Phoenix Raceway doubleheader delivers higher IndyCar viewership and mixed NASCAR results on U.S. television

IndyCar’s return to Phoenix posts its strongest Saturday audience in years

Television audiences for motorsport programming from Phoenix Raceway climbed sharply during the March 2026 race weekend, led by IndyCar’s Saturday event, which delivered one of the series’ most-watched Saturday windows in recent history.

The NTT IndyCar Series race, the Good Ranchers 250, averaged 1,247,000 viewers on FOX on Saturday, March 7, 2026. The telecast peaked at 1,468,000 viewers during the final segment between 5:00 p.m. and 5:14 p.m. Eastern Time, coinciding with the closing stages of the race.

The race itself featured 565 on-track passes, a figure cited as a series record for the 1-mile oval configuration at Phoenix. IndyCar’s weekend headline also marked a steep increase versus the last time the series raced at Phoenix in 2018, highlighting how the event’s broadcast performance has shifted since the track last hosted IndyCar.

NASCAR’s Phoenix audiences: down year-over-year for the Cup race, steadier support for the Saturday series

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Phoenix Raceway averaged 2.841 million viewers on FS1 on March 8, 2026. That total represented a modest decline from the comparable Phoenix Cup broadcast in March 2025, which drew about 3.011 million viewers on the same cable network.

On Saturday, NASCAR’s secondary national series telecast from Phoenix averaged 1.159 million viewers on The CW, with a peak of 1.379 million.

• IndyCar (Saturday, March 7): 1.247 million average viewers (FOX)
• NASCAR Cup Series (Sunday, March 8): 2.841 million average viewers (FS1)
• NASCAR Saturday series race: 1.159 million average viewers; 1.379 million peak (The CW)

What the numbers indicate about scheduling and platforms

The Phoenix weekend illustrates how outcomes can differ by series and distribution. IndyCar’s strongest gains were tied to its return to a track absent from its calendar for years, plus a finish that drove a measurable late-race audience peak. NASCAR’s Cup event, meanwhile, remained a multi-million-viewer broadcast but posted a slight year-over-year dip on cable.

Audience peaks clustered around decisive late-race windows, underscoring the importance of competitive finishes in live sports viewership.

The next IndyCar broadcast on FOX is scheduled for Sunday, March 15, 2026, with race coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.