Overview

• USA Network’s New Hampshire playoff race averaged about 1.29 million viewers (0.70 rating) and Kansas fell to 1.49 million, both well below last year’s totals.
• Season-to-date Cup viewership is down roughly 13% versus 2024, extending the decline into the playoffs.
• The Cup schedule spans six outlets with only nine broadcast windows on FOX/NBC, and partners like FS1, USA and TNT reach smaller audiences than the major networks as carriage risks, including NBCUniversal–YouTube TV talks, raise short-term access concerns.
• Denny Hamlin faults the chase across multiple platforms for losing casual fans, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. urges a more aggressive audience strategy rather than retreating from NFL competition.
• The Xfinity Series on The CW is bucking the trend, with a 1.8 million-viewer Daytona opener and the first 13 races topping one million, which observers credit to consistent national placement and promotion.