IndyCar 2024 finale viewership leads to worrying signs for the series as numbers emerge

The Penske group, since its takeover of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar in 2019, has been trying to increase the popularity and revenue streams for the open-wheel championship. Yet, despite its efforts, viewership numbers of the 2024 IndyCar finale point to worrying signs for the series.

The data for average television viewers in the US for the top Motorsport series in the country was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by NASCAR blogger "nascarman" who sourced it from sportsmediawatch.com. The data ranked the viewership numbers from every race in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Craftsman Truck Series, NHRA, IndyCar, IMSA, and F1.

IndyCar had an average viewership of 1.3 million per race which was a 2% decrease from the 2023 season. The "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indy 500, was the largest viewership event for IndyCar, with 5.31M viewers, an 8% increase over 2023.

However, the data for the season finale in Nashville was worrying as it showed the event receiving only 483,000 viewers. This made it the least-watched IndyCar race on a network channel in the history of the sport, according to "nascarman." In comparison, the most popular motorsport in the US, NASCAR, averaged 2.89 million viewers per race, a 1% increase over 2023.

IndyCar had a troubled history in the 1990s when the series was split into CART and IRL, followed by a dispute over the IndyCar name. Later, CART was declared bankrupt, sold, and named Champ Car. It was only in 2008 that IRL and Champ Car came together to become the IndyCar series. However, in the process of splitting, dissolving, and merging, viewership interest declined.

IndyCar drivers and team members have complained in recent seasons that the IndyCar chassis is outdated, as the Dallara DW12 was developed and introduced in 2012. A new chassis wasn't introduced in the series, and teams continue to struggle with funds. Only recently did IndyCar begin the design stage for a new chassis.

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“What you need is big money” - Michael Andretti on Roger Penske's struggles with IndyCar ownership

Roger Penske bought the IndyCar series and IMS from Hulman and Co. for a reported amount between $250M and $300M. Since the acquisition, Penske has reportedly spent $30M-$35M in improving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alone.

Michael Andretti in a recent interaction was asked about Penske's ownership and Andretti made it clear wasn't impressed. When put to him that helming a series along with a racetrack presented financial difficulties, Andretti said (via Indystar),

“Then sell the series. There's people out there willing to do it. I think there's a lot of people on the sidelines thinking, 'This is a diamond in the rough if you do it right.' But what you need is big money behind it to get it to that level, and if he's not willing to do it, I think he should step aside and let someone else buy it."

Andretti also proposed the idea that Penske could sell a part of the series, take the equity money, and invest that into the series while still being the majority owner.