Weekend final TV ratings (Update)

UPDATE Monday’s rain delayed Bristol Monster Cup race drew a 1.5 rating on the FOX broadcast network. This was down from a 3.2 rating last year, though that edition of the race ran as scheduled on Sunday. The last rain-postponed event for NASCAR on FOX was at Texas in April 2014, a race that ran on a Monday earning a 2.2 rating. Overall, no direct comparison can be made between Monday’s race and either of these two events.

Regardless, these are more numbers that are not favorable for NASCAR. What’s more concerning is that a major city’s FOX affiliate decided to skip the race for syndicated programming, shifting the race to a secondary affiliate. The question becomes, will things improve in the coming weeks for NASCAR? Some fan favorite tracks like Richmond and Talladega are coming up, plus the two-week stop for the All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. However, trends say that those numbers will be down as well. Stemming the tide, potentially, could be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement announcement.

Editor's Note: No the tide will not be stemmed. Today's kids have almost zero interest in racing because the motorsports industry refuses to approach the NCAA about making go-kart racing a recognized sport n schools. Hence few are exposed to it and few identify it as a sport.

04/25/17 The NASCAR Monster Cup race was rained out until Monday so we do not have those ratings yet.

*Viewers up 68%