Time to panic for NASCAR?

PublishedAugust 20, 2025 7:51 AM EDT•UpdatedAugust 20, 2025 7:51 AM EDT

FacebookTwitterEmailCopy Link

It’s probably time to end Saturday night NASCAR races. I know, it pains me to say it. I love a good Saturday night race. 

But, if they race on a Saturday night, and nobody watches … did they actually race? That’s what the sport is grappling with today, and what they will likely be dealing with for the foreseeable future. 

There are only three reported Saturday night races next season. Three. That’s low for any 36-race Cup season. Real low. 

Perhaps it’s three too many. Take a LOOK at the ‘ol ratings chart for last weekend’s race at Richmond. Make sure your readers are on, because the number is SMALL:

NASCAR has a Saturday night problem

Whoaaaaaaaaaaa Nellie! A 0.75? 1.4 million viewers? For a NASCAR CUP race? That’s embarrassing. There’s no other way to spin it. 

NASCAR fans have spent all summer bitching and moaning about the playoff format, but why should the sport do a damn thing about it if none of those whiners are watching? Seriously? I honestly don’t remember a number that low for a Cup race. 

Here’s some context: The Friday night truck race reached nearly 500,000 viewers, which was the highest-rated truck race since May. In no world should a truck race be A) hitting highs while the Cup race is reaching lows, and B) only 1,000,000 viewers off from the Cup race. 

That’s uncomfortably close, and it shouldn’t happen. 

So, the question is, what’s going on here? Is it a NASCAR problem? Is it a Saturday night problem? Next-Gen fatigue? Dog days of summer? 

The race was good, so you can’t blame Richmond. 

I’m gonna go with … Saturday night! Actually, scratch that. Saturday night AND USA Network. You can’t have a Saturday night race and put it on cable and expect a great ROI. You’ve got a lot of things working against you there. 

A quick scan of the history books tells me that another race with similar disinterest took place at Bristol in 2023. That race scored a 1.56. It was held on a Saturday night, during football season, on USA Network. 

Strikes 1, 2 & 3! As you can see from the handy chart I created (with the help of the robots) above, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season was also bad from start to finish. Not great. 

At least this Saturday’s regular-season finale at Daytona is on NBC. It’s also Daytona. That dreadful number should tick up. Should. If it doesn’t, it will officially be panic time. 

The good news? At least we’re not going into football season where you already lose a ton of your audience during your most pivotal time of year! 

Don’t get me started on that one. Different story for a different day. 

Oh well. Onwards and upwards, as they say. Nothing to panic about yet, but certainly something to monitor. 

Gulp.Â