{"id":1535235,"date":"2022-10-26T11:58:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T15:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1535235"},"modified":"2022-10-26T11:58:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T15:58:54","slug":"nascar-head-to-head-f1-last-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/nascar-head-to-head-f1-last-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Went Head-to-Head With F1 Last Weekend and Proved Rumors of the American-Based Sport's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASCAR<\/a>, its drivers, and its fans have all heard that buzzing sound for the last year. It's the sound of fast-approaching F1 cars and their throngs of international fans attending races and watching on television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This past weekend with the U.S. Grand Prix<\/a> being held at Circuit of the Americas<\/a> and starting around the same time as the Cup Series race in Miami, it provided a good measuring stick between the two racing series to see how they stack up against each other. The numbers are in. And, despite what some might want you to believe, NASCAR is doing just fine.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR feeling pressure from F1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"NASCAR
NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 23, 2022. | Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Drive to Survive<\/em>\u00a0docuseries on Netflix has unsurprisingly resulted in a massive surge in the popularity of F1 in the United States. Last year, a record-setting 400,000 fans showed up for the three-day event in Austin. Even NASCAR's most popular driver admitted before last year's race at COTA that he was more interested in watching the series than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It's super fun to watch, and they've got a lot of traction right now,” Chase Elliott, who attended an F1 race in Belgium in 2017, said. “I don't know if that is just because of the Netflix series or what exactly it is that has driven some of that at least here in the United States. Obviously, they have a super interesting dynamic with how the TV broadcasts work, and ESPN getting those rights and being able to show that here in the U.S. I feel like that probably has a little bit to do with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They've done a good job. I feel like they talk about the right things on their TV broadcasts, and the racing has been really good in my opinion this year. Obviously, a great battle with (title contenders) Lewis (Hamilton) and Max (Verstappen). I don't know what's led to it, but whatever started that process of those right decisions. Maybe luck of the draw of having some great racing this year with some extra eyeballs kind of at the same time \u2014 a right sequence of events for them. But they've got a good thing going.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASCAR beats F1 in television ratings <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

Motorsports viewership last weekend:

1) NASCAR (@NBC<\/a>): 1.42 rating, 2.311 million viewers
2) F1 (@ABCNetwork<\/a>) 0.64, 1.113 million

\ud83d\udd32 But the F1 number from @ShowBuzzDaily<\/a> includes the pre-race show, which lowers the average; ESPN will release a race-specific number later today. pic.twitter.com\/aL8X0WeN7s<\/a><\/p>— Adam Stern (@A_S12) October 25, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>