Bristol Night Race TV Ratings Are Alarming and NASCAR's Latest Move Might Make It Worse

The Bristol Night Race is considered by many fans to be the best race all year. Some have even suggested it's worthy of crown jewel status. In the latest edition on Saturday night, Denny Hamlin won the race and took a shot at the many booing fans in the stands during his post-race interview.

While it was an entertaining race and exchange between the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and those in attendance, it was watched on TV by the smallest audience in years. The television ratings released show a considerable drop-off in viewership numbers from 2022, which suffered an even larger decline from the year before. Over the last three years, there's been a 29% decrease in viewers.

Making matters worse, these numbers are significantly lower than the ratings for the dirt race in the spring. Here's a breakdown and comparison of both the Bristol Dirt Race and Bristol Night Race over the last three years, and why it appears that NASCAR's decision to return to concrete in the spring might have been a mistake.

Video Credits:
NASCAR
NASCAR.com
Fox Sports
NBC Sports

Photo Credits:
Getty Images