Washington D.C. race garners IndyCar’s best non-Indy 500 rating since 2008 merger
There was a lot of conversation and controversy surrounding IndyCar’s race on the streets of Washington, D.C., this past weekend. There were a lot of people watching at home, too. Fox Sports announced Tuesday that Sunday’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix drew an average of 3.28 million viewers, which would make it the most-watched IndyCar race…
IndyCar's race in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, August 24, 2026, titled the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, attracted an impressive audience, setting a new benchmark for the series. Fox Sports reported that the event garnered an average of 3.28 million viewers, marking it as the most-watched IndyCar race since the Indy 500 since the series transitioned following the 2008 merger.
This figure significantly outstripped the number of viewers for IndyCar's non-Indy 500 races last year, which averaged 867,000, and represented a 364% increase from a similar event last year (708,000 viewers). The success of the race also allowed IndyCar to outshine NASCAR in this regard, drawing more viewers than NASCAR's Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which had an average of 1.79 million viewers.
The strong performance of IndyCar's coverage has averaged 1.875,000 viewers through 15 races, marking a 32% increase from the previous year and 70% from 2024, signifying the best start to an IndyCar season since 2008.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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