The night race at Bristol Motor Speedway is a fan favorite, from a crowd perspective. However, as sparks fly, is it best for the sport?
It’s undeniable that more people see NASCAR races scheduled on a Sunday. While less may attend the race, far more tune in to watch the television broadcast.
And we have a recent example to highlight this. Richmond Raceway recently switched their August event from Sunday to Saturday night.
In August 2024, the race at Richmond Raceway was held on Sunday and it brought in a 1.2 rating with 2.22 million average viewers.
This season, the race was moved to a Saturday night. The rating dropped significantly to just 0.75 with 1.4 million viewers on average.
Kevin Harvick asked via the Happy Hour podcast, “Why do we ever race on a Saturday night?”
“It makes no sense. It makes zero sense. Justin loo at the TV ratings when you get done.”
“I know it’s football season. But, the TV ratings are historically completely well known by everybody in the industry that it does not score ever on a Saturday night.”
“We went from Saturday to Sunday at Richmond. TV numbers go up. We go from Sunday to Saturday, crowd goes up.”
“I’m more concerned about the TV ratings than I am how many people are sitting in the grandstands. Because that’s what makes it go around.”
“So, I don’t care what anybody wants. Sunday races rate better than Saturday.”
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"It makes no sense." @KevinHarvick is not a fan of Saturday night Cup Series races. pic.twitter.com/nznRRL8tbi
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