NASCAR: Slight overall TV gain in 2022 thanks to FOX TV ratings

NASCAR ratings sputtered down the stretch on NBC, but a strong start on FOX  helped the Cup Series to a small year-over-year gain for the season.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season averaged 3.03 million viewers across FOX, FS1, NBC and USA Network, up 2% from last year (3.00M). The year-over-year increase grows to 4% with the inclusion of the preseason “Clash” from the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Last weekend’s Cup Series finale from Phoenix averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.21 million viewers on NBC, down 5% in ratings and 1% in viewership from last year (1.95, 3.24M). Including additional streaming viewership not tracked by Nielsen — a record 142,000 viewers across NBC’s digital platforms — the race averaged 3.36 million on NBC and Peacock, up 2%.

On a linear TV basis, Phoenix was the ninth of ten playoff races this season to post a decline from the prior year. Only Las Vegas — which moved up from cable last year to NBC this year — bucked the trend. Even with the dip, Joey Logano’s win posted NASCAR’s largest audience since the Brickyard in July (3.37M).

The share — or percentage of homes viewing out of the number of homes with televisions in use — was 5.19, the highest for a Cup Series playoff race since the 2018 season finale at Homestead-Miami. As linear TV usage declines, even declining sports audiences will generally make up a greater percentage of the shrinking viewership pie.

Viewership peaked at 4.06 million from 6:30-6:45 PM ET.

Overall, the NBC portion of the Cup Series finished with an average of 2.45 million viewers (including additional streaming viewership), down slightly from last year (2.49M). As noted earlier in the year, the Fox Sports portion of the schedule was up 6% to 3.70 million.