While the grid of 20 Formula 1 drivers was preparing to begin the debut Miami GP on May 8, NASCAR’s finest were starting their engines in Darlington, South Carolina, ahead of this year’s edition of the Goodyear 400. The races each began at 3:30 p.m. EST, with the open-wheel spectacle through the streets of South Beach airing on ABC while FOX Sports 1 broadcast coverage from the “Track Too Tough to Tame.”
Early May 2022 offered a wide array of broadcast content within the sports realm and beyond. It marked the beginning of the National Hockey League Playoffs and coincided with the second round of the National Basketball Association’s postseason, as Major League Baseball teams were finally finding their rhythm. But beyond that, racing fans were forced to juggle family responsibilities with their motorsport appetite, as the pair of high-profile races fell on Mother’s Day.
In an effort to build a profile of fans passionate about the parallel leagues, we took a comprehensive look at their viewership habits over the course of a week. In addition to gathering audience totals and designated market area breakdowns for the Miami GP and Goodyear 400, we compiled program logs for every viewer who tuned into either race. Beginning three days prior to race day and continuing for three ensuing days, we compiled a list of every other program these racing fans watched and categorized them by genre to identify trends.
Formula 1 fandom in the U.S. has risen exponentially in recent years, and that enthusiasm was on display for the circuit’s first Florida foray. The Miami Grand Prix drew 4.9 million household viewers on ABC, which was airing its first race of the season after ESPN broadcast the opening four F1 stages of 2022. Meanwhile, FOX Sports 1 attracted an audience of 2.46 million for its coverage of the Goodyear 400, despite a broadcast window that was 90 minutes longer.
Although some fans have strong preferences, a subset of the motorsports community is interested in both F1 and NASCAR. For the overlapping races on May 8, ABC and FS1 were vying for the undivided attention of that group, which numbered 342,511. The figure represented 7% of ABC’s total viewers for the Miami GP or 13.9% of the audience on FOX Sports 1 for the Goodyear 400.
Relative to NASCAR, Formula 1’s events are more akin to a middle-distance race than a marathon. The analogy rang true for the showcases in our study, as the Miami GP featured a total distance of 191.585 miles – less than half the 400-mile total for the NASCAR race in Darlington. Potentially due to its brevity, the Miami Grand Prix’s viewers watched 70% of the race, on average. Conversely, Goodyear 400 viewers only tuned in for 55% of its coverage. In total, however, this equates to an average viewership duration of 84 minutes on ABC and 115 minutes on FS1.
F1’s audience jumped by 134K as the race began. The exhilarating opening ten laps featured several overtaking maneuvers between rival teams Red Bull and Ferrari as Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fought for first place. Verstappen comfortably secured the lead in lap 10, followed by Leclerc, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Sergio Perez, respectively.
Over the next 30 laps, the top four remained unchanged and each began to create separation from his next closest pursuant. With the race seemingly decided, 206K viewers discontinued watching before Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris made contact. As Norris crashed in Lap 41, the stage was set for a thrilling finish.
During the first hour of the 2022 Goodyear 400, FS1’s audience gradually increased by 406K viewers. Despite Kyle Larson taking the lead from pole-sitter Joey Logano within the first three laps, the No. 22 Ford Mustang surged back to the front after a restart in Lap 8. Logano held his position for 24 laps.
After a virtual safety car was implemented while stewards removed debris from the circuit, the field was once again tight for the final 11 laps. In the home stretch, 36K viewers returned to watch Leclerc challenge Verstappen for the lead. However, last year’s F1 champion held on for the checkered flag. Sainz also achieved a podium finish in third place.
The second hour of the Goodyear 400 coincided with the conclusion of F1’s Miami GP, and it added another 87K viewers over the span. Kyle Larson spun and dropped out of the lead pack in Lap 56, paving the way for Joey Logano to win Stage 1 of the race with a 0.406-second lead over Ross Chastain. It was Logano’s first stage win of the year and first-ever at Darlington.
Following the chequered flag, viewership on ABC dropped precipitously. A total of 362K viewers eschewed post-race coverage in favor of alternative programming while Verstappen and his team reveled in their triumph.
