TV ratings for a sport like NASCAR can go down from time to time for different reasons. However, lately, there have been rumblings around the NASCAR grid that the absence of Chase Elliott from races may have contributed to the downfall of NASCAR’s TV ratings. Even drivers like Kevin Harvick have also spoken about the same, dubbing it the “Chase Elliott effect.”

Although, recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s co-host, Mike Davis gave his observations surrounding the Elliott phenomenon and believes that it can be a concerning issue for NASCAR.

What were the observations made by Dale Earnhardt Jr’s co-host?

During a recent episode of the Dale Junior Download, Davis stated, “I step back and look at it from a, you know, 50,000 – 80,000 foot view here and that is just, I can point to two things. One is TV ratings and the other is grandstands. That’s as best as I can do and TV ratings are down.”

“And I know everybody’s got an opinion about why that is. Is it because Chase Elliott was gone? Well, I think if you look back to the big picture here, you could say there’s a problem. There’s a problem that needs to be fixed.”

Junior’s co-host thinks there is truth to the “Chase Elliott effect”

During the same podcast, Davis further mentioned that despite feeling guilty for criticizing NASCAR, he was concerned about the sport he loved. He believed it was important to discuss why they weren’t feeling inspired after events like Martinsville and whether the current car design was truly beneficial. He noted a 17% increase in TV ratings compared to the previous year, indicating some progress.

Davis concluded his argument by saying, “That’s what I look at. Look at the hard data, the data if it’s up 17%. Maybe there’s truth to the chase Elliott thing, right?”

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He suggested that there might be something to it, and he was looking for reasons to feel confident and proud about the situation they were discussing. He concluded by stating that whenever he experienced those small victories, his outlook improved, but when those victories were absent, they tended to analyze and critique the situation.

Davis certainly presented a compelling argument. Surely the absence of NASCAR’s favorite driver may have caused a dip in the rating. We’re interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. Do you agree with Davis’ perspective?

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