NASCAR’s return to Dover Motor Speedway in July 2025 delivered record Xfinity viewership and a drop-off for the Cup Series broadcast on TNT and truTV. While weather delays played a key role in shaping Sunday’s numbers, the Xfinity race marked the series’ strongest Dover showing in nearly a decade.
Key Highlights
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Xfinity race at Dover averaged 1.047 million viewers, most since 2016.
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Viewership up 19% from 2024’s FS1 broadcast.
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NASCAR Cup Series race averaged 2.009 million viewers across TNT and truTV.
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Cup viewership down from last year’s 2.401 million on FS1.
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Rain delay caused a 27% drop in Cup viewership during final hour.
Dover 2025 Cup Viewership
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover averaged 2.009 million viewers across TNT and truTV. While the number remains solid given the network shift, it represents a 16% drop compared to the 2024 event, which aired on FS1 and drew 2.401 million viewers.
A late-race rain delay of nearly an hour had a noticeable impact, with viewership dropping 27% during the interruption. Unlike last year’s April event, which ran uninterrupted, the 2025 edition was pushed to a July slot under NASCAR’s new media rights agreement.
The shift to TNT has been under scrutiny by fans and analysts alike, with some expressing frustration over streaming availability, commercial load, and race pacing. Still, the numbers remain within the expected range for summer coverage, especially given the weather disruption and competition from other sports on Sunday afternoon.
.@TNTdrama + @TruTV got 2.009 million viewers for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race @MonsterMile that wound up being rain delayed for nearly an hour toward the end.
➡️ Viewership dropped 27% during the delay.
➡️ Last year's race was held in April and got 2.401 million on @FS1. pic.twitter.com/Xql64qOwKo
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) July 22, 2025
Cup Recap: Hamlin Wins Again, Elliott Takes Points Lead
On-track, the 2025 Cup Series race at Dover was a battle of patience and strategy. Denny Hamlin earned his fourth win of the season, holding off Chase Elliott in a restart-heavy finish that extended into wet conditions.
The race saw multiple late cautions and featured a rain delay that reshuffled pit strategy. Elliott’s second-place run was enough to give him the regular-season points lead over Ryan Blaney, who struggled and finished 17th.
Notably, Shane van Gisbergen rebounded from an early spin to finish sixth, and Carson Hocevar ran well in the top 10 before falling to 13th on the final restart.
Full Cup Series Finishing Order – Dover 2025
| Fin | Driver | Diff |
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | — |
| 2 | Chase Briscoe | 0.31 |
| 3 | Alex Bowman | 0.409 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson | 0.667 |
| 5 | Ty Gibbs | 1.465 |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 1.497 |
| 7 | Bubba Wallace | 1.655 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | 1.824 |
| 9 | Chris Buescher | 2.006 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2.223 |
| 11 | Kyle Busch | 2.282 |
| 12 | Tyler Reddick | 2.537 |
| 13 | Michael McDowell | 2.746 |
| 14 | Joey Logano | 2.812 |
| 15 | Austin Dillon | 2.886 |
| 16 | Austin Cindric | 3.135 |
| 17 | Justin Haley | 3.156 |
| 18 | Christopher Bell | 3.28 |
| 19 | Ryan Preece | 4.064 |
| 20 | Ty Dillon | 5.992 |
| 21 | John Hunter Nemechek | 1 lap |
| 22 | Zane Smith | 1 lap |
| 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2 laps |
| 24 | Riley Herbst | 2 laps |
| 25 | Todd Gilliland | 2 laps |
| 26 | Daniel Suarez | 3 laps |
| 27 | Erik Jones | 3 laps |
| 28 | Josh Berry | 3 laps |
| 29 | Cole Custer | 4 laps |
| 30 | Shane van Gisbergen | 7 laps |
| 31 | William Byron | Out |
| 32 | Noah Gragson | Out |
| 33 | Ross Chastain | Out |
| 34 | JJ Yeley | Out |
| 35 | Carson Hocevar | Out |
| 36 | Cody Ware | Out |
| 37 | AJ Allmendinger | Out |
Xfinity Recap: Connor Zilisch Keeps Rolling With Shortened Win
Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race saw rising star Connor Zilisch pick up another impressive victory in a race shortened by weather. Zilisch, who has been dominant in recent starts, led a race-high 72 laps before lightning forced an early end.
The event averaged 1.047 million viewers, a 19% increase from last year’s Dover race on FS1 and the most-watched Xfinity event at the track since 2016. Viewership peaked at 1.093 million between 5:30–5:45 p.m. ET, moments before the red flag was issued.
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) July 22, 2025
Despite the abbreviated distance, the race was competitive up front with Zilisch, Cole Custer, and Chandler Smith trading the lead under green. NASCAR called the race official after 143 laps of a scheduled 200.
Full Xfinity Series Finishing Order – Dover 2025
| Pos | # | Driver |
| 1 | 88 | Connor Zilisch |
| 2 | 19 | Aric Almirola |
| 3 | 20 | Brandon Jones |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier |
| 5 | 2 | Jesse Love |
| 6 | 39 | Ryan Sieg |
| 7 | 54 | Taylor Gray |
| 8 | 0 | Sheldon Creed |
| 9 | 18 |
William Sawalich
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| 10 | 16 | Christian Eckes |
| 11 | 25 | Harrison Burton |
| 12 | 41 | Sam Mayer |
| 13 | 21 | Austin Hill |
| 14 | 99 |
Matt DiBenedetto
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| 15 | 1 | Carson Kvapil |
| 16 | 26 |
Dean Thompson
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| 17 | 17 | Jake Finch |
| 18 | 24 | Ryan Truex |
| 19 | 4 | Parker Retzlaff |
| 20 | 27 | Jeb Burton |
| 21 | 10 | Daniel Dye |
| 22 | 32 | Rajah Caruth |
| 23 | 42 | Anthony Alfredo |
| 24 | 8 | Sammy Smith |
| 25 | 44 | Brennan Poole |
| 26 | 51 |
Jeremy Clements
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| 27 | 11 | Josh Williams |
| 28 | 45 | Lavar Scott |
| 29 | 70 |
Leland Honeyman
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| 30 | 71 | Ryan Ellis |
| 31 | 5 | Kaz Grala |
| 32 | 31 | Blaine Perkins |
| 33 | 7 | Nick Leitz |
| 34 | 91 | Josh Bilicki |
| 35 | 14 | Garrett Smithley |
| 36 | 28 | Kyle Sieg |
| 37 | 48 | Nick Sanchez |
| 38 | 9 | Ross Chastain |
News in Brief: NASCAR 2025 Dover Viewership
Dover’s 2025 NASCAR weekend delivered strong storylines but mixed television results. The Cup Series held its viewership above three million with Denny Hamlin’s 58th career win, while the Xfinity Series saw a drop due to a rain-shortened race. Connor Zilisch continued his breakout year with a fourth victory, and Chase Elliott took the Cup points lead from William Byron. Both races advanced key names in the In-Season Challenge, and attention now turns to next week’s events as networks prepare for the final stretch of regular-season NASCAR coverage.
ALSO READ: Throwback: The Epic 2006 Dover Duel Between Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Who won NASCAR Dover in 2025?
A. Denny Hamlin edges out Chase Briscoe in double overtime to win at Dover
Q. Who won stage 1 at Dover?
A. Chase Elliott fended off Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin to secure the opening stage win at Dover.
