The ratings for the Duels at Daytona are officially in and the numbers look promising for Fox Sports and NASCAR to start the year. With this being the start of the year and the biggest race of the season, it is a great sign of things to come.
On Thursday night, 1,640,000 viewers tuned into FS1 to watch the Duels at Daytona. That is a seven-percent increase, according to FOX Sports PR. There is more good news, this is the largest TV audience the Duels have had since 2020.
Daytona Speedweeks is firmly underway. More than 100,000 more viewers tuned into the Duels this year than they did in 2023. Could it be the Netflix effect playing a role already?
No matter the reason, more people watching the races is important. This does feel like a good sign of things to come. If the Daytona 500 sees the same increase this Sunday, that means more than half a million more viewers versus last season.
The Duels were a good show, too. We had last lap passes for the win as well as for those final transfer spots with the open cars.
NASCAR ratings match the exciting action on track
The Duels at Daytona deserved the increased viewership. They were two really exciting races and they had all of the drama and action we could have hoped for. The first Duel race had not seen a caution flag in two years.
Then, Daniel Hemric got into the wall and came down on a group of drivers including Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson. It made Johnson’s bid for the 500 even more difficult as he had to pass JJ Yeley on the last lap to make the big show.
By the end of the night, we ended up with Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell taking the win in their respective Duel. In the second race, Ryan Blaney and others were involved in a nasty wreck. When it was over, Blaney’s car was on fire and he was fuming mad.
While it is still only Friday, there is a lot more action to see this week. Truck Series, Xfinity, ARCA, Cup – it’s all going to provide race fans with what they want. Speed and chaos. Hopefully, the NASCAR ratings reflect as much.
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