Broadcasts Attract 23% Gain Over 2025, 57% Hike Over 2024

FOX Sports announced Sept. 11 its blistering momentum with the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, averaging 1,681,000 viewers per race, an increase of 23 percent over last year’s full-season average (1,362,000 for 17 races), according to Nielsen Media Research.

The ratings also increased by 57% vs. 2024’s full-season average on NBC (1,073,000 for 16 races), good for the best viewership since 2008. Additionally, FOX INDYCAR scored nine races with at least 1 million viewers, the most since 2008 (10).

Highlights among the events broadcast by FOX were the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 (6,635,000 viewers), the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. (3,282,000), and the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America (1,803,000).

Fast Start, New Events Highlight 2026 Coverage

The FOX INDYCAR season got off the starting line with a stronger schedule than in 2025, slotting in three consecutive races -- and four total – in March, including a doubleheader with NASCAR in Phoenix with the Good Ranchers 250 (1,247,000 viewers) and the debut of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (1,336,000 viewers), teaming with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers on the world-class, Texas-sized event.

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. added a tentpole event of epic proportion in August, with the FOX audience peaking at nearly 3.5 million viewers and delivering media coverage from around the world. The race was the most-watched non-Indianapolis 500 INDYCAR SERIES event since 1995.

Key Demos Continue To Grow

FOX INDYCAR coverage saw a second consecutive year of growth in the coveted P18-49 audience demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The 2026 season finished up 10% vs. 2025 (341,000 vs. 310,000) and up 66% vs. 2024 (205,000). Also in 2026, P25-54 was up 15% vs. last year (412,000 vs. 358,000) and up 63% vs. 2024 (253,000).

Digital Coverage Also Popular

“ALL IN: INDYCAR,” the real-time, season-long documentary series produced by FOX Sports, INDYCAR and Shadow Lion, the critically acclaimed creative studio co-founded by Tom Brady, scored more than 6 million views on YouTube in its first season, averaging nearly 500,000 viewers an episode. The series has been confirmed for a second season in 2027.

Also in 2026, the debut season of “SPEED WITH HARVICK AND BUXTON FUELED BY POET” amassed more than 100 million views on FOX Sports social and digital platforms, making it the fastest ever to hit that mark on FOX Sports platforms. The original digital program also eclipsed 200,000 followers across FOX Sports social and digital platforms.

In August, FOX Sports Digital delivered full coverage of the Freedom 250 across social and editorial, which ranked as the most-viewed non-Indianapolis 500 race week of the INDYCAR SERIES season on social (21 million views) and the highest time spent reading on editorial (5:31).

INDY NXT by Firestone Also Grows Double Digits

The INDY NXT by Firestone season averaged 127,000 viewers (17 races on FS1/FS2), up 14% vs. last year's full-season average (111,000 viewers for 14 races), according to Nielsen Media Research.

The top-three highest-viewership races were Mid-Ohio 1 with 250,000 viewers (July 4), Barber 1 with 191,000 (March 28) and Arlington with 176,000 (March 15).