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The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Rockingham Speedway for the first time since 2004 and recorded its second-best TV viewership at 1.053 million.
The Rock was a regular NASCAR stop since its opening in 1965 but was dropped from the Cup and Xfinity schedules after a drop in attendance during the mid-2000s. The oval track hosted two Truck Series races in 2012 and 2013 but sat mostly empty until new ownership made major updates. The renovated facility in Rockingham, North Carolina was also fully booked for Saturday's North Carolina Education Lottery 250.
Sport Business Journal reporter Adam Stern shared the same on X, writing:
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"[The CW] got 1.053 million viewers for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham, meaning all 10 of the opening events of the season topped 1 million. It's the second best viewership for an Xfinity race at Rockingham."
Stern also highlighted in a previous tweet that more than 20,000 fans showed up, with all the grandstands and 45 hospitality suites sold out.
Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace, who leads the all-time series starts at 547, also commented on the broadcast coverage and wrote:
"The [The CW Sports] has been VERY GOOD for [NASCAR] 🏁"
NASCAR partnered with The CW last year to air the last eight Xfinity Series playoff races. The US's fifth major broadcast network began its full show coverage of the series this season and has TV broadcasting rights until 2031.
Adam Alexander currently works as the lap-by-lap announcer for the CW with color commentators Jamie McMurray and Parker Kligerman. Earlier, Fox and NBC used to share the races. Before this season, Fox and NBC used to share the races.
NASCAR Xfinity Series viewership peaked at 1.8 million for 2025 season
So far this year, the NASCAR Xfinity Series viewership peaked at 1.8 million during the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. This was also the biggest audience for an Xfinity race in almost three years. Adam Stern posted on X:
"[The CW] says it drew 1.8 million viewers for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity United Rentals 300, per [Nielsen fast national ratings] fast nationals, the best for a race in that series since spring Talladega 2022 and the most-watched Daytona season opener since 2020."
The United Rentals 300's highest viewership was recorded during the finish at 2.2 million. Overall, the ratings increased by 95% compared to last year's DAYTONA race, which had 0.933 million viewers.
While the viewership has topped one million for the first ten races, The CW has been criticized by fans for not streaming the races on its app. Only the practice and qualifying sessions before the main event are available on The CW app.
The Xfinity Series will move to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Defending series champion Justin Allgaier leads the points standings ahead of the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday (April 26).
