UPDATE: Sunday’s NASCAR New Hampshire 301 earned a 1.5 rating and 2.5 million viewers on NBCSN, down 23% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (2.0, 3.2M) and down 28% and 24% respectively from 2016 (2.1, 3.3M).
Kevin Harvick’s win was the lowest rated edition of the race in at least 20 years and the least-watched since at least 2000. Just five years ago the race had a substantially higher 3.2 and 4.9 million on TNT.
Keep in mind the start of Sunday’s race was delayed more than three hours due to rain. In a rarity, the delay may well have saved the race from even steeper declines. The scheduled 1 PM ET start – moved up from 2 PM to avoid the rain – would have put the race in direct competition with the final hour of the British Open, which peaked in the 1 PM hour at a 6.0 and 9.4 million.
Original post: 7-23-2018
.@NBCSN earned a 1.6 overnight rating for yesterday's rain-delayed Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series @FoxwoodsCT 301 @NHMS.
⚊ Last year's race got a 1.8. pic.twitter.com/pyAIAYd35k
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 23, 2018