IndyCar ratings drop dramatically after technical issues at Thermal race

According to FOX Sports, the 2025 IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg recorded 1.417 million viewers — marking a 45% increase from the previous year’s NBC broadcast.

However, that momentum failed to carry over to the Thermal circuit — the second race saw a dramatic drop to 704,000 viewers. This decline was attributed to schedule overlap with NASCAR Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a 20-minute technical disruption due to power outage in a production truck.

Weekend racing ratings comparison showed NASCAR’s dominance:

• NASCAR Cup on FS1: 2.464 million viewers
• NASCAR Xfinity on The CW: 1.160 million viewers
• NASCAR Truck on FOX: 906,000 viewers
• Formula 1 Chinese GP on ESPN: 824,000 viewers
• IndyCar Thermal on FOX: 704,000 viewers

The next IndyCar race at Long Beach will face similar challenges — scheduled to overlap 90 minutes after NASCAR Cup race at Bristol begins.