"I’m puzzled": Dale Earnhardt Jr. left looking for answers amid NASCAR viewership decline

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently said he can't wrap his head around the viewership drop that NASCAR has gone through in 2023.

The 2023 NASCAR season ended last Sunday, with Ryan Blaney coming out as the Cup Series Championship winner. Not long after, the official viewership figures for the entire season were made public, showing a decline in numbers.

The final race of the season in Phoenix ended on a rather quiet note. With a total viewership of 2.92M, a drop of 9% from the last season was noticeable.

The decline seemed perplexing, especially as the Cup Series finale had enjoyed two seasons of stable audience numbers. Last season's race mirrored the 2021 finale with an audience of 3.214 million.

In fact, the average viewership of the 2023 season has hit a historic low. With a figure of 2.86M throughout the NASCAR Cup Series season, the year 2023 remains the least-watched season of all time. A 5% overall drop-off was calculated in the viewership when compared to last season.

Notably, the inaugural Cup Series race on the streets of Chicago drew 4.79 million viewers, marking NBC's most-watched NASCAR race and the second-most-watched race of the season, behind the Daytona 500 on Fox.

However, many in the motorsports community have been left confused by the declining numbers. Former Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his bewilderment over the recorded figures. He wrote:

"I’m puzzled by the tv numbers because at the track it feels like things are moving in a positive way."

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes the quality of racing was top-notch in 2023

According to Dale Earnhardt Jr., the general excitement among the fanbase was at its peak throughout the season. Highlighting the increase in number of fans attending races, he said (via X):

"Feels like more fans are attending races, feels like there’s more excitement on the property about the event."

Despite the decline in viewership, the 49-year-old driver remains optimistic about the on-track product. Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes that the decline in numbers does not go hand-in-hand with the quality of racing that was produced this season. Sharing his thoughts, he continued:

"And personally my own enjoyment of the races themselves feels like it’s improved."

Although the quality of NASCAR races has been supreme in 2023, the steady decline in average viewership is a sign of concern. Despite the high level of racing not translating to the expected viewer engagement, the NASCAR hierarchy would be hopeful of an increase in the numbers next season.