The CW Network’s second full year broadcasting the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series concluded on Saturday, November 7, as the most-watched season in five years.
Ratings highlights for the 2026 season include:
- Averaged 1,044,000 total viewers for all 33 races, per Nielsen Panel + Big Data.
- Second consecutive year of viewership growth and the strongest season since 2021.
- Double-digit increase in the Adults 18-49 demo, up +13% over last season.
- 22 races throughout the year averaged more than one million viewers, the largest number of races with more than one million viewers during a single season in nine years.
- For the year, all NASCAR programming on The CW reached nearly 38 million total viewers.
Highlights of this season’s championship race from Homestead-Miami Speedway include:
- 1,181,000 total viewers saw Justin Allgaier win his second NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship. Viewership peaked at 1,638,000 total viewers from 7:30-7:45 pm ET.
- Strongest championship race since 2019, with total viewers up +16% compared to last season’s championship race from Phoenix.
- Most-watched Homestead-Miami race since 2021 and the highest fall Homestead-Miami race since 2019.
In addition, CW Sports reached 12.3 million total viewers over the weekend across NASCAR, ACC and Pac-12 football, PBR bull riding championship, and college basketball. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will return to The CW next year with the 2027 season beginning on Saturday, February 20, 2027, from the legendary Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
— The CW —