Despite a weather delay and shortened race distance due to fading light, NBC Sports’ coverage of the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race in Chicago averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.795 million viewers on NBC and Peacock according to data provided by Nielsen.
The event was the most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC since the Indianapolis race in 2017, which averaged 5.647 million, and was NBC Sports’ eighth most-watched overall under its current rights agreement. It was also the most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on any network since the Daytona 500 drew 8.173 million on FOX.
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Additionally, it was the most streamed NASCAR Cup Series race in NBC Sports history, with 163,500 viewers across Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms, and is projected to be the most-watched sporting event of the weekend.
Viewership peaked at 5.383 million TV-only viewers from 9:15-9:30 pm ET when Shane van Gisbergen took the checkered flag. Chicago delivered a 9.29 rating and is expected to lead all markets once final local data is completed. The rating is more than three times what the market did for this year’s Daytona 500 (2.99 on FOX).
Through two races, NBC Sports is averaging a TAD of 4.009 million viewers, its best start for the NASCAR Cup Series since 2017 (4.202 million). Last week, NBC Sports’ coverage of the Ally 400 from Nashville Superspeedway averaged a TAD of 3.230 million viewers, making it NBC Sports’ most-watched season opener in three years.
NBC Sports’ NASCAR coverage continues this week with NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races from Atlanta Motor Speedway on USA Network.