Chicago City Street Race becomes NASCAR's most watched event on NBC Sports in six years

Despite rain showers threatening to shut down the action at the weekend, NASCAR's execution of the first race on the streets of a city was a success. Fans, drivers, first-time viewers, as well as analysts from the fraternity, were positive about the weekend after the event initially was greeted with skepticism from the community.

Fast National data provided by Nielsen also confirmed the Grant Park 220 as one of NBC Sports' and Peacock's most successful NASCAR broadcasts till date. A Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 4.795 million viewers between 6:32-9:45 p.m. ET resulted in the 220-mile-long race being NBC Sports' most-watched Cup Series race since the 2017 event in Indianapolis.

The inaugural event was also the second-most watched race on any network since the 2023 Daytona 500. Breaking numerous other viewership milestones, the Grant Park 220's success was further enhanced by Cup Series debutant Shane van Gisbergen winning on the streets of Windy City.

Despite being delayed and shortened due to inclement weather, the streets of Chicago also were host to NBC Sports' most streamed NASCAR Cup race in history. NBC Sports and Peacock witnessed 163,500 viewers streaming across all its digital platforms.

What are the TV ratings for NASCAR's Chicago City Street Race?

The inaugural Chicago City Street Race not only broke records in terms of viewership on NBC Sports but also managed to have triple the amount of TV ratings as compared to this season's Daytona 500.

With a rating of 9.29 up against 2.99 for the 2023 Daytona on FOX Sports, the newly-launched event seems to have done its job of introducing the sport to a new audience.

Along with the global motorsport world taking notice of the highest echelon of stock car racing, NBC Sports' coverage of the Ally 400 also made headlines. The event prior to this weekend's street race was the broadcaster's most-watched season opener in three years.

The broadcaster's coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series is bound to continue next weekend at a more traditional race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Numbers are expected to be strong for the Quaker State 400 as well, with the Stamford, Connecticut-based broadcasting giant on the rise in terms of popularity with the fans.

The Quaker State 400 goes live next Sunday (July 9) at 7:00 pm ET from the Atlanta Motor Speedway.