Although Stage 2 began relatively cleanly – with no caution flags until Lap 168 when Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch connected – viewership increased by 33K during the race’s penultimate hour. Ross Chastain would go on to win Stage 2 and hold a 0.973-second lead over Martin Truex Jr.
The Goodyear 400’s exciting finish drew an additional 251K viewers. After Chastain crashed out in Lap 196, an ensuing wreck in turn 2 of Lap 162 wreaked havoc for nine more drivers. William Byron took the lead during a restart and maintained it for 23 laps, but Logano pipped him in Lap 292 and held on for his first victory of the 2022 season.
While the cars and strategies are different, the goal is still the same: celebrate in Victory Lane. On May 8, Max Verstappen of F1’s Red Bull Racing and Joey Logano from NASCAR’s Team Penske did just that. Ebbs and flows from the simultaneous races, however, affected viewership figures before the checkered – or chequered, for Formula 1 – flags were waved. Our ensuing interactive viewership timeline enables you to explore which programs viewers watched immediately before and after tuning in to race coverage. Where viewership increases, our chart reveals the most popular preceding shows among fans. Conversely, viewership distributions coinciding with decreasing race audiences show what fans watched after leaving motorsports coverage.
Although Formula 1 and NASCAR each fall under the motorsports umbrella, the leagues are distinctive in their formats and appeal, among other traits. We endeavored to determine how dissimilar their U.S.-based supporters are by using MVP’s broadcast platform to create a profile of the average racing fan during the seven days ending May 11. Our examination involved poring over a wealth of data related to the programs – categorized by genre and subgenre – each of the millions of racing fans watched throughout the period.
Racing fans exist in every pocket of the U.S., but regional differences emerge between Formula 1 and NASCAR fans. The map below highlights how each league performs relative to market share throughout the country. Due to an audience difference between the races of more than 2.43 million viewers, we standardized DMA viewership as a percentage of the total to highlight local allegiances. A -2.59% difference in Philadelphia indicates viewership for the Goodyear 400 was 2.59% higher by share than the area’s Miami GP audience, while nearly the inverse was true in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, which experienced a 2.32% swing toward Formula 1 on May 8. The deepest red areas demonstrated a strong affinity for the stock car circuit, while blue markers show an elevated interest in F1.
We used MVP’s broadcast platform to closely examine viewership habits for all Goodyear 400 and Miami GP viewers during the surrounding week. Coincidentally, each subset of fans had the same top three program categories during the period: News, Sports, and Reality TV. The most prevalent category overall was News, which comprised 29% of F1 fans’ other programming choices and 22% of programs viewed by NASCAR followers. Other significant categories for each group included Comedy, Drama, Documentary, and Talk Shows.
No category of programming commanded more attention from motorsports fans than News. As a result, we endeavored to identify granular viewership habits for each fan base by examining which programs and channels they watched the most. Using a commonly accepted media bias chart, we found 42% of NASCAR fans that week watched conservative programming, compared to only 17% of F1 fans. Neutral programming accounted for 39% of F1 fans’ news viewership and only 27% of NASCAR fans’ selections, while progressive programming shared similar shares. For purposes of this report, all local programming was considered neutral.
No category of programming commanded more attention from motorsports fans than News. As a result, we endeavored to identify granular viewership habits for each fan base by examining which programs and channels they watched the most. Using a commonly accepted media bias chart, we found 42% of NASCAR fans that week watched conservative programming, compared to only 17% of F1 fans. Neutral programming accounted for 39% of F1 fans’ news viewership and only 27% of NASCAR fans’ selections, while progressive programming shared similar shares. For purposes of this report, all local programming was considered neutral.
Our interactive bubble chart below details every program NASCAR and F1 fans watched over the course of MVP’s study and highlights percentages of their audiences who tuned in for each. In addition to surveying the News, Reality TV, and Sports subcategories by network and program, we encourage you to explore what motorsports fans watched across the drama, comedy, and talk show spectrums, among more than a dozen others.
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