NASCAR rode into Las Vegas high on momentum from its previous race weekend in Atlanta. Though the 2024 Pennzoil 400 did not have a thrilling three-wide race finish as Atlanta did, it had its own moments of glory. Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson put up a defensive masterclass to take the win. Not only that, the race became the most-watched sports event of the weekend in the United States.
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NASCAR and Fox earned 4.359 million average viewers for the Sunday race. The number represents an 8.4% increase from the same race in 2023. One of the key reasons behind this massive jump is the interesting beginnings that the Daytona 500 and the Atlanta race gave. In comparison to this figure, the F1 season-opener had just 1.1 million viewers. Furthermore, it marked consecutive weekends of a NASCAR race being the highest-rated televised sporting event in the U.S.
With Netflix’s Full Speed having a tremendous run that helped increase the online follower counts of NASCAR and Cup drivers, it could’ve played a significant part in the increased TV ratings as well. The grid next travels to Arizona for its race at the Phoenix short-track. The fourth race on the calendar is also the first in a short track and will feature cars with NASCAR’s new package with aerodynamic upgrades.
While the viewership count is still nowhere close to where it was in the 2000s, NASCAR appears to be taking steady strides toward its previous level of fame and glory.
The positive impact that Full Speed has had on NASCAR and its drivers
Ahead of the Las Vegas race, Cup Series icon Denny Hamlin noted that he was seeing a surge in the number of casual fans who were watching NASCAR after the release of the Full Speed docuseries. In alignment with his words, a survey carried out by Kickin The Tires showcased a significant increase in the number of social media followers for both NASCAR and the biggest names in the Cup Series.
On Instagram alone, the sanctioning body’s follower count has increased by over 258,000. The gains on X have been over 17,800 and on Facebook, it’s over 40,000. Amongst drivers, Denny Hamlin saw his Instagram followers grow by 20,940. 2023 champion Ryan Blaney’s count recorded an increase of 12,090. With the popularity of the sport and its drivers clearly on the uptrend, favorable winds in terms of revenue and profits ought to appear on the horizon soon for teams.
