For the first time since March, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup scored an increase in viewership.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race drew 3.8 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 Saturday night, up 10% from last year (3.5M), up 4% from 2013 on Speed Channel (3.7M), and the most-watched edition of the race since 2011 (4.2M).

Denny Hamlin‘s win earned the fourth-largest All-Star Race audience since it moved to Speed Channel/FS1 in 2007, trailing 2011, 2008 (4.2M) and 2009 (4.2M). It was only second All-Star Race since 2008 to have an increase in viewership, along with 2011.

The race also earned the second-largest motorsports audience on FS1 since it rebranded from Speed in 2013, trailing coverage from Martinsville in March (4.1M).

The solid performance was a marked turnaround from previous weeks. Saturday’s telecast was the first NASCAR Sprint Cup telecast to have an increase in viewership in more than a month — since Fontana in March (+3%). Keep in mind three of the races since then have been postponed or delayed due to rain.



(Sat. numbers from Fox Sports)