The NASCAR Cup Series championship race is just days away, but the sport is heading into its biggest weekend of the season with some disappointing television numbers.
Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway drew fewer than 2 million viewers on NBC, marking a notable decline from the same race last year. The numbers are particularly noteworthy considering what was at stake: Martinsville was the final opportunity for drivers to secure their place in the championship battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, the Nov. 1 broadcast averaged 1.987 million viewers, down from 2.3 million in 2025. That’s a loss of approximately 313,000 viewers, or 13.6%, year over year.
The race also earned a 1.15 television rating, compared with 1.26 last year, based on Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement.
NASCAR Sees Martinsville Viewership Drop Ahead of Homestead
Martinsville wasn’t just another stop on the schedule. It was the final race before the championship finale, with drivers facing one last chance to improve their position in the title fight.
That kind of pressure has traditionally made the closing weeks of a NASCAR season compelling television. Every position matters, strategy calls carry greater consequences, and one mistake can change the championship picture.
Yet Sunday’s broadcast failed to reach the 2 million-viewer mark, falling well short of the audience NBC attracted for last year’s event.
The decline doesn’t necessarily reflect a broader trend across the entire NASCAR season. Television audiences can fluctuate for several reasons, including competing programming and differences in how races develop. Still, a double-digit year-over-year decrease for such a consequential race is difficult to overlook.
NASCAR’s Championship Race Now Takes Center Stage
The timing makes the latest numbers especially interesting.
NASCAR will crown its 2026 Cup Series champion Sunday, Nov. 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with the championship race scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
The season finale represents the sport’s final opportunity this year to draw a major television audience around its championship battle.
And unlike Martinsville, where the focus was on determining who would remain in contention, Homestead will deliver the answer to the question fans have followed all season: Who will leave Miami as the Cup Series champion?
Whether that translates into stronger viewership remains to be seen.
For now, NASCAR has one more race to close out its season, and the latest numbers from Martinsville give the sport an unwelcome storyline heading into championship weekend.
NASCAR Gets Troubling TV Ratings News Days Before Championship Race