Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 leads Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Williams FW47 Mercedes, Liam Lawson of New Zealand driving the (30) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls VCARB 02 and the rest of the pack at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan at Baku City Circuit on September 21, 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Michael Potts/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //
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TV News: Weekend USA Motorsports telecast TV Viewers/TV Ratings

Posted by AR1 staff

TV viewers for major motorsports broadcasts in the USA last weekend.  NASCAR was in Loudon New Hampshire where Ryan Blaney claimed victory; Formula 1 was in Azerbaijan where Max Verstappen was victorious; and the NHRA held its 4-Wide Carolina Nationals.

NASCAR

TV viewership data for the 2025 NASCAR Cup race from Loudon, New Hampshire broadcast on the USA Network and HBO Max is not available yet. Check back later.

Last year’s race averaged 1.880 million TV viewers on the USA Network, up from just 1.032 million TV viewers in 2023

Formula 1

ESPN’s Formula 1 race viewership in 2025 continues on pace for a season record audience. Sunday’s live telecast of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix averaged 1.1 million TV viewers, the largest audience ever for the event on U.S. television (per Nielsen Big Date + Panel). The race began shortly after 7 a.m. ET when the majority of the country was still asleep.

The race was up 24% from 890,000 viewers in 2024. This year’s broadcast peaked at 1.3 million TV viewers between 8:15-8:30am ET.

The audience was up 13.4% from the race’s previous record of 970,000 TV viewers set in 2021. Last year’s race, which was the first time the race was run in September after having previously been held earlier in the season, averaged 865,000 viewers.

The race also averaged 420,000 TV viewers (38%) in the all-important 18-49 age group.

Of the 17 F1 races held so far this season, all but one (Miami) have seen year-over-year viewership increases, and 11 of the 17 (Australia, China, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Azerbaijan) scored event record audiences.

Across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, F1 races are averaging 1.4 million TV viewers, ahead of the all-time U.S. television record average of 1.21 million that was set in 2022.

Next up: Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, Oct. 5, on ESPN (race starts 7:55 a.m. ET)

NHRA

The TV rating and viewership for the 2025 NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals finals, held on September 21, 2025, at zMAX Dragway in Concord, NC, are not released yet. The event was broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), with two hours of qualifying coverage at 10:00 a.m. ET and three and a half hours of finals coverage at 12:00 p.m. ET.