NASCAR stood atop a crowded motorsports weekend with the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway drawing 2.56 million viewers on FS1 – the highest viewership among all racing events, outperforming the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix (1.598 million viewers including pre-race coverage; 2.103 million viewers during race minutes on ABC) and IndyCar (914,000 viewers on FOX). The race topped all sporting events for the week across the FOX family of networks.
NASCAR’s strong weekend extended beyond the Cup Series, with Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event on the CW attracting 1.002 million viewers and Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race on FS1 pulling in 401,000 viewers. These results underscore NASCAR’s strength in delivering excitement and engaging fans across multiple racing platforms.
The Xfinity Series has topped one million viewers in each of its first 12 races this season – its longest streak to start the year since 2017 (13 consecutive races). The 12 Xfinity Series races have been the 12 most-watched telecasts on The CW this year.
In head-to-head comparisons with other major racing series, NASCAR continues to lead, reinforcing its growing relevance and unmatched ability to attract both new and long-time motorsports fans in America. With races across diverse track formats – from high-speed ovals to challenging road courses to historic short tracks – NASCAR consistently delivers uniquely compelling and highly competitive racing experiences for all types of motorsports enthusiasts and casual sports fans.
Through 12 races (including The Clash) on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar, viewership is up 13% on FOX and 16% on FS1 YoY.
Building on this momentum, NASCAR today announced an evolution of its Championship Weekend format, shifting to a rotating host-city model. Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the inaugural rotating Championship Weekend, crowning the 2026 NASCAR champion.
While the viewership numbers have been big, expect the margin of victory in Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on FS1) to be microscopic – last year’s finish between Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher originally registered at .000 seconds prior to ultimately becoming the closest finish in NASCAR history at .001 seconds.
Below, please find a detailed overview of this weekend’s NASCAR viewership.
- NASCAR Cup Series: The event at Texas earned a 1.38 household rating on FS1, with an average of 2.6 million viewers tuned in per minute, up +7% over 2024 NCS Dover (race #11 in 2024) and up +9% over 2024 NCS Texas which ran as race #9 in mid-April last year
- This is also the most-watched points race at Texas since 2020 when it was run in July on NBCSN (2.7 million)
- NASCAR ranked as the #2 sport on cable over the weekend behind the NBA Playoffs and delivered the #1 sports telecast across FOX Sports this week (including FOX broadcast network). It faced even more competition in a crowded sports landscape, including going head-to-head with Scottie Scheffler’s record-setting performance in the Byron Nelson Classic and airing on a weekend that included the Kentucky Derby and NHL Playoffs.
- At peak, 3.2 million viewers were tuned in
- NASCAR Xfinity Series: the event earned a 0.56 household rating on The CW with an average of 1.0 million viewers tuned in per minute
- No direct YOY comparison; Last year race #12 was Charlotte on FOX (1.2 million)
- Viewership in 2025 was up +25% over 2024 NXS Texas which aired as race #8 in mid-April on FS1 (803,000 viewers)
- This marks the 12th consecutive week NXS has averaged over 1+ million viewers per race (the longest season-opening streak since 2017) and is the most-watched telecast of the week on The CW
- At peak, 1.3 million viewers were tuned in
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: the event earned a 0.22 household rating on FS1, with an average of 401,000 viewers tuned in
- At peak, 474,000 viewers were tuned in
- Formula 1 (Miami GP): the event in Miami earned a 0.77 household rating on ABC with an average of 1.6 million viewers tuned in per minute (2:30PM-6PM, including pre-race coverage from approx. 2:30PM-3:45PM)
- Viewership for the entire telecast was down -45% YOY, but it is important to note that the 2024 F1 race had an NBA Playoff Game 7 as lead-in, which carried 3.9 million viewers into F1 coverage just prior to the start of the race
- The 2025 race did not have a sports event lead-in and carried 538,000 viewers into pre-race commentary at 2:30PM
- The 2025 race aired significantly more pre-race coverage than 2024. The complete 2025 telecast window (including any pre and post-race commentary) was nearly 90 minutes longer than 2024
- When compared to the 2023 race, which also had no live sports lead-in and a duration similar to 2025, this year was down -3%
- IndyCar (Barber): Sunday’s IndyCar race on FOX averaged a 0.50 household rating with 914,000 viewers per minute, up +20% over this event last year which aired on NBC opposite NCS Dover
- Weekend Motorsports, ranked by audience size:
- NCS (Texas): 2.560 million viewers on FS1
- Formula 1 (Miami GP): 1.598 million viewers on ABC (2:30PM-6PM)
- NXS (Texas): 1.002 million viewers on The CW
- IndyCar (Barber): 914,000 viewers on FOX
- Formula E (Monaco): 765,000 viewers on CBS
- Supercross (Denver): 423,000 viewers on NBC
- NCTS (Texas): 401,000 viewers on FS1
NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400
Aired Sunday, May 4th on FS1
Note: 2024 Texas ran as Race #9 in mid-April on FS1 (2.4 million)
U.S. Rating
2025: 1.38
Up +6% over 2024 Dover on FS1 (Race #11, 1.30)
Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)
2025: 2,560 (2.6 million)
Up +7% over 2024 Dover on FS1 (Race #11, 2.4 million)
NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy’s Frozen Custard 300
Aired Saturday, May 3rd on The CW
Notes: 2024 Race #12 was Charlotte on FOX (1.2 million)
2024 Texas aired as Race #8 in mid-April on FS1 (803k)
U.S. Rating
2025: 0.56
No YOY comparison
Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)
2025: 1,002 (1.0 million)
No YOY comparison
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250
Aired Friday, May 2nd on FS1
U.S. Rating
2025: 0.22
Down -24% versus 2024 Texas on FS1 (0.29)
Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)
2025: 401 (401,000)
Down -20% versus 2024 Texas on FS1 (503,000)
