UPDATE: With a rain-delay pushing the start past 10 PM ET, NASCAR Darlington ratings unsurprisingly hit a new low.
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.1 rating and 1.86 million viewers on NBCSN, down 27% in ratings and 30% in viewership from last year (1.5, 2.66M) and down 39% and 40% respectively from 2017 (1.8, 3.10M).
The race, which was scheduled to begin at 6 PM ET, did not start until after 10 PM due to inclement weather.
Even with the lower numbers, NBCSN is averaging 2.50 million viewers for NASCAR coverage this season (including streaming) — up 5% from the network’s first eight races last year (2.38M). It was not immediately clear if last year’s average includes a Monday rainout at the Brickyard.
Original post 9-2-2019: Overnight ratings for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway were 1.13. Due to rain, the race started nearly 4 hours later than scheduled.
.@NBCSN earned a 1.13 overnight rating for the Bojangles' Southern 500, which was delayed by more than three hours and ended around 2:00am ET.
➖ The delay thwarts a fully direct comparison to last year's race, which ran on time, but it got a 1.5. pic.twitter.com/WZgM9vQPIb
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 2, 2019