What’s Happening?
When the Production Alliance Group 300 was delayed to Sunday following the Cup Series race, many fans looked forward to hours of continuous racing action on TV. With the doubleheader, fans got exactly that.
What racing fans noticed, beyond the racing action, was the contrast between two productions.
What You Need to Know:
- Fox announced Sunday’s Pala Casino 400 was the most watched sports event of the weekend with 4.315 million viewers, down 250,000 from the 2022 edition.
- Fans noted several discrepancies between the Cup broadcast and the one for Xfinity.
- With so many NASCAR fans being vocal on the broadcast quality while wanting NASCAR to grow, each week brings new critiques and statistics.
.@NASCAR was the most-watched sports event on TV overall this past weekend with an average of 4.315 million viewers on Fox, though it was fourth in the 18-49 demo behind two NBA games and WWE.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) February 28, 2023
🔲 Top five markets:
1) Charlotte
2) Greensboro
3) Indianapolis
4) Tampa
5) Norfolk pic.twitter.com/1HDcwz7fF0
In the Stands
Fans quickly keyed on the lack of viewership from the “key” 18-49 demographic.
That 18-49 demo is really bad…
— Motorsports fan (@nascarfan242015) February 28, 2023
Other fans pointed out a trend in the market share.

Some even mocked NASCAR’s recent efforts to move more races out of the Southeast, and away from the fans.

While the ratings were met with mixed-at-best fan response, social media was also abuzz with how the broadcasts played out. The doubleheader featured back to back races with two different broadcast crews, one veteran and one newer. The Cup broadcast featured Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart. The Xfinity crew was Adam Alexander, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano.
Tell me how @NASCAR can be pleased with this. @NASCARONFOX bringing a 0 to the cup series. 100 for xfinity. This is pathetic. @ClintBowyer needs to be fired tomorrow. Period. Guy blows. pic.twitter.com/9KuKQaIcXf
— Randy Ridgway (@drizz_81) February 27, 2023
While the take on Clint Bowyer is an overreaction, the contrast is glaring. Many on Twitter have pointed out that the incident involving Allmendinger actually took place off-air during commercial.

Given the backlash from missing action in Daytona, Fox tried to save face by showing the 16’s wreck as if it were live. If they did fool fans into thinking it was live, it was at the expense of Clint Bowyer.

Bowyer wasn’t the only victim of Fox’s production decisions.

That 4 wide pass decision confused everyone.
Fox Sports cut away from a four wide battle ðŸ˜#NASCAR75
— Darian Gilliam (@BlackFlagMatter) February 26, 2023
Lol they cut away from the 3-wide Elliott and Chastain move and Bowyer literally went "wha-"
— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) February 26, 2023
Amid production decisions and all around energy, fans made it known which broadcast they prefer.
This xfinity telecast has two drivers that just drove for 400 miles announcing and it still has more life and exuberance than any Fox cup race coverage
— Michael Mrucz (@michael_mrucz) February 27, 2023
From the Pressbox
Free agent journalist Cindy Yen provided her weekly analysis in a thread on Twitter.
#NASCAR viewership analysis: last race at 2 mile Fontana edition
— Cindy Yen (@cindymeliyen) February 28, 2023
The race had an average of 4.315mil viewers. That's 255k fewer viewers and a 5.6% drop over last year.
(Note that race #2 has changed tracks over the years) pic.twitter.com/k5fnaAWJWj
Compared to last week's race (Daytona 500), viewership dropped 47.2%. That's around last year's rate of 48.47%
— Cindy Yen (@cindymeliyen) February 28, 2023
Both those rates are larger than 18/19, where the drop from Daytona to Atlanta was ~40% and ~45% respectively. Perhaps Atlanta was more enticing to watch than Fontana pic.twitter.com/fmvuB1bVJN
Summary
— Cindy Yen (@cindymeliyen) February 28, 2023
– Viewership dropped 5.6% year over year
– Drop from race 1 to race 2 was a similar rate to last year
Lots of season left. Things can still change (like last year's summer races doing way better than expected). But out of two races so far, things are looking down
Fans are speaking louder and louder that the broadcast is falling short of NASCAR’s on track product. Auto Club Speedway posted its first sellout crowd in several years. On the heels of a full sellout at Daytona, more fans are showing up at races. The numbers say people are enjoying NASCAR live, but are growing weary of Fox’s broadcast.