Michael McDowell, driver of the Ford # 34 Love’s Travel Stops, celebrates on the lane of victory after winning the annual NASCAR Cup Series 63rd Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2021 in Daytona Beach,
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
The rain continues to hurt NASCAR’s biggest event.
The Daytona 500 on Sunday 2021, hit by a nearly six-hour rain delay, attracted an average of 4.83 million viewers, Fox Sports confirmed to CNBC. It marks the lowest-seen Daytona 500 in race history. Approximately 7 million viewers watched the 2020 event.
Michael McDowell of Front Row Motorsports recorded his first professional victory by winning the Harley J. Earl trophy. He became the only eighth driver to record his first victory in the race. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott finished second.
Sports Media Watch reported that the event drew approximately 8 million viewers before the delay, which took place around 3pm in the East.
Last year’s Daytona 500 also suffered a rain delay, which moved the event to a second day. Qualifications also suffered and the 2020 race had an average of 7.3 million viewers over the two days. The 2019 and 2018 races had an average of approximately 9 million viewers, but it was less than more than 11 million viewers than the 2017 and 2016 average.
Flames erupted during a last-lap collision that consumed several cars during the Daytona 500 on February 14, 2021 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. Fl.
David Rosenblum | Sportswire Icon | Getty Images
The 2021 Daytona 500 suffered a 16-car crash early after the first 15 laps before the weather delay. NASCAR resumed the race around 9 p.m., Eastern Time. It concluded shortly after midnight.
The 2021 Daytona 500 produced some of the first stories to enter the race, especially around the 23XI Racing team with owners Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin and driver Bubba Wallace. Toyota car number 23 Wallace drove to pre-race inspections and was forced to start from the rear.
Wallace made history the first black rider to lead a lap (129) in the race. Wallace was involved in the last crash, finishing one lap and finishing 17th.
Hamlin, who is a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, also started in the rear. Hamlin tried to win his third consecutive Daytona 500, which would have been a record, but finished fifth.
NASCAR will try to catch up this weekend with its Daytona Road Course event, which will take place Feb. 19-21 on Fox Sports ’FS1 channel.
Alvin Kamara # 41 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball during a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wesley Hitt | Getty Images
The NFL and NASCAR
Meanwhile, NASCAR also announced that New Orleans Saints star Alvin Kamara has joined as the car’s sponsor.
Kamara’s The Big Squeezy franchise has signed on as sponsor of Ryan Vargas ’No. 6 Chevrolet car from JD Motorsports during Saturday’s Super Start Batteries 188 race at the Daytona International Speedway track.
Sponsorship conditions were not provided.
Kamara said sponsoring the car was an opportunity he could not miss. With its Vargas car logo on either side, Kamara can create brand notoriety for its juice bar franchises, located primarily in Louisiana.
“I researched a bit about Ryan as an individual and JD Motorsports and I was impressed by what I read,” Kamara said in a statement. “I’m excited to play a small role in what they already have.”
Kamara, who finished the second National Football League of 2020 among runners with 16 touchdowns, signed a five-year extension for $ 75 million with the team last September.