USA Today via Reuters
Feb 5, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Drivers race during the NASCAR Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
USA Today via Reuters
Feb 5, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Drivers race during the NASCAR Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Last weekend, the NASCAR Cup season returned to action once again. The first race of the season was the Cup race at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Martin Truex Jr drew first blood with a victory, but it is safe to say that not many were big fans of the race. Among them was Kyle Busch, despite the fact that he managed to finish in an excellent third place. Now, the latest race ratings have come in and Fox Sports had a 2.01 rating and 3.647 million viewers this year.
.@FoxTV earned a 2.01 rating and 3.647 million viewers for Sunday's second edition of the Busch Light Clash @LAColiseum, down 15% from the inaugural edition which drew a 2.32 rating and 4.283 million.
🔲The race was second most watched sports event of the weekend after Pro Bowl. pic.twitter.com/Ufa7krKeZ3
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) February 7, 2023
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Unfortunately, this was a far cry from last year’s 2.32 rating and 4.283 million viewers. Additionally, the viewership was lower than the Pro Bowl that aired on the same weekend. Of course, it is highly possible that last year; the viewership was high because the LA Coliseum was brand new, so the curiosity was there. Now that the second season has arrived, some of the novelty has waned a little, so the interest has lowered.
How did NASCAR fans react to this?
There were plenty of theories about why this happened, and one of them was about the length of the race. Apparently, there was nearly seven hours worth of coverage and the race ran very late. Furthermore, the drivers took more than two hours to complete 37.5 miles, owing to the excessive cautions. Last year, the Next Gen cars were brand new, and spare cars and parts were sparse. So the drivers were understandably tentative in the initial races, so the cautions and wrecks were less. No such fears this time, unfortunately.
It doesn't help that
-The whole show was way too long. 7 hours worth of coverage is way too much.
-Ran late
-Bad TV coverage— Brett (@22fan4ever) February 7, 2023
3.6 mil is still pretty good… but bruh 15% decreased and pro bowl beat it💀
— DennyDeliversYT 📦 (@DennyDelivers) February 7, 2023
37.5 miles taking over 2 hours, ugh
— GrayNewman (@GrayNewmanNC) February 7, 2023
To add:
The heat races averaged 2.370 million viewers, which was slightly down from 2.564 million viewers last year.
— BMG12 (@BigMikeGwood12) February 7, 2023
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That's not bad, though, overall. Most other races won't get over 2 million. It sucks being down 15%, but that's still a decent rating.
— 8bit_ScottTheOreo (@ScottTheOreo) February 7, 2023
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Of course, there were some defenders, as people felt that 3.6 million viewers were still a sizeable audience. However, they were not happy with the fact that the Pro Bowl beat it. To make matters worse, the 15% decrease is also a little depressing and the heat races only pulled in around 2.370 million viewers.
WATCH THIS STORY: NASCAR TV Ratings are in and the Clash is Most Viewed Since 2016
