NASCAR TV Ratings Are In for New Hampshire Cup Series Race

NASCAR's return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway delivered an audience of roughly 2 million viewers despite weather interrupting Sunday's Cup Series race.

USA Network averaged 2.0 million viewers for the Dollar General 301 when excluding the rain delay, according to figures reported by Sports Business Journal's Adam Stern.

When the rain delay is included, the entire broadcast averaged 1.793 million viewers.

The numbers provide another encouraging television result for NASCAR as the Cup Series heads from New Hampshire to Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

New Hampshire Draws 2 Million Viewers on USA Network

Sunday's race was interrupted by rain, complicating the television numbers because viewers were left waiting for racing to resume.

Excluding that delay, however, USA Network's race coverage averaged approximately 2 million viewers.

Including the weather interruption brought the overall average down to 1.793 million.

That still put the complete New Hampshire broadcast ahead of the most recent Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway, which averaged 1.516 million viewers.

It also gives some additional context to NASCAR's recent television audiences. The Cup race at Iowa Speedway averaged 1.929 million viewers, meaning New Hampshire's race-only audience topped both of the previous two Cup events.

The comparisons are not perfectly apples-to-apples given the rain delay and resulting difference between the two New Hampshire figures. Still, the 2 million race-only number is a notable result for USA Network.

NASCAR Heads to Daytona After New Hampshire

The ratings arrive as NASCAR turns its attention toward one of the biggest venues on its schedule.

The Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the summer race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Daytona brings a dramatically different style of racing from New Hampshire's 1.058-mile oval, with drafting and pack racing creating the potential for significant swings throughout the field.

It also gives NASCAR another opportunity to build on its recent television audiences.

Richmond drew 1.516 million viewers before Iowa increased that number to 1.929 million. New Hampshire then reached the 2 million mark when the rain delay is removed from the calculation.

Now the attention shifts to Daytona and whether one of NASCAR's most recognizable tracks can keep that momentum going.