IndyCar’s Toronto outing registers major viewership numbers for first time since 2012

IndyCar viewership is once again in the spotlight—this time for a much more positive and admirable reason. The American open-wheel racing series recorded a significant jump in audience numbers following its most recent outing at the Indy Toronto race.

The series, which had largely attracted media attention for less-than-impressive reasons after the Iowa Speedway oval event—one of the lowest-rated races of the 2025 season—saw a considerable boost in viewership. According to a report by motorsports expert Adam Stern, the IndyCar race in Ontario drew a total of 734,000 viewers, up from the 504,000 it recorded when it last aired in 2019 on NBCSN, the last time viewership figures were publicly announced by the series organisers.

Stern also noted that it was the most-watched edition of the Toronto race since 2012, when it reached 1.129 million viewers.

Primarily, the IndyCar Series has experienced fluctuating numbers, particularly following the conclusion of the 2025 Indy 500.

The open-wheel series’ organising body had earlier experimented with primetime scheduling when it hosted the Bommarito 500 oval race in a late-evening slot—an apparent attempt to avoid clashing with the stock car racing series, NASCAR.

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IndyCar president Doug Boles speaks on series scheduling

Earlier, ahead of the Bommarito 500 race, IndyCar president Doug Boles touched on the scheduling of races in order to attract a larger audience. The 58-year-old detailed how he intends to maximise the schedule to address TV network challenges efficiently.

Sharing his thoughts via BlackBook Motorsport, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway chief stated:

“So as we’re looking at next year, it’s not just about getting on network TV, but it’s getting on network TV in places where we have a better chance to not be head-to-head with things that pull away our viewership. In our second year, we can be a little bit smarter about where we land, and hopefully start times can really help keep some of those challenges we had [at bay], especially pre-Indy 500 this year.”

So far, the 2025 IndyCar season viewership has proven to be more productive compared to the figures from the 2024 campaign. The open-wheel racing series has recorded an average of 1,545,000 viewers throughout the first 13 races of the season, which is up from the 1,185,000 average recorded over the same span in 2024.

Also, the first 13 races of the season have eclipsed an average audience of more than one million viewers in four of the races, while the other nine, which fell below the seven-figure threshold, reached an average of 718,500.

With the series headed to Monterey for the WeatherTech Raceway event at Laguna Seca, the American racing series will be eyeing the possibility of surpassing the positive numbers it achieved last time out on the streets of Toronto.