Kansas Race Boosts NASCAR Ratings, but Sub-Three Million Viewership Signals Lingering Concerns for Sport’s Reach

NASCAR: May 11 Digital Ally 400, May 11, 2019 - Kansas City, Kansas, USA: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams take to the track for the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas ©IMAGO/Dreamstime

Is NASCAR really on a downward spiral when it comes to viewership? After all, only two of the eight races had an increase in viewers. The rest? They were down. But the most recent Cup race at Kansas was one that saw an increase in viewership, which is a sign of progress. However, NASCAR Insider Jeff Gluck seemed wary of that notion.

Jeff Gluck paints a bigger picture for Kansas’ viewership increase

After NASCAR lost out on 100,000 viewers last weekend at Bristol, the Cup race at Kansas saw a gain of 600,000 viewers on Fox. Last season, an estimated 2.32 million fans tuned in to FS1 to watch the Cup race. On Sunday, that number went up to 2.93 million on Fox.

This meant that Tyler Reddick’s headlining fifth-win made the event the most-watched Kansas spring race in a decade since the 2016 Saturday night race on FS1 got 3.1 million.

But Jeff Gluck, journalist and co-host of The Teardown podcast, pointed out why the increased viewership and high number in a decade may not be as promising as it seems on the surface.

“The idea of NASCAR getting less than 3 million viewers for a non-delayed Sunday race on network TV this early in the season would have been absolutely shocking not all that long ago. The increase of 600k due to Fox vs. FS1 is great, but it also seems low. For example: An April 2022 Fox race from Richmond got 3.96 million viewers. Not to be a downer, but just being honest,” Gluck wrote on his X account.

To Gluck’s point, the Kansas Cup race surely gained because of being on broadcast compared to being on cable, which is a dying medium. In fact, the Richmond race on FS1 last season itself brought in 3.87 million viewers, which was a huge increase from the 2024 number of 2.10 million.

Therefore, Gluck’s caution about celebrating the increase in viewership is justified, especially considering how the trend has been so far this season.