NASCAR’s first foray into city street racing resulted in a sharp uptick in interest from TV viewers at home.
The Grant Park 220, contested Sunday on a street course in Chicago, averaged just shy of 4.8 million viewers between NBC and Peacock.
That made it the most-watched NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC since a visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017, NBC Sports said Monday. It was also the most-watched NASCAR race outside of the Daytona 500 on any network in more than two years.
Viewership peaked at 5.383 million TV viewers when New Zealand’s Shane van Gisbergen captured the checkered flag, becoming the first driver in 60 years to win his NASCAR Cup Series debut.
The race was delayed and shortened from 100 to 75 laps due to a weather delay.