NASCAR Playoff Viewership Declines at Gateway, Hits Lowest Since 2021 Talladega Race

NASCAR Playoff Viewership Stalls as F1 Gains Momentum

NASCAR's recent visit to Gateway Motorsports Park for its first-ever Cup Series playoff race averaged 1.53 million viewers on USA Network, marking its lowest viewership for a playoff event since Talladega in 2021. This represents a 13 percent decrease compared to last year's second playoff race at Watkins Glen.

Why it matters: Through two playoff races, NASCAR is averaging 1.7 million viewers, a ten percent drop from the same period last season. While the overlap with the NFL season is a perennial challenge, the widening audience gap between the two sports is becoming more pronounced.

The big picture: Further compounding concerns, NBC has averaged just 2.02 million viewers over six races, five of which occurred before the NFL season began. This trails the viewership averages recorded by Prime Video and TNT for their respective five-race packages.

The F1 factor: In stark contrast, Formula 1 continues its impressive growth trajectory. The Italian Grand Prix on ESPN2 averaged 1.2 million viewers, with 15 of F1's 16 races this year recording year-over-year audience increases. Monza's race marked the tenth US event record of the season.

• Formula 1's average viewership across 16 races this year is 1.34 million.
• Only two F1 races in 2025 (China and Japan), both airing in the early morning hours, dipped below the one-million average viewer mark.
• The Italian Grand Prix also highlighted the closest viewership margin yet between NASCAR and Formula 1, with the gap consistently narrowing throughout the year.

What's next: The sustained growth of Formula 1, consistently setting new viewership records, presents a clear competitive challenge to NASCAR, particularly as the gap in audience figures continues to shrink.