2 weeks Ago By Joshua Mbu
NASCAR's Cup Series viewing figures at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 have been revealed after the Masters dominated the sports TV landscape. 12.99 million viewers tuned in to watch Rory McIlroy pursue and win his first Augusta Green Jacket .
Sports Business Journal said 2.054M viewers watched as Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson dominated Sunday's Cup Series race . However, that decreased from the previous Bristol spring race on over-the-air FOX, which had 3.
809M viewers. Saturday's Xfinity Series race's viewing figures on CW Network have also been released, with 1.001M watching as Larson scooped his first win of the weekend after narrowly missing out on the Truck Series victory on Friday night.
CW Network experienced a 25% increase in viewership compared to the same weekend race last year, and it was the most-watched Bristol race in total viewers since 2017. It was also the first time since 2017 that the first nine Xfinity Series races of the year have hit over 1M total viewers. The Masters provided more twists and turns than Larson's domination for its viewership.
At one point on Sunday, McIlroy looked like blowing his most significant chance of completing the Grand Slam and finally winning the Masters. Sign up to our NASCAR newsletter here. McIlroy was forced into a playoff with Justin Rose, who was close to becoming the second-oldest Masters winner in history behind Jack Nicklaus.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman missed a game-winning putt on the 18th and final hole before sinking his second attempt to force a playoff. McIlroy stayed calm against Rose and won the Green Jacket in three shots to Rose's four on the 18th. The golf superstar's emotions spilled out immediately upon his game-winning putt.
McIlroy dropped to his knees, and the tears flowed. Whether McIlroy would win a Masters in his career had long been a massive talking point in golf every season at Augusta. “It’s [been] very difficult,” McIlroy said.
“I think I’ve carried that burden since August 2014. It’s nearly 11 years. And not just about winning my next major, but the career grand slam.
Trying to join a group of five players to do it, watching a lot of my peers get Green Jackets in the process. Yeah, it’s been difficult. DON'T MISS.
.. “I’ve tried to approach this tournament with the most positive attitude each and every time that I’ve shown up and I think just the sort of cumulative experience that I’ve gained coming back here each and every year, I just feel like I get a little more comfortable with the shots needed.
There’s talking about it and actually doing it. “Today was difficult. I was unbelievably nervous this morning.
Look, it was a heavy weight to carry and thankfully now I don’t have to carry it. That frees me up and I know I’m coming back here every year, which is lovely. “It’s a dream come true.
I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember. There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders.”.
