The Complete 2025 NASCAR TV Ratings Tracker
What’s Happening? Throughout every NASCAR season, NASCAR fans often use TV viewership to gauge how interested the broader sports world is…
On the face of it, it’s hard to understand why NASCAR would want to lose total viewers by switching to Prime. Nonetheless, a closer look at the numbers shows that NASCAR could be gaining more in the long run than they are losing over this five-race stretch.
What’s Happening? Throughout every NASCAR season, NASCAR fans often use TV viewership to gauge how interested the broader sports world is…
It’s no secret that NASCAR has seen a dip in its viewership on Prime. After all, most expected to do this after NASCAR pulled five races off the network and cable to a paid streaming service.
This is despite the fact that NASCAR on Prime has impressed both in viewership and presentation. In total, the first three races on Prime have seen a combined drop of 2.606 million viewers compared to their 2024 counterparts.
Races on Prime in 2025
These losses stack up on the surface. Of course, there are other factors, such as race weekend and rain delays. For example, weather delayed Michigan’s finish by an entire day in 2024.
But, in spite of the 12.343% loss in viewers, fans were buzzing after the first week of NASCAR on Prime.
What’s Happening? Despite doubts heading into their debut of streaming-only races, NASCAR’s debut on Prime Video drew 2.72 million viewers. While…
The first race of NASCAR on Prime’s five-race coverage was the Coca-Cola 600, which drew 2.720 Million Viewers, which was better than six 2025 NASCAR Cup Series points races and eight total races, including the All-Star Race and Duels at Daytona.
But, the icing on the cake was reports that this race drew 800,000 viewers in the 18 to 49-year-old demographic. Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal claimed this number “beats all NASCAR races that have been on cable (but not broadcast TV) since at least 2022.”
This is a key demographic for NASCAR to capture. This number was a turning point for fans, especially after NASCAR beat Formula One head-to-head on May 4. However, F1 dramatically won this key demographic, with 786,000 viewers and NASCAR having 470,000.
For this race, NASCAR also saw a six-year drop in median age for viewers compared to “linear TV networks” such as FOX and NBC.
While fans celebrated both the quality of Prime coverage and the younger audience, it drew one executive, Michael Mulvihill, President of Insights and Analytics at FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, and Tubi, to claim this younger audience was “predictable.”
In response to the drop in median age, Mulvihill posted on X, saying, “This has become predictable spin anytime an event moves to a streamer. It’s easy to look younger when you lose 5 older people for every 1 younger viewer you gain.”
Mulvihill went on to show that while NASCAR drew some younger viewers, it lost a larger number of older viewers. While this is the case, three races into its debut on streaming, it looks like a trade NASCAR was willing to make.
What’s Happening? After reports that NASCAR drew a younger median age viewership for its debut on Prime Video, a FOX executive…
According to Sports Media Watch, viewership in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic is up roughly 32%, while the 18- to 49-year-old demographic is up 11%, and the 25- to 54-year-old demographic is up another impressive 21%.
Most importantly, there is the dip that Mulvihill mentioned in his post, with the 55-and-older demographic down 40%. While this results in the expected overall decrease in viewership, these numbers are comparable to the NFL’s debut on Prime, which also saw an increase in younger viewers.
Essentially, NASCAR is willing to lose that older audience for these five races by attracting a younger audience to its product. By all accounts, this has been a success.
But what will be interesting in the long run is the 18 to 49-year-old demographic once races return to cable. TNT Sports, alongside HBO Max, will cover the next five races after Prime concludes its coverage at Pocono.
What’s Happening? The NASCAR Cup Series made its debut on Prime Video this weekend, officially ending the NASCAR on FOX portion…
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Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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Corey Day’s run-in with Connor Zilisch at Circuit of the Americas became one of the most discussed incidents from Saturday’s race, even drawing a response from Denny Hamlin as well, who this week talked about his support for Zilisch.
