UPDATE: Final viewership numbers show a 23-percent gain in fans who tuned in to the Rolex 24, with an average of 254,000 viewers, up from 206,000 last year according to Nielsen Media Research. It’s also a gain of more than 20 percent over 2016 (212,000 viewers.) More information can be found here.

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Preliminary numbers show a drop in ratings for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s season opener from a year ago. 

The start of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on FOX drew a 0.43 rating and averaged 606,000 viewers. The Sunday broadcast on FS1 (starting at 10:30 a.m.) drew a 0.22 rating and averaged 324,000 viewers. That’s down from 2017 when, possibly helped by Jeff Gordon’s participation, the opening stage on FOX scored a 0.50 household rating and averaged 714,000 viewers, up from a best of 0.29/431,000 for the event in 2016 on FOX Sports 1. The FS1 portions of 2017’s race also beat 2016, with a 0.32 rating and 516,000 viewers tuning in for the finish on the cable network Sunday afternoon.

Monster Energy Supercross registered a 0.19 and averaged 338,000 viewers Saturday night on FS1. FOX Sports PR cites a 23 percent increase over 2017, when it averaged 275,000 viewers.