NASCAR Cup race at Iowa garners 2.17M viewers, down from last year’s 2.69M

NASCAR Insider Adam Stern reported a drop in viewership for this year’s Iowa Corn 350, which drew 2.17 million viewers. That's roughly 500,000 fewer than the inaugural race last year, though it was reportedly the most-watched sports event of the weekend.

The recently concluded 350-lapper at Iowa Speedway saw William Byron win his second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. He took the checkered flag ahead of pole-sitter Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski, who won the first and second stages.

One notable sports event from last weekend was the MLB Speedway Classic, a regular-season game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds held at Bristol Motor Speedway. It marked the first Major League Baseball game ever played in the state of Tennessee.

Stern posted the viewership report from Iowa Speedway on X and wrote:

“@USANetwork got 2.174 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR race at Iowa, down from 2.693 million for the inaugural Cup event there last year in mid-June, but still good enough to be the most-watched sport event of the weekend.”

NBC, along with its subsidiary USA Network, took over broadcasting duties for the NASCAR Cup Series starting at Iowa Speedway and will carry coverage through the remainder of the season. Thirteen races remain on the calendar, leading to the championship race at Phoenix Raceway in November.

Up next is 90 laps of road course racing at Watkins Glen International this weekend. Chris Buescher returns as the defending champion after beating Shane van Gisbergen in a neck-and-neck finish on the 2.45-mile circuit last year.

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“Our confidence in each other never wavered”: William Byron after winning NASCAR's stop at Iowa

Although William Byron had repeatedly fallen short of returning to victory lane in the recent races leading up to Iowa, he remained optimistic alongside the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. He believed the car had consistently shown speed, which had helped keep the team confident week after week.

Byron, who won the season-opening Daytona 500, ran out of fuel at Michigan and Indianapolis, preventing him from scoring good results. He also experienced a fuel shortage at Iowa Speedway but managed to bring it home for his second victory of the 2025 season.

In a post-race interview with USA's Marty Snider, the now 15-time Cup race winner said:

“We've had our fair share of things not go our way with fuel mileage, and just super thankful for Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), all these guys, all the engineers back at the shop... just this whole race team. We've been through a lot this year.”

After Byron was asked about the state of the #24 NASCAR team before winning in Newton, Iowa, he responded by saying:

“Our confidence in each other never wavered. I feel like our speed's been better than it's ever been, and that's a big reason why we stay confident. I feel like every week we work really hard together and show up prepared, show up fast.”

William Byron won the 2025 Iowa Corn 350 - Source: Imagn

William Byron's victory at Iowa allowed him to reclaim the top seed from teammate Chase Elliott. The regular season champion earns 15 bonus playoff points, which can be crucial for advancing through the postseason rounds.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee