With Cinderella runs, unpredictable upsets, photo finishes, and wild storylines, the elimination-style playoff format proved to be a fix to keep fans glued to their TV screens until the final race. But only for so long. It didn’t take much time for the fans to realize that consistency throughout the year would no longer matter. That luck would play a bigger role, and one stumble could end up in elimination. That they could simply tune in for the winner-takes-it-all finale. The result? The Cup Series is hitting a new low.

The update came from Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern as he wrote on X, “.@USANetwork got a 0.70 rating and 1.29 million viewers for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race @NHMS, down from a 1.0 rating and 1.88 million viewers for last year’s race at the same track and from a 0.96 rating and 1.79 million for last year’s fourth playoff race at Kansas.”

Losing 590,000 viewers compared to the same race in 2024 is a steep hit. In fact, a 0.70 rating makes it one of the weakest playoff showings in recent years. Here are some more numbers to consider:

• The first playoff race at Darlington on Sunday night drew 1.88 million viewers on USA. Last season, the same opener that clashed with the NFL’s Week 1 still managed 2.02 million on USA.
• Sunday’s Round 2 opener at New Hampshire drew only 1.29 million viewers. Two decades ago, the same race drew 5.5 million viewers.
• None of the four playoff races this season has touched 2 million viewers.
• Cup Series is down more than 13 percent from last year.
• Playoff races are off by nearly 17 percent.
• Even the regular season dropped by 12% from last season, averaging 2.7 million viewers across Fox, FS1, NBC, USA, Prime Video, and TNT/truTV.

That’s a tough pill to swallow for NASCAR when the stands in Loudon were sold out. The fallout has been immediate.

When NASCAR first convened a committee in February to discuss its championship format, only one person advocated for eliminating NASCAR’s playoff system. But earlier this month, when the committee sat down again, more nods followed to scrap the playoffs and return to the old points system last used in 2003. However, the committee also confirmed that no changes will be announced until this season ends at Phoenix. But they seem to have reached a decision.

“The next step is NASCAR is going to get its leadership in position and really have a discussion and lock ourselves in a room and figure it out from there,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said on the latest episode of the Hauler Talk podcast. “Take all the feedback from the committee and come up with the best decision for the entire sport and our fans moving forward.”

Veteran racer Kevin Harvick also sounded an alarm earlier this month. “Why do we ever race on a Saturday night? It makes no sense. Makes zero sense. Just look at the TV ratings when you get done. I know it’s football season, but the TV ratings are historically completely well known by everybody in the industry that it does not score ever, ever, ever, ever on a Saturday night.”

Last month, Denny Hamlin responded to Jeff Gluck’s reporting on Richmond numbers. Now, the fans are calling the numbers “pitiful” while debating whether NASCAR’s broadcast plan is pushing casual viewers away.

Fans address the 0.7-rated NASCAR Cup Series elephant in the room

One reaction cut straight to the numbers. A double-digit drop in numbers is staggering for any sport. However, in NASCAR’s case, it comes during the playoffs when viewership is supposed to spike. “30% drop in viewership is one year is…….. no bueno,” stated one fan. The frustration reflects how abnormal the decline feels. For a while, there’s been concern that NASCAR may be losing its national audience at a rate too steep to be seasonal fluctuation.

Others pointed to shifting habits in how people consume sports. Traditional cable has seen steep losses in subscribers. Moreover, NASCAR’s reliance on USA Network and FS1 for key races has left many potential viewers out of reach. However, it is important to note that this year marks the first year of the new TV rights deal, and NASCAR has shifted its attention toward streaming platforms and innovations. Still, one fan highlighted the issue.“I keep saying it but anyone under the age of 49 isn’t paying for traditional cable anymore. Everyone is streaming or just straight up not watching.”

This showed a widening gap between NASCAR’s broadcast partners and younger audiences. The new fans increasingly expect to stream their sports content rather than flip to a cable channel. The NFL’s dominance on Sunday afternoons also came up. Competing directly with pro football has long been a challenge for NASCAR. This year’s sharp playoff decline added fuel to that argument. As one fan put it, “Holy shit that’s brutal. I know the NFL is a juggernaut you’ll never win against but I wonder what is really driving the sharp decline.”

While football explains some of the losses, there’s more to the matter. The blunt question is about what else is driving fans away and the structural issues with NASCAR’s current TV model. However, we can see why the organization is not exactly moving away from cable. Last season, NASCAR Cup Series racing from Phoenix averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.82 million viewers on FS1, marking the largest Cup Series audience on cable in nearly four years (2021 Darlington: 3.1M).

Yes, another fan emphasized, “Cable TV as a concept is dying. Every NBC-affiliated race needs to be on Peacock.” NASCAR has tried to cater to a younger audience. Its new media rights deal ensures more attention to the younger audience. But if it clings to cable for long, the sport risks alienating future fans. For many, expanding the streaming presence is not just a preference but a survival strategy.

Not every comment dug into the causes. Some simply reacted to the scale of the decline. A fan captured the shock in plain terms. “Oof. That’s really bad, no way around it.” Even if executives point to long-term trends across cable sports, the headlines and fan sentiment lock onto the “bad” side of the story. This makes it harder to shape a positive narrative and could take a long time to get back to the set ways.

Finally, one fan admitted to being part of the problem, albeit for positive reasons. They wrote, “Sorry for not doing my part, I decided to go in person.” This remark shed light upon the paradox of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After all, the track sold out, proving strong local passion. However, those same fans no longer counted toward TV views. The problem is, NASCAR needs to simplify the picture and create a balance of healthy attendance and good broadcast numbers.

While the Loudon crowd showed the sport’s in-person strength, the ratings fallout stirred worry across social platforms. For NASCAR, the challenge is now to bridge the growing gap between loyal trackside fans and a national audience, be it with a better media rights deal or a change in its formats.