IndyCar: Delayed Toronto shows ratings gain

The Verizon IndyCar Series may have been dealt a blow by the weather gods in Toronto, but the series still wound up making some positive headway on the ratings front.

Persistent rain forced postponement of Saturday's scheduled race 1 of the Honda Indy Toronto double-header until Sunday morning – and a last-minute switch of TV coverage from NBCSN to CNBC – but the second race, which ran more as less as scheduled on NBCSN, averaged 484,000 viewers, making it NBCSN's most-watched IndyCar race since the 2011 Grand Prix of Baltimore (591,000), according to NBC Sports Group.

Through eight races, NBSCN's coverage of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series has averaged 400,000 viewers, up 46% from the 2013 average viewership (274,000) through eight races.

Meanwhile, Formula 1 remains on CNBC for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, as the Tour de France continues to lock up NBCSN's airtime.

• Racing on TV this weekend