Horrific TV Numbers Show NASCAR, IndyCar Headed In Alarmingly Opposite Directions
Look, I'm going to try to be delicate here, OK? I know who signs my checks. I'm well aware. But, I'm also OutKick's top NASCAR communist (no, not a typo! Take a look!), so I have to pull the fire alarm when I smell smoke.
I said it back in January when Fox marketed the crap out of IndyCar during the NFL playoffs. I said it last month when they did the same leading up to the DAYTONA 500. And I'll say it again right now …
I understand that Fox has a new club in the bag with its (our?) acquisition of IndyCar. It's the shiny new driver that goes 30 yards further. It's got all the bells and whistles on it. The biggest club head on the planet. The finest shaft (hey now!), made with the best steel in the world.
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But, after a few drives into the woods and a couple Noodles lost in the pond, we all eventually go back to ‘ol reliable, right? The fairway finder. The dart thrower. Dance with the date you brought, right?
Fox keeps putting IndyCar on the main network every Sunday they race, while relegating NASCAR to FS1 most weeks. If you ask me, it's a tad puzzling.
And if you ask the audience, well …
Is a course-correction needed, or is this the plan?
There's just no two ways to put it – that is a shockingly bad number. IndyCar on Big Fox nearly lost to NHRA. It got smoked by NASCAR on cable. It also got smacked by Xfinity on the CW – a channel only half the country has!
Do you understand how hard that is to pull off? How truly alarming that number is?
Again, I know this is a tricky little hill to climb given who I work for, but when the entire motorsports world is talking about it, I have to dive in, too. Fair is fair. Believe me, I want Fox to succeed more than anyone. It's certainly in my best interest for them (us) to do so.
So, perhaps it's time for a course-correction before things really go off the rails here? I'm just spit-balling.
NASCAR has actually done really, really well so far this year in the ratings department – and that's with the last three races being on FS1. My weekly TV Guide tells me every single Cup race for the rest of the Fox portion of the season will be on FS1 except the April 27th race at Talladega. That's six of the next seven weeks, for those counting at home.
Yes, every single IndyCar race is on Big Fox, for those wondering. If that has me feeling queasy this morning, I can't imagine what the folks in marketing are feeling.
And yes, I know, there were other factors at play on Sunday. Thermal has no business being on an IndyCar schedule. Not now, not ever. It's not appealing at all – although I'd argue that about several NASCAR tracks, and they still never have numbers like that. Never, ever, ever, ever.
The race was also going up against March Madness AND NASCAR itself over on FS1. Not ideal.
Again, though – NASCAR was also going up against March Madness all afternoon. Totally unrelated, of course, but those NASCAR ratings were UP 5% from last fall's race at Homestead on NBC, and up 3% from the sixth race of last season on Fox (COTA).
Fox also had technical difficulties and actually had to switch over to the NASCAR race for a period while they worked out the kinks out west. IndyCar truthers are shouting about that one, although I'd argue that the race's peak audience at the end of the event was a measly 829,000. Come on.
There's just no way to spin it, folks. It's a bad number. OutKick's Matt Reigle tells me that next month at Long Beach will be a better barometer. Maybe.
And maybe Fox is perfectly fine with what they see so far. Again, NASCAR has more than carried its own over on FS1.
Perhaps this is some necessary short-term pain for long-term success? The tariffs of motorsports, if you will. You take your lumps, put IndyCar on the main network for an entire year, and hope that you attract enough of a new audience to make it worthwhile in 2026.
Maybe it works. Or, maybe, a course-correction is needed.
In my experience, it's always better to just find the damn fairway.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas? Want to tell me to piss off? Zach.Dean@OutKick.com!