TV News: USA weekend Motorsports TV Viewers/TV Ratings

Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, won by Chase Elliott, drew a 0.79 rating and 1.49 millionTV viewers on USA Network—a 17.2% drop from last year’s 0.96 rating and 1.8 million viewers. The decline in NASCAR’s TV audience shows no signs of slowing.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Meanwhile, Formula 1 is closing the gap. Averaging 1.4 million TV viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC in 2025, F1 is outpacing its previous U.S. record of 1.21 million set in 2022. Despite most races airing early Sunday mornings on cable—when many Americans are still asleep—F1’s viewership is climbing, positioning it to potentially overtake NASCAR as the U.S.’s top motorsport.

This weekend, NASCAR heads to Charlotte’s “Roval” layout, while Formula 1 races under the lights on Singapore’s streets, expected to draw over 80 million global TV viewers. As NASCAR’s ratings continue to falter, F1’s rise highlights a shifting landscape in motorsport popularity.