NASCAR chases after holiday TV audience
But some unhappy to lose weekend off, race on Catholic holy day
Kevin Harvick was on his annual family beach vacation when he was forced to cut it short early by three days to return to work for the first time in his career on Easter Sunday.
NASCAR since its 1949 inaugural season deliberately used Easter as an off weekend — often the first natural break in a 38-race season — and industry personnel slotted that week for a rare vacation. Weather-related rescheduling actually led to 10 races on Easter over the years, most recently in 1989 when a snowstorm forced a scheduling change, but NASCAR never deliberately chose the date. Until this year. NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy, great-grandson of NASCAR’s founder, worked with Fox to schedule the second Cup Series race on dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway for Sunday night under the lights in a bid to attract a larger TV audience.
“When you think about all the other sports leagues with NFL on Thanksgiving, NBA on Christmas, this is our opportunity to run on Easter Sunday and drive a lot of momentum for our fans that are watching at home,” Kennedy said when the race was announced. “We put a lot of consideration into family time. Having it later in the day, and on primetime on Sunday, we want to make sure that for fans, families, team members, drivers, that they have the opportunity to celebrate earlier on in the day.”
But as Harvick returned from the beach earlier than planned, he warned the decision to race Sunday better have a monstrous payoff. In scheduling Bristol for Easter, NASCAR stripped the premier Cup Series of all but one off weekend spanning from February until November.
“The only way it’s successful is if the TV ratings are through the roof. That’s the only way that having it on Easter night is successful,” Harvick said. “That’s the only reason it is where it is is for a TV rating, so if it doesn’t
Kevin Harvick said unless ratings are “through the roof,” NASCAR should never race on Easter again. Harvick came back three days early from his family’s annual beach vacation because NASCAR decided to race on the holiday this year. NASCAR executive Ben Kennedy said the race was scheduled for later in the day so families could have their Easter celebration and then watch the race together.