RICHMOND, Va. — More is often always better, especially when it comes to racing: wins, points, resources on pit road, but what about the number of races in a single day? Beginning in 2020 with the spread of COVID-19, that’s when NASCAR began scheduling doubleheaders on a more frequent basis. Since then, they’ve played a more prominent role throughout each national series, and the idea of them sticking around next year must be taken into considerations with normalcy — hopefully — on the horizon.
The definition of a doubleheader can be broken down into two meanings. The first being what NASCAR advertised before the pandemic: back-to-back days of racing at Pocono Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series. What flew under the radar in the initial plan for the weekend-long event were the single-day doubles between the developmental series and premier level.
This is important to note because the level of competition on display throughout the NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series in the last 3-5 years has often superseded that of the Cup Series. The reality is, much like Cup, the two developmental series have undergone a drastic identity change. The rising talent in the sport’s lower ranks deserves as much exposure as they can get, as much as the sanctioning body needs it.
The Cup Series took a hit in ratings and viewership over the last five years when superstars like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped away from racing. Many cited the fast-tracked “youth movement” as an early demise, but it shouldn’t have to be that way.
The casual NASCAR fan will typically tune in Sunday for the main event, having to get acquainted with new names via the incoming rookie class. If the sanctioning body were to schedule more single-day doubleheaders between different series, could that instill more recognition towards these developmental ranks and the drivers competing within them?
“I think it’s good when we’re running all the series in one day,” Jeb Burton told The Circuit Journal. “It gives the fans more of an opportunity to see everybody, and from there, you get to watch multiple different races.”
There’s been a fair sample size of single-day doubleheaders in 2021 to work with; six total days with three Xfinity and three Truck Series events taking place on the same day as Cup. While certain variables may have affected the nature of these events, it makes for a fair analysis nonetheless.
Per Sports Business Daily and Sports Media Watch, it appears as if having the developmental series paired with the premier level provides minor positive fluctuations to ratings and viewership.
The Xfinity Series saw an increase in viewership at Martinsville Speedway, even after being heavily impacted by outside variables. The race was intended to be held on April 9 as a stand-alone event and had an 0.42-rating and 707,000 viewers, but inclement weather suspended the action, and it concluded on April 11 before the Cup race.
This ended up working in the series’ favor, as ratings increased to .55 and viewership jumped to 886,000, compared to a .25-rating and 425,000 estimated viewers in 2020. The Truck Series also saw positive gains between the doubleheaders at Darlington Raceway and Pocono.
“[The Xfinity Series has] got a tremendous fanbase,” Joe Graf Jr. told The Circuit Journal. “The Xfinity and Truck Series do an awesome job, and it’s great when we can feed off of the Cup Series. “I think a lot of people enjoy more racing. I’m always for more races on the same day, but really, it’s whatever the fans want.”
It hasn’t been all positive, but it hasn’t been awful either. The biggest divide NASCAR sustained in viewership for a doubleheader came August 28 at Daytona International Speedway between the Xfinity and Cup Series. The 0.43-rating and 670,000 viewers were the .53 and 876,000 from that race last year. They were also down from the season-opener at Daytona, which posted a .91-rating and 1.6 million viewers.
These results are partially skewed, as this wasn’t a manufactured single-day doubleheader. NASCAR suspended this race the day prior due to rain, and the numbers only account for the rating on the 28th. However, the same occurred with the race at Martinsville, and the series saw an increase in its numbers.
As for the other doubleheader not mentioned, it was the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt event, which there were no numbers to compare. The 0.40-rating and 618,000 viewers were fairly average for the Truck Series season as a whole.
In terms of attendance at each track, these numbers weren’t considered due to the varying COVID-19 restrictions at each venue. It should be noted that having these developmental series events leading up to the premier level serves as a nice appetizer for what’s to come for the main course. IndyCar and Formula 1 do it with their lower levels, so why not NASCAR?
In the end, there were no drastic variations in the numbers to advocate or dismiss the idea of NASCAR scheduling more doubleheaders in the future. Truthfully, it could be a moot point with practice and qualifying making a return in 2022, but there certainly are ways it could be worked out to plan more in the future.
