Imagine the electric buzz of drag racing finally grabbing the spotlight it’s long deserved – but wait, is this triumph as sweet as it seems, especially when it comes at the expense of a longtime rival? That's the juicy drama unfolding in the world of motorsports, where NHRA's recent TV ratings victory has everyone talking. But here's where it gets controversial: Was this a genuine win, or just a stroke of luck that might not hold up under scrutiny? Let's dive in and unpack this thrilling – and divisive – story.
First off, for those new to the scene, NHRA stands for the National Hot Rod Association, the governing body behind high-speed drag racing events. Their executives are understandably pumped about a ratings milestone from the Texas Fall Nationals, held at Texas Motorplex on Sunday, October 12. This event, part of the 'Stampede of Speed' series, drew an incredible 2.065 million viewers on FOX during its broadcast – the highest in NHRA's 74-year history. When you factor in the entire event, that number balloons to 3.631 million viewers, setting a new record for the sport. Even more impressively, it was the first time a single NHRA broadcast cracked the two-million-viewer mark. To put this in perspective for beginners, think of it like a niche hobby suddenly outperforming a mainstream favorite in terms of audience attention – it's rare and exciting!
These figures come hot on the heels of the most-watched live US Nationals ever, held in early September during Labor Day weekend at Indianapolis. That classic event pulled in 1.036 million viewers, marking its biggest audience on FOX for a non-NFL-adjacent telecast since 2017. But here's the kicker: preliminary data shows NHRA got a huge boost from a massive NFL lead-in – the Dallas Cowboys versus Carolina Panthers game, which attracted 7.2 million viewers. This pushed NHRA's telecast to 1.872 million watchers, easily outpacing NASCAR's 1.717 million for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on USA Network. For context, NASCAR has split its races across multiple broadcasters this year, making it tougher for casual fans to tune in consistently.
And this is the part most people miss: While NHRA fans are celebrating, veteran voices are questioning the sustainability of this success. Take former NASCAR driver and media personality Kenny Wallace, who's a big NHRA supporter himself. He bluntly said it 'shocked everybody,' adding, 'It does make people say, “What the [expletive]?!” Even NHRA people did it.' But Wallace, being honest, pointed out that NHRA 'got a little lucky, and we all know it. Let’s be honest.' He was zeroing in on the NFL game airing right before – a prime-time slot that gave NHRA an unfair advantage, in his view. Now, drag-racing enthusiasts might shrug this off, arguing they've been sidelined for years by football and other sports in TV scheduling. NHRA often got stuck with terrible time slots, so this win feels like a well-deserved victory lap.
Yet, here's where controversy really heats up: If NHRA's success was partly due to luck, as Wallace suggests, does that diminish the achievement? And for those cheering extra hard because it overshadowed NASCAR – especially given how the NFL's schedule has long frustrated NASCAR fans – journalist Chris Deeley from online outlet GP Fans offered a sharp take. He highlighted NASCAR's ongoing viewership decline, blaming the $7.7 billion TV deal that fragmented races across four networks, with TruTV handling much of the practice and qualifying. This scattershot approach, Deeley argues, makes it nearly impossible for casual fans to track where races air, unlike the streamlined viewing experience of the past.
Digging deeper, NHRA faced similar fragmentation issues in the 1990s but smartly consolidated its broadcasts, boosting visibility. Doug Foley, a seasoned NHRA Top Fuel veteran and team owner, echoed this during the Texas Fall Nationals near Dallas, just before the numbers came in. Foley emphasized how modern audiences crave 'instant gratification' – something drag racing excels at with its quick, exciting runs. But he warned that social media often spoils race outcomes before broadcasts even air, potentially hurting viewership. 'On social media, they can find out before it airs who won the race,' he noted, tying into his broader critique.
Now, Foley didn't hold back on NASCAR: 'I think they made the dumbest move they ever could make. [They] just scattered that TV program to 12 channels that Doug Foley couldn’t find if he wanted to.' He even joked about being an Amazon Prime member (thanks to frequent deliveries) but admitted he rarely watches it. Foley's plea: 'Put it on Fox. Put it on ABC. They could put it out to the best bidder. All they did was screw their TV time, which is what we as a team owner have to justify [to potential sponsors] why our TV numbers are down.' As an example, he explained how fragmented broadcasts confuse viewers and complicate sponsorship deals, where teams need strong ratings to prove the value of advertising investments.
For Foley, the stakes are personal – he's negotiating partnerships and worries about the future TV package. 'I don’t know what [the NHRA is] negotiating for next year. Independent teams are never privy to that information. They don’t include any of that stuff with us, which is a mistake,' he said. He linked this to a troubling trend: fewer cars on the track due to funding shortages from sponsors who demand high impressions. 'If there were sponsors out here, there’d be a million cars,' Foley speculated, but without solid TV numbers, it's hard to attract big money. To illustrate, he suggested teams might need five or six sponsors each to make ends meet, and even then, quantifying a $5 million investment's value – like through metrics from analyst Joyce Julius – becomes challenging. 'We have to get together and we have to all work. FOX is doing a good job, and everybody’s doing a good job. And NHRA is broadcasting a good product, but at the same time you have to look at the numbers. The numbers have to make sense,' Foley urged, calling for collaboration to sustain the sport.
So, were last weekend's ratings for NHRA a fluke or the start of something bigger? Perhaps they're sustainable, but only time will tell. One thing's for sure: They brought joy to the entire drag-racing community.
To wrap up, this clash between NHRA's lucky break and NASCAR's strategic missteps raises bigger questions about motorsports' future in a fragmented media landscape. Do you side with Wallace, seeing NHRA's win as pure fortune, or do you believe it's a sign of drag racing's growing appeal? Is NASCAR's TV deal a disastrous choice, or could it evolve into something innovative? And for NHRA, will consolidating broadcasts keep the momentum, or does the sport need to adapt to social media's instant updates? Share your opinions in the comments – let's debate whether this is a rivalry worth watching!
Susan Wade has called the Seattle area home for 40 years, but her passion for motorsports stems from her Indianapolis roots. With nearly 30 seasons covering races, she's become a trailblazing drag-racing journalist, specializing in the human stories behind the speed. As the first non-NASCAR winner of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award, she's written for outlets like the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times, and has been a freelance contributor to Autoweek since 2016.
