In an article last week entitled “Is the Chase Elliott Effect Real? We’re About To Find Out!” I discussed the impact Chase Elliott’s absence in six races last season had on TV viewership and what his return in the first four means for this season.
Simply put, the “Chase Elliott Effect” is fans tuned out when NASCAR’s most popular driver wasn’t in the field and tuned in when he was. It’s a phenomenon seen in other sports, most notably in the PGA-when Tiger Woods played, folks tuned in. When he didn’t, they didn’t.
COTA is the fifth race in the six-race period he missed.
When Chase missed COTA in 2023, FOX lost 602,000 viewers from 2022 for a 16.14% LOSS.
Chase returns in 2024 and brings with him the NETFLIX Doku-series Effect, the @IcyVert Effect, back-to-back SuperSpeedway races, a crashing Daytona finish, a three-way record Atlanta finish, the record setting Bristol race called the “Greatest Short Track Race Ever”, five different winners and more and got back 191,000 of the 602,000 viewers lost the previous year, for an 11.28% LOSS.
This was the largest loss in the five races and the first double digit percentage loss. The massive gain at Atlanta is the only thing keeping the Year To Date numbers close as 2024 still lags 234,000 behind the Effect-less 2022. COTA took a big chunk out of the Atlanta gains-
In a “X“ exchange pointing out these results to a celebrating lead voice of @FOXSports auto racing, Mike Joy, the unimpressed Joy replied:
-11.28% and 421,000 fewer viewers looks a lot like down to me, but then again, I’m only a fan with public education math skills.
How was I to know that -421,000 is up?
But then again this is NASCAR. Where on dirt you turn right to go left.
Disclaimer: The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writers or any other writer on Pure Thunder Racing are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of Pure Thunder Racing. Pure Thunder Racing is not affiliated with NASCAR or any other motorsports sanctioning body in any form
