ROSSBURG, OH - JULY 17: Stewart Friesen, driver of the #52 We Build America Chevrolet, practices for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway on July 17, 2018 in Rossburg, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
2018 Eldora Dirt Derby: TV Ratings
Shane Walters
NASCAR dirt race tv viewership for the 2018 truck race at Eldora Speedway
A week ago, NASCAR returned to the dirt tracks. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited Eldora Speedway for the annual dirt track event.
View full 2018 Eldora Dirt Derby TV ratings below.
The lead up to the event at Eldora were some great weeks for the sport in regards to TV coverage. NASCAR was on a winning streak…
NASCAR on pavement
Before the rain delay at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, TV ratings were flying. NASCAR was the most watched program, two weeks in a row.
NASCAR was the most watched tv program from a total viewers standpoint on both Saturday, July 14, 2018 and Saturday, July 7th. While the ratings put them 2nd on the July 14th weekend in the 18-49 demographic they were also the highest rated show on July 7th.
July 7th
Daytona International Speedway
The July 7th event at Daytona International Speedway brought 4.22 million viewers. America’s Funniest Home Videos saw 2.7 million viewers, they came in as the second most watched show of the night.
The 2018 race had a rating of 0.8 and drew 4% of the total audience in the 18-49 demographic.
2017 – Last years showing of the same race brought 5.01 million viewers. It was the only show to break the 1.0 rating share that night.
July 14th
Kentucky Speedway
The July 14th event at Kentucky Speedway drew 2.264 million viewers. It was the most watched TV show of the night, beating LIVE PD by 400,000.
However, the race from Kentucky Speedway was only rated at 0.4. That was second best to LIVE PD which drew a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
2017 – The previous year race at Kentucky had 2.7 million viewers and a 1.6 rating.
July 22nd, 2018 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 22nd, the NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway saw a rain delay. However, the race was still the second most viewed show of the night. Shaq is hosting Shark Week, the show took the win with 3.1 million viewers.
2017 – NBCSN drew 3.2 million viewers and earned a 1.6 rating for Sunday’s event at New Hampshire. That’s down from 1.8 on the previous year’s event. Though, rain delays typically hurt viewership.
Eldora Dirt Derby
TV Ratings
On Wednesday night, NASCAR made a rare appearance on a dirt track. The FS1 program brought 587,000 viewers. In addition, 7,200 people watched the 2018 dirt race race via a streaming service.
587K is down slightly from the 2017 showing of the same event. Last year, the race was bumped to the Fox Business channel due to CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal soccer coverage. That was a program change that was announced several weeks in advance of the airing.
View the last 3 years of Eldora Dirt Derby tv viewership numbers below.
2018 Eldora Dirt Derby
July 18, 2018
587,000 viewers
2017 Eldora Dirt Derby
July 19, 2017
660,000 viewers
2016 Eldora Dirt Derby
July 20, 2016
644,000 viewers