Fox Sports Reports 136% Viewership Increase in 2025 IndyCar Viewership Over Previous Years

Let’s be real here, when FOX Sports signed that deal to broadcast IndyCar, plenty of folks figured it was just another case of a network throwing money at motorsports, hoping something would stick. Boy, were they wrong.

The numbers don’t lie, and frankly, they’re pretty spectacular. FOX wrapped up its inaugural Indy season with viewership that would make other sports green with envy. We’re talking about a 27% year-over-year bump in ratings, averaging 1.36 million viewers across 17 races. That’s not just good, that’s the kind of growth that makes executives do happy dances in boardrooms.

FOX Sports Delivers What NBC Couldn’t

Here’s where it gets interesting (and a little embarrassing for NBC, if we’re being honest). This marks the most-watched IndyCar season in 17 years. Seventeen! That means we haven’t seen numbers like this since 2008, back when the economy was collapsing and people apparently had nothing better to do than watch cars go really, really fast in circles.

But here’s the kicker, IndyCar recorded the largest audience growth of any sport, averaging at least a million viewers. Take that, all you other sports, trying to figure out why nobody’s watching anymore. While everyone else is scratching their heads about declining viewership, IndyCar and Fox are over here popping champagne and planning their next move.

Eric Shanks, FOX Sports CEO and Executive Producer, couldn’t contain his excitement, saying the following,

“In a season loaded with both massive successes and key learnings, we couldn’t be more excited about the potential we see in the FOX INDYCAR relationship as we close out the 2025 season together.”

The Indy 500 Still Rules Everything

Let’s not kid ourselves, the Indianapolis 500 remains the crown jewel, and FOX Sports absolutely crushed it. The 109th Running pulled in 7.088 million viewers, a whopping 41% increase from 2024. That made it the most-watched Indy 500 in 17 years, which is saying something considering this race has been around since 1911.

But here’s what’s really impressive: it wasn’t just the 500 carrying the load. The season opener in St. Petersburg grabbed 1.418 million viewers, a 14-year high. The Nashville finale? 1.142 million viewers, up 136% from the previous year. These aren’t fluke numbers; this is sustained growth across an entire season.

The Competition Should Be Worried

While other sports are dealing with cord-cutting, streaming wars, and audiences that seem more interested in TikTok than traditional television, the Indy series found a way to grow.  The partnership between FOX and IndyCar proves that when you combine quality racing, excellent promo work, with quality broadcasting, magic happens.

It’s a lesson that other sports organizations should be taking notes on, assuming they can look up from their declining ratings reports long enough to pay attention. What makes this even better is that FOX Sports isn’t treating this as a one-year wonder. Shanks made it clear that “projects already are well underway to keep this momentum going at full speed.” 

Bottom Line: FOX Sports Gets It

The 2025 Indy season on FOX  wasn’t just a success; it was a masterclass in how to grow a sport’s audience without alienating its core fanbase. They proved that IndyCar isn’t just about one Sunday in May; it’s about 17 weekends of genuine excitement that people actually want to watch.

Sure, there’s still work to do. NASCAR still draws bigger crowds, and Formula 1 gets all the Netflix glory. But for the first time in years, IndyCar feels like it’s moving in the right direction, and FOX deserves a massive amount of credit for making that happen.

Sometimes the best partnerships are the ones nobody sees coming. FOX and IndyCar might just be the proof that good things happen when you stop overthinking and start delivering quality content that people actually want to consume.