The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series enjoyed its most-watched weekend of Countdown to the Championship telecasts in the NHRA on FOX era, as more than 2.1 million viewers tuned in to original airings of last weekend’s 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.

A total of 1.504 million viewers tuned into the NHRA on FOX broadcast of Sunday’s eliminations coverage at Maple Grove Raceway.

The final hour of the broadcast on Sunday also averaged a higher viewership than the final hour of last year’s NFL adjacent broadcast, with viewership increasing eight percent over last year for the full second hour and more than 25 percent for the final quarter-hour.

“These viewership milestones don’t occur without the full support of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series teams and racers, our track partners, which includes the Koretsky family at Maple Grove Raceway, and the hard-working men and women who support the event on-site, including facility staff, the NHRA Safety Safari and the NHRA on FOX production team,” NHRA Vice President of Broadcast Steve Reintjes said.

“I was thrilled to see our strong audience retention throughout the NHRA on FOX Sunday Finals broadcast, as the final hour of coverage significantly out-paced our record-setting show of 2022.”

Qualifying shows on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) from Maple Grove Raceway last weekend were also up more than 100 percent over last year’s broadcasts, giving the NHRA further momentum heading into this weekend’s Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte.

The final five races of the 2023 season in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will be broadcast on FS1, including eliminations coverage starting at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 24 from Charlotte. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.