NASCAR TV ratings hit major milestone with Rockingham success

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Rockingham Speedway this weekend and as much as the event delivered on site, it was equally a success on TV. 1.053 million tuned into Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 on The CW, per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal.

It’s the second-best viewership for an Xfinity race at Rockingham. The CW has to be thrilled, as all 10 Xfinity races have topped 1 million viewers.

Jesse Love took the checkered flag in the first Xfinity race at Rockingham since 2004. But Love was disqualified during post-race inspection after NASCAR found his No. 2 Chevrolet to have a rear suspension violation. Sammy Smith was declared the winner.

Love led 53 of 256 laps at Rockingham. He looked to have secured his third career victory in 43 Xfinity starts and second of the 2025 season. But NASCAR found something wrong during post-race inspection. Richard Childress Racing announced Monday it will appeal the decision.

“At the end of the race, in post-race teardown, the 2 car of Jesse Love for RCR failed post-race inspection,” Eric Peterson, Xfinity Series director, told the media, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “So, the rule that they violated was 14.14.2.I-5.H. So, that’s truck trailing arms, spacers, and pinion angle shims, says the area of that rule. And the way that that rule reads is that all mating surfaces between the truck trailing arms and the u-bolt saddle must be in contact with each other at all times. And unfortunately, that was not the case when we did the teardown on the 2 car and they were disqualified.”

Rockingham executive reveals chances of hosting Cup Series race after revival weekend

But beyond the controversy, the sold-out Xfinity race sparked a new question: Should “The Rock” host a Cup Series race? Rockingham, built in 1965, hosted a Cup race from 1965-2004. Bob Sargent, president and CEO of Track Enterprises, helped NASCAR get the racetrack ready for the return of the Truck and Xfinity Series. He believes the facility is worthy of being back on the Cup schedule.

“Yes, absolutely, with the caveat that NASCAR is a big, worldwide entity, and when you look at dates, there are only so many,” Sargent told Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer. “There are only so many geographic regions and things like that. So, there are many factors that go into when dates get put where. So, it’s not a magic wand. But I feel comfortable, and am not saying anything out of line that, yes, we did everything we needed to do.”