Veteran Insider Gives Blunt Reality Check to NASCAR Fans Over Broadcast Ratings Meltdown

Remember when Amazon Prime rolled out NASCAR streaming for the first time and fans went wild? From the Coca-Cola 600 to the Great American Gateway 400, Prime kept viewers hooked with post-race coverage, a slick double-box format, and plenty of extra features. The payoff? An impressive 2.16 viewers per race on average. Unfortunately, the story has been very different for NASCAR’s current broadcast partner, NBC. And as the playoffs roll on, the most exciting segment in NASCAR, the TV viewership has done a 360, and the fans have sounded off on it. But a NASCAR veteran has put his foot down on the number of complaints that are flying in.

NASCAR is facing a stubborn itch it just can’t scratch: TV ratings. Throughout the 2025 season, audiences have been drifting away, and the Cup Series playoffs have felt the burn hardest. Viewership for Cup Series races has slipped over 13% from last year, and playoff events — this supposed crown jewel meant to draw eyeballs — plunged nearly 17%. And with a whirlwind of talks about the role of TV in deciding the 2026 NASCAR playoff and the dipping viewership, Kenny Wallace is here to reassure the community to sit tight.

Kenny Wallace rolled no punches, saying, ” NASCAR is already announced that they’re gonna change the point system. And next year, the racing is going to be different. They’re going to give you 3 or 4 races to determine the champion. What the f— don’t you understand? I said, this reminds me of a friend I had. I said, ‘Oh, you sure you b—- a lot?’ Because yeah, I just, I just want to b—-. Let me b—- for a little bit. I said, ‘Charlie, is that what you want to do? You just want to bitch?’ So, that’s what I would say to all of you. Get the b——- out of your system.”

NBC Sports’ addition to the Cup Series schedule hasn’t reversed the trend. When USA Network, NBC’s partner, covered Watkins Glen, it dipped to 1,850,000, marking the Cup series’ third-lowest audience of the year and the smallest on the USA Network since 1.03 million watched New Hampshire in 2023. Richmond averaged just 1,390,000 viewers, and Gateway followed suit with disappointing numbers: a 0.82 rating and 1.525 million viewers, down sharply from both last year’s race at Watkins Glen and the June 24 event at the same track on FS1. Even with Denny Hamlin leading for 75 laps to claim his first Gateway victory, the ratings for the Enjoy Illinois 300 are a stark reminder that spectacular wheels don’t always translate to TV audiences.

Another debate about how TV has a hold on deciding which direction the NASCAR playoff system should head in has been heating up. As Jeff Burton sounded off on it, NASCAR analyst and reporter Jeff Gluck has confirmed that NBC has no say in the changing playoff system. 2026 brings fresh hopes and new expectations as fans hope they get what they want.

Kenny Wallace wants the community to quit its whining and give NASCAR a chance. He added, “I’m with Jeff Burton, and a lot of us agree that, you know, you gotta earn everything right now. I know another Charlie said nobody likes the car. I’m like, ‘OK, well, they’re gonna change that.’ It gets to be where it’s exhausting. I said OK, so really what the deal is, Everybody just wants to keep this. Yeah, I guess so. But I want the automatic ball to strike count starting tonight on the first baseball game. So in the end, everybody, you all are gonna get what you want. You’re just gonna get it next year. Not right f—— now.”

Moreover, Burton had shut down the conspiracy by saying, “I hear that all the time… I’m in these meetings, and NASCAR takes all the information from all the people… and they make a decision. TV is not when… this format that we are currently racing under was created. I was in every damn meeting. TV didn’t make this decision…” But as hope prevails, last weekend’s New Hampshire race faced similar problems.

TV viewership takes another hit during the New Hampshire weekend

New Hampshire stands as a glaring example of NASCAR’s growing dilemma. While the grandstands were packed with passionate local fans, that same fire didn’t translate to national viewership. Last fall, NASCAR’s playoff races boosted steady midtier TV numbers, solidifying its space as a beloved American motorsport with millions of viewers. But this fall, the combination of broadcast shifts and fierce competition from the NFL raised alarms about NASCAR’s national visibility. And the fans are urging NASCAR to take things more seriously. 

A shift away from traditional TV broadcasts to cable networks and streaming platforms like Amazon Prime has only added to the confusion. The latest ratings for the Cup Series race at New Hampshire exposed the depth of the decline. 0.70 rating and 1.2 million viewers, a far cry from the 1.0 rating and the 1.88 million viewers for last year’s race. To make matters worse, the dip mirrors a broad trend, including a drop from the 1.79 million viewers in last year’s fourth playoff race at Kansas.

When comparing this year’s New Hampshire race to the same event in 2024, NASCAR nearly lost 600,000 viewers, a huge blow, especially given the sellout at Loudon. The 0.70 rating is one of the weakest for a playoff race in recent years, sparking serious concerns over the NASCAR community. Typically, the postseason draws a larger audience, making this downturn all the more worrying.