Talladega becomes most-watched Nascar playoffs race since 2022 championship finale

Last weekend’s visit to Talladega became Nascar’s most-watched postseason race since the 2022 championship finale.

Confirmed:

• An average of 3.127 million viewers saw JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr emerge victorious after a 28-car crash turned the race on its head
• Average viewership increased 25 per cent year-over-year (YoY) and the audience peaked at 4.2 million on NBC
• 2024 event becomes the most-watched postseason race at Talladega since 2018

Context:

This represents a much-needed turn for both Nascar and NBC, with just the opening race in Atlanta exceeding an average of two million viewers. Before Talladega, the first four postseason races of 2024 averaged 1.87 million viewers, down from 1.9 million viewers in 2023 and 1.98 million viewers in 2022.

After becoming just the second postseason race in three years to exceed three million viewers, Nascar is now averaging 2.12 million viewers through five playoff races. This compares much more favourably with the same timeframe in 2023 (2.02 million viewers) and 2022 (2.15 million viewers).

Coming next:

Next up is the finale of the Round of 12 as Nascar heads to the Charlotte Roval on 13th October.

Go deeper:

• Nascar’s US$7.7bn TV deal: Why the annual value went up, who gets what, and the impact on fans
• Will a new charter agreement pave the way for more private equity investment in Nascar?