Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 zone Jalapeno Lime Chevrolet, and Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, lead the field to start the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2026 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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TV News: Daytona 500 TV rating/viewers tanks

Posted by AR1 staff

The number of TV viewers for the 2026 Daytona 500 saw a significant decline compared to the previous year, primarily due to the race facing stiff competition from the Winter Olympics primetime coverage.

Related Article: NASCAR News: Tyler Reddick wins 2026 Daytona 500 wreckfest

The event, which took place on February 15, 2026, and was won by Tyler Reddick (giving 23XI Racing and Michael Jordan their first Daytona 500 victory), pulled in roughly 5.14 million TV viewers, down 24% from 6.76 million in rain-delayed 2025 race.

FS1 got 710,000 viewers for Wednesday’s Daytona 500 qualifying session, which started on FS2 due to college basketball running late, down 22% from 916,000 last year.

The Daytona “Duels” on Thursday night drew 1.865 Million TV viewers on FS1, flat from 2025.

The CW got 1.812 million viewers for Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Daytona International Speedway, flat from last year, per Nielsen’s panel and big data figures.