold the top spot. Fortunately for the Cup Series, that week was the last time there was no event held. The Xfinity 500 at Martinsville on NBC had 2.541 million viewers with 477,000 of the viewers coming from the adults 18-49 demographic. The race also earned a household rating of 1.52.
How Do 2022’s Fall Martinsville Ratings Compare To 2021’s?
Last season the penultimate race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was held at Martinsville as well and did slightly better in the ratings. That race saw Alex Bowman earn his fourth win of the season. The 2021 Xfinity 500 on NBC had 2.627 million viewers with 492,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic. The race also earned a household rating of 1.61. Overall, the 2021 race had roughly 86,000 more viewers than its 2022 counterpart, along with a rating that was just .09 higher. That’s about a 4% drop in NASCAR TV Ratings for this event, year over year.
Time for one last old west showdown.
Don’t miss the final race of the #NASCARPlayoffs this Sunday at 3P ET on @NBC and @peacock. pic.twitter.com/igeFCuYT9A
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 1, 2022
What To Expect For This Coming Week
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway will be held on Sunday, November 6 at 3 p.m. on NBC. This will mark the 11th-straight year the event will crown a new NASCAR Cup Series Champion. The last time the NASCAR Cup Series had a back-to-back champion was in 2010 after Jimmie Johnson won the last of his five Cup Series Championships in a row (2006-2010).
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway on NBC saw Kyle Larson cap off a 10-win season to earn his first career Cup Series Championship. That race had 3.214 million viewers, with 615,000 in the 18-49 demographic, and a household rating of 1.95.
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship race will likely be one of the most-viewed races of the 2022 NASCAR season. However, if the trend continues there will be a slight dip in viewership.
