Last weekend seemingly hogged a lot of the spotlight. The Xfinity 500 marked the penultimate race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, with a lot of drivers’ fates on the line. William Byron beat his rivals, emerging from a 36-point cavernous hole and delivering a breathtaking victory. Sadly, the viewership stats did not reflect the thrill of the event. NBC Sports registered 2.35 million viewers, down from 2.5 million last year.

This was just the latest evidence of a season marred by lackluster TV ratings. The glaring numbers caught the eyes of both garage veterans and fans, who questioned NASCAR’s innovative moves. Yet the sanctioning body recently responded that everything is going according to plan.

Nothing is out of place for NASCAR

At the end of 2023, NASCAR signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal. Four media giants came together for the 2025 Cup Series season – FOX, Amazon, NBC, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The medley of viewing options offered unique hopes – but a year into the agreement, the signs are mixed. Notable races like New Hampshire got 1.29 million viewers and a 0.70 rating on USA Network, down from 1.88 million and a 1.0 rating last year. Then, the domination of the NFL on Sundays, with over 25 million views, while NASCAR struggles around 1-2 million, is also a concern.

However, NASCAR is in a state of transition from a broadcast-dominant model to cable and streaming. “Because of the distribution changes to be less broadcast heavy and more cable heavy in streaming, we knew we were going to have a reset,” said NASCAR president Steve Phelps. He issued a bold 4-word declaration: “We’re going to grow.” He continued, “Our stars are going to be more out there. We’re creating better content…So are we concerned about where the ratings are? No. It’s exactly where we thought they’d be.”

Steve Phelps explained to critical fans that the decline in TV ratings was all part of the plan. What also played into their expectation was Amazon Prime’s stunning five-race debut. “So, right now as we sit, our ratings in CUP are down 14% exactly what we predicted. I think the FOX portion of the season was really strong in terms of how they did from a ratings perspective…We surmised that the audience makeup of Amazon would be younger, and it was by about six years. And then the production value that you know FOX and NBC have had traditionally, amazing.”

However, Steve Phelps could not help but acknowledge the hit on NBC Sports. The maximum instances of low ratings featured on USA Network, so Phelps said, “The charter numbers were slightly softer than we thought they would be, slightly, um, but in line with the projections. I would say the cable portion of the NBC package has been a little softer than we had expected.” Yet Phelps proclaimed optimism about the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. “Bounce back on the NBC races, and I think we’ll have a decent rating here on Sunday.”

Before we know about how broadcast will fare in Phoenix, the upcoming race is already issuing ominous signs.

Problems break out in practice

Tensions are high in the NASCAR Cup Series garage right now. Just two days later, the Final Four will compete in the last battle for the 2025 championship. Yet even before they can embark on a nail-biting race, they are dealing with added pressure. The practice session for the Phoenix finale was plagued by tire issues. Trouble landed on No. 19 Toyota driver and title contender Chase Briscoe. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver slowed down the backstretch with a cut left-rear tire, dragging the underside of the car as he limped it back to the pits. Many other drivers faced the same issue – like AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, and Riley Herbst.

Chase Briscoe cracked the Championship 4 for the first time in his career. So ahead of his big day on Sunday, the anxiety about the tire issues was evident in his words. “I guess it’s a good thing that it’s not just us. It’s unfortunate that it’s happening, but at least we’re not on an island by ourselves. I’m sure James [Small, crew chief], and everybody on our Bass Pro Shops Toyota will figure out what we can do to help manage that on Sunday. But yeah, definitely alarming…I’m confident we’ll be just fine, just have to figure out what’s going on.”

All hands are on deck for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series finale. While drivers are fine-tuning their cars for the race, TV broadcasters are hoping for better ratings. Let’s wait and see how it turns out.