“That Damn Chase Elliott Suspension”- Racing Fandom Livid as NASCAR Once Again Walks ‘Dying Sport’ Plank

NASCAR has a worsening problem. Over a number of years, the sport’s popularity has been on a steady decline, and nothing seems to be doing the trick. At one point in time, NASCAR used to be one of the most popular sports in the country. However, years of stagnation and aversion to change have seen the organizers fail to attract new fans. In the recent past, NASCAR has often been called a dying sport. Die-hard fans may disagree, but the viewership numbers and TV ratings paint a gloomy picture.

The TV viewership numbers for Sunday’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway race came out. It was not something that the organizers were expecting. Compared to last season’s playoff race in Vegas, this year’s event saw a steep drop in viewership numbers. Insiders were perplexed by the statistics, but fans have come up with their own theories about what went wrong.

NASCAR viewership numbers in 2023 paint a dull picture 

Eminent NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck retweeted an earlier tweet that spoke about the Las Vegas viewership numbers. The race was able to pull in 2.194 million viewers, which is 16% less than last year’s 2.619 million. This was indeed quite concerning, considering that it was the same race. Drop-offs in viewerships are not something uncommon but by that much of a margin?

Jeff Gluck himself seemed perplexed at what went wrong. He retweeted the viewership numbers with the caption, “Not a good report for the TV ratings this week. Somehow, 425k viewers dropped off compared to the same race last year.”

This viewership problem has persisted in NASCAR throughout the whole 2023 Cup Series season. Let’s take a look at how the previous races did compared to their 2022 viewership data. The final race of the round of 12 was held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Roval Race has always intrigued fans, but in 2023, the event received TV viewership numbers of 2.28 million. This is a 4.6% drop from the 2022 edition of the event, which had 2.39 million viewers.

Talladega was quite a shock to the organizers, as it saw a drop-off of 11.4% from last year’s event. The 2023 viewership numbers were 2.505 million, while 2022 saw 2.827 million viewers. It was unprecedented, as the regular-season race at the superspeedway saw massive viewership numbers of 4.554 million.

The Texas race so far has been the only playoff race whose viewership has increased from the previous year. But that is also only 4.8%. Things are indeed getting tough for NASCAR, especially with younger audiences across the country being more invested in Formula One thanks to Drive to Survive.

Fans on Twitter had their own theories about why NASCAR is seeing such a drop-off in TV viewership, at least for the Las Vegas race. Their theories were quite interesting, and the organizers could try looking at what fans had to say.

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Fans offer theories as their favorite sport’s popularity consistently falls

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“That damn Chase Elliott suspension,” one fan commented under Jeff Gluck’s post. Chase Elliott missed a number of races at the start of the year due to injury and suspension. NASCAR’s most popular driver failed to make the playoffs, which could be a reason fewer fans are interested in the 2023 playoffs. Football games being held at the same time as the main race also draw away a lot of fans, according to one user. There were also issues with NASCAR’s broadcasting partner’s local affiliate not televising the event.

“Lots of football games on pulls some fans away,” one fan said.

“Local NBC affiliate not showing the race didn’t help.,” commented another.

Some fans seem to believe that NASCAR does not pay any heed to what their viewers want. The organizing body has been criticized in the past for not listening to fans’ demands, and that could be a reason for its downfall. “NASCAR not listening to fans and drivers and doing whatever they want. This is the result,” they commented.

While for some others, NASCAR just isn’t entertaining anymore. Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, the aggressive nature of the sport, the flying emotions, and the on-track altercations were a huge attraction. However, none of these elements really exist in the sport as such anymore. According to some, NASCAR has become tame. Fans are also tired of the Chevrolet vs. Toyota rivalry, as Ford regularly struggles to make an impact.

“Personally, I don’t enjoy watching Chevy and Toyota battle it out while Ford has to use strategy in an attempt to get a top 10,” a fan commented.

“Not gonna lie. NASCAR hasn’t been that interesting since Rick Hendricks clipped Ross Chastain’s b*lls. No aggression by any of the drivers. Happy to roll around the track and get paid,” wrote another.

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Whatever the problems may be, NASCAR’s popularity is on a downward slope, and it has been for quite a number of years. The organizers have been forced to follow F1’s suit and release a Netflix series, but will that be as much of a success as Drive to Survive? Only time will tell.