The IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix was a historic event that made TV history.
The race scored the highest ratings for any IndyCar race, other than the Indy 500, since before the IRL-CART merger in 2008. According to Fox Sports, the race averaged 3,282,000 viewers and saw a peak of 3,482,000 about an hour and a half after the start.
UPDATE: IndyCar has confirmed that the TV ratings were the highest of any non-Indy 500 since the 1995 season. The race and its lead-up also generated $2 billion in “advertising value equivalency” based on the amount of earned media coverage it recieved, which is an all-time record for IndyCar, including Indy 500s.
The race benefited from a pretty good bump in the form of President Trump taking part in the opening ceremonies by doing a parade lap in the presidential limousine and waving the green flag for TV. However, the record viewership suggests viewers stayed around long after the president was finished to watch Kyle Kirkwood dominate the race and grab his second win of the season.
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IndyCar and Fox will be hoping to keep the momentum going as the series heads to the Milwaukee Mile for back-to-back races on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 and then on to Laguna Seca for the season finale on Sept. 6.
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