Rain delays dampen TV viewership for IndyCar's Milwaukee doubleheader

The rain that pushed Saturday’s Snap-On Milwaukee Race 1 on FOX to late Sunday on FOX Sports 1 had an expected impact on the race’s viewership figures, with an average of 509,000 people watching the network broadcast.

With its continuation the next day on cable, the finale on FS1 generated an average audience of 309,000 viewers, which ranks as the smallest of the season. Together, the pair of broadcasts combined to amass 818,000 viewers.

Sunday’s Race 2 on FOX, which carried the hopes of the series and its TV partner to retain much of the big audience of 3.2 million viewers from the previous Sunday’s grand Freedom 250 broadcast, averaged 950,000 viewers. Race 2 peaked from 3-3:15pm ET with 1,181,000 viewers as Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward won, and went on to win again a few hours later when Race 1 was completed.

Through 17 of 18 races, FOX is averaging 1,731,000 viewers per race, which is up 27 percent from 2025’s full calendar of 17 races that averaged 1,362,000 viewers.In 2025, five of FOX’s 17 broadcasts delivered more than 1 million viewers. After 17 races in 2026, nine races have exceeded 1 million viewers.