Bristol marks fourth NASCAR week in a row to see increased viewership

Speaking of Atlanta, the ratings for the classic three-wide photo finish at Atlanta were up five percent from last year's equivalent race at Auto Club Speedway, while Las Vegas Motor Speedway saw a nine percent increase in ratings from last year's spring race to this year. 

Phoenix Raceway saw the biggest uptick of any track so far this season, with a 19 percent increase in viewership from last year's Phoenix race. Both the Busch Clash and Daytona 500 are the only Cup Series races to not see an increase in TV ratings this year, though both events were heavily affected by weather and ran 24 hours off-schedule from their originally scheduled timeslots. 

One of the biggest potential factors in this spike in NASCAR's viewership numbers is NASCAR's new Netflix docuseries "NASCAR: Full Speed", which debuted on Jan. 30. The series, which aimed to have the same effect on the sport's popularity as Formula 1's highly popular "Drive To Survive" series, made Netflix's top 5 most-watched shows list within 48 hours of its release.

Combined with fantastic racing through the first five races of the season, including a historic finish at Atlanta, NASCAR seems to be growing, albeit slowly, so far through the 2024 season. 

The series will try and continue to raise the ratings with this Sunday's race at Circuit of The Americas, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.