Oscar Meyer’s second annual Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a success both at the track and as a television draw. The two-lap, five-mile race won by New York Dog received 781,000 viewers on Fox.
Last year, the Carb Day phenomenon was only available to watch on the Fox Sports app, where it received 85,000 viewers. In January, Fox announced that this year’s race would be broadcast on its network channel, leading to a successful TV draw.
The Wienie 500 was watched by more people than the Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS road course on May 9. Just 656,000 viewers watched the Sonsio Grand Prix on Fox, which was the worst viewership of IndyCar’s seven races thus far. The low rating for the Sonsio Grand Prix follows a continued trend of the race leading into the Indianapolis 500 being a poor TV draw.
The last race, of any kind, people got to see at IMS before Felix Rosenqvist won the Indy 500 was the Wienie 500, which had many captivated by their screens after Carb Day practice.
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Wienie 500 draws more viewers than Sonsio Grand Prix in first year on Fox
Reporting by Zion Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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