Daytona 500 TV Ratings: February 2021 (NASCAR Week)

NASCAR tv viewership numbers for the Daytona International Speedway

On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series unloaded in Daytona Beach, Florida for the first race of the 2021 racing season. They dropped the green flag on the famed Daytona 500 at the 2.5-mile oval of Daytona International Speedway.

The 2021 Daytona 500 was scheduled as a day race. Only a few laps were completed as a rain shower rolled into the area.

Following a near 6 hour delay due to rain, the race was pushed by to around a 9pm ET restart. The race ended just passed midnight.

Denny Hamlin dominated most of the race. The defending Daytona 500 champion was heading to a sweep, winning stage one and two.

In the final stage, Michael McDowell drove to victory, avoiding a big crash in the final corners. It was the first career victory for McDowell.

Sunday (Feb 14), at the start of the Daytona 500 around 3:30pm, 8.48 million were tuned in for a 500-mile race. That’s down only slightly from the start of the 2020 event which saw President Donald Trump make an appearance.

However, the rain delayed race at Daytona International Speedway brought an average of 4,083,000 viewers to the Daytona 500 with a rating of 2.8. Those numbers include the 5-hour rain delay where many casual viewers tuned into other programs.

Related: Daytona 500 results from February 14, 2021 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Other Daytona TV ratings

The Daytona 500 capped off a near full week on-track action.

Tuesday (Feb 9), the NASCAR Cup Series took to the track for an exhibition event. The Clash at Daytona brought 1,577,000 viewers to the tv sceen.

Thursday (Feb 11), the NASCAR Cup Series field was divided into two races. The results of the Duel at Daytona were used to set the Daytona 500 lineup. 1,482,000 tuned in to watch Thursday’s qualifying races.

Friday (Feb 12), 1,065,000 tuned in for Friday’s NASCAR Truck Series race. The truck race saw a rating of 0.17 for the 18-49 demographic.

Saturday (Feb 13), 1,609,000 tuned in for the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener. The event drew a rating of 0.23 for the 18-49 demographic.

NASCAR TV Ratings

Below are the ratings for the NASCAR Cup Series:

February 14, 2021
Daytona International Speedway
(Daytona 500)
Fox
Viewers: 4,083,000
Ratings: 2.8

February 11, 2021
Daytona International Speedway
(Duel at Daytona)
Fox
Viewers: 1,482,000
Ratings (18-49): 0.24

February 9, 2021
Daytona International Speedway
(The Clash)
Fox
Viewers: 1,577,000
Ratings (18-49): 0.28

Related: NASCAR tv ratings (2020)

Links

Daytona International Speedway | NASCAR

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