NASCAR put on a thrilling race last Saturday. Featuring 36 lead changes and tires that ferociously peeled off, the Bass Pro Shops Night race was a treat for fans. From race winner Christopher Bell to 39th-place finisher Josh Berry, the challenges were multifold. Dealing with new strategies, scrambling for grip, and avoiding clashes made the race a spectacle to watch. Yet while 80.6% of fans voted positively for the race, the same stat was not visible on TV.

As part of NASCAR’s NBC Sports stretch, USA Network covered the Bristol race. The media partner features a star-studded crew, ranging from Leigh Diffey with his charismatic voice to Jeff Burton with his meticulous insights. Despite their presence, the Bristol affair did not register a lot of views.

A tale of falling numbers for NASCAR

Just over a week ago, fans expressed their discontent at Gateway. It marked Week 1 of the National Football League, with CBS’s 23.9 million viewers breaking a 27-year record and FOX Sports’ 17.9 million breaking a 10-year streak. Not only did NASCAR fold to the NFL’s TV viewership, but it also hit a personal low with USA Network. It got 1.525 million viewers, down from 1.8 million last year. But wait, that was hardly the end of the story for the media partner, as similar numbers persisted in Bristol.

Journalist Adam Stern posted the TV stats for Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He wrote on X, “@USANetwork got a 0.79 rating and 1.536 million viewers for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, down from a 0.98 rating + 1.868 million for the same event last year.” As the Bristol race was going on, multiple college football games were happening on different cable and broadcast channels. Stern added, “That’s still enough to make NASCAR the No. 2 sport of the weekend on cable after football.”

Bristol’s race viewership this September wildly differed from its previous iterations. During the 2025 Food City 500 race, 2.054 million viewers tuned in on FS1 to witness Kyle Larson win. In the meantime, Rory McIlroy’s first Augusta Green Jacket victory registered 12.99 million viewers. What is more, the spring 2025 race in Bristol marked a fall in viewership from the previous Bristol spring race on over-the-air FOX, which had 3.809M viewers. Last week’s race comes nowhere close to that, despite witnessing similar tire wear and lead changes.

Besides registering a lower fallout in TV numbers, Bristol also had dire consequences for one driver.

From crown to ashes

When Goodyear succeeded in Bristol the last time, Denny Hamlin was the name of the game. During the 2024 spring race at the 0.533-mile short track, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver won. He navigated a wild tire management race featuring 54 lead changes and came out victorious in the end. But when Goodyear succeeded again, Hamlin was in a different position. In last weekend’s race, the No. 11 Toyota suffered a massive setback 385 laps into the event. This led to dire consequences for Hamlin’s playoff hopes and also his championship ambitions.

Denny Hamlin’s car shot up the track, collecting pole-sitter AJ Allmendinger and causing significant damage to both cars. What is more, a replay revealed that the right-front wheel disconnected from Hamlin’s car, rolling down the track. This led to a caution, and Hamlin suffered a two-lap penalty, which ultimately wrought his 31st-place finish. That was not the end of it, as NASCAR suspended the No. 11 crew’s front tire changer, Austin Maloney, and jackman, Joel Bouagnon, for the next two races. They will sit out the events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Clearly, last weekend’s Bristol race had a greater negative impact than was visible. Let’s see if the USA Network can pick up its ratings in the next race.