“Better racing” - Fans react as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports' triumph in Phoenix helps in major NASCAR viewership increase

NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s driver Justin Allgaier was crowned the 2024 Xfininty Series champion last Saturday. The broadcast of the dramatic and exciting race on CW Network amassed a record 1.113 million viewers. Several fans have reacted to this statistic, crediting Dale Jr.'s driver for the hike in viewership.

Justin Allgaier, driving the #7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, started the Championship race from P37 after switching to a backup car due to a practice crash. Despite the setback, Allgaier worked his way to the front and led the final restart in overtime. Although Riley Herbst passed him on the white-flag lap, Allgaier finished P2, ahead of the rest of the title contenders, securing his first Xfinity Series title.

A recent post on X(formerly Twitter) by Bryan Mapes shared the news of the viewership hike. The post was captioned:

"1.113M viewers for the #XfinitySeries Championship on @TheCW_Sports , the first time the series has cracked 1M viewers on the channel. That’s ⬆️ 17% vs. the 2023 championship on USA."

Several fans have commented on the record-breaking views for the Xfinity Series Championship Race.

"Better racing." a fan wrote

"This is great to see. Probably my favorite series." a fan commented

"And it was the best race all weekend." another fan wrote.

"Good racing does that" a fan said.

"I'll watch Xfinity always. Cup series needs to be put 2nd tier and Xfinity to 1st tier for their racing" another fan commented.

Meanwhile, one fan criticized the CW Network for its broadcast and gave suggestions for a better broadcast experience.

"Would have loved to watch it, but doesn’t stream the races. Those of us racing ourselves, can’t watch the race while we are at a track. Just imagine how high the viewership could have been for all these races with streaming…" the fan wrote

Of Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned JR Motorsports' three drivers in the Round of 8, only Justin Allgaier advanced to the Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, while the other two fell short of a title contention spot.

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“I didn't give one s**t about that owner championship” - Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his priority clear as Justin Allgaier brings Xfinity trophy home

After Justin Allgaier clinched his first Xfinity Series driver championship at Phoenix Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined in the celebrations, recognizing the significance of Allgaier’s achievement. JR Motorsports also took home the owner’s title, a detail Dale Jr. mentioned he hadn’t realized initially, adding to the team’s memorable night.

In the post-race press conference, Dale Jr. expressed that he what he wanted was for Justin Allgaier to win his first title, as it was "all that matters" to him. He said,

"I probably will get in trouble for saying this. I didn't give one s**t about that owner's championship. I was like, 'I want my driver on that stage. That's all that matters to me,' especially with Justin being in the middle of this. I wanted it for him."

"I really didn't even know where that netted out to be honest with you. We'd done the burnout, the celebration, I had no clue if we won the owners, it didn't really matter to me." he added

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s driver Sam Meyer has secured a move to Gene Haas' new venture in NASCAR, the Haas Factory Team, where he will pilot the #41 car in the Xfinity Series.