During the race, Zilisch dealt with brake trouble on his No. 1 Chevrolet but worked his way forward from the rear of the field, advancing from P29 to P4 in the closing laps. With five laps remaining, he engaged in a battle with Hendrick Motorsports driver Corey Day as they exited Turn 2, holding the outside line. But as they contested the position, Day moved up behind him, contact occurred, and Zilisch spun off course to finish the race in P21.
After the contact, frustrated, Connor Zilisch initially referred to Day as an “absolute hack” on his radio, describing the clash as part of the latter’s racing pattern. But the JR Motorsports driver later tempered his comments, simply saying he expects an apology from the young Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Given that Zilisch declined to escalate the situation, on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin credited him for calmly managing his response after the race, saying,
“Zillich was smart about this. He in his interview, he’s like, “I looked over at him thinking, come on over here. Come apologize.” And he said he just looked at him with a stare like, I don’t know what it is with these guys. Why, Why can’t they… youth?”
However, he questioned Day’s failure to issue an immediate apology. In fact, he said he was “floored” by Corey Day’s reaction, which involved staring at a frustrated Zilisch rather than apologizing.
The No. 11 JGR driver also raised questions about how Hendrick Motorsports evaluates developing drivers. Organizations invest with the expectation of returns measured in wins and titles, but when a driver continues to make visible mistakes, fans and especially other drivers will start to scrutinize. Hamlin pointed to the balance between development and production, asking how long it would hold.
The COTA incident was not the first time Day’s racing antics were questioned. Last week, during the Atlanta race, Day was involved in a multi-car crash on lap five after attempting a three-wide move that resulted in contact with Ryan Sieg. The move triggered a chain reaction that collected several cars.
Sieg responded over team radio, questioning both the decision and Day’s presence in the series.
Hamlin argued that drivers are allowed to make mistakes as part of growth. At teams with front-running equipment and title ambitions, time frames are shorter. But he questioned whether Day faces a deadline by season’s end or whether the assessment extends into the following year.
In Day’s case, results have not offset the incidents that have drawn attention. Hamlin referenced Kyle Larson as an example, noting that aggressive driving can lead to contact as well as wins.
Do you agree with Hamlin’s take? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Bubba Wallace shared a message on X following the death of a close friend, writing about the weight of the news over the weekend.
“Makes you think about life and how precious it is… That tune… Nutshell- Alice In Chains Love yall,” he continued.
While Wallace did not name the friend in his post, one day before, reports confirmed that Chase Pistone, 42, had died. Pistone competed on short tracks and in NASCAR’s national ranks and later owned a Legends car. His family asked media outlets to share the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number, 988. His brothers, Nick and Tom Pistone, confirmed the news to LegendsNation.com.
Pistone, who was the grandson of NASCAR driver “Tiger” Tom Pistone, built his racing career in Legends cars and Late Models before stepping into NASCAR competition.
Apparently, Wallace and Pistone raced each other in Legends cars around 2005. Pistone won four Summer Shootout Championships at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with two titles in the Semi-Pro and two in the Pro divisions. Wallace competed in both Bandolero and Legends categories during that period, winning 35 of 48 Bandolero races in one season.
Both drivers were regulars at the Charlotte Summer Shootout. From there, their paths moved toward the national touring series.
Pistone made starts in ARCA and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 and 2006, including an appearance with Green Light Racing at Martinsville Speedway. Meanwhile, Wallace moved into the K&N Pro Series East by 2010.
In 2006, Pistone made a start in the Nationwide Series at Martinsville, finishing 37th. After failing to qualify for the ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona in 2007, he stepped away from NASCAR competition until 2014.
He returned that year for eight combined starts in the Truck and Nationwide Series. In his final season at the national level, Pistone recorded a P9-place finish in the Truck Series race at Gateway, the best of his NASACR Truck career.
Beyond driving, Pistone owned CP Inc., building Legends and Late Model stock cars and offering leasing programs that included equipment, crew, and transport.
