A few things here.
Fox made a much bigger push for Los Angeles to casual audiences. Ads for the Busch Clash were all over Fox during the NFL Playoