Indianapolis 500 enjoys highest TV ratings since 2008

Field Level Media|published: 05/26/2025, 6:32pm EDT

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) poses for a photo Monday, May 26, 2025, after winning the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The debut of the Indianapolis 500 on Fox Sports certainly paid dividends as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing drew an average audience of more than 7 million, according to Nielsen's fast national ratings -- making it the most-watched Indy 500 since 2008.

The Fox broadcast peaked at 8.4 million viewers between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. ET, per Nielsen, just as Alex Palou was logging the closing laps of his first Indy 500 win.

The 7.05 million average audience was up 40 percent year over year, as the NBC airing of the 2024 race averaged 5.024 million viewers.

Palou claimed the 2025 edition for Chip Ganassi Racing, which also produced the Indy 500 winner in 2008 (Scott Dixon), when the race averaged 7.245 million viewers.

--Field Level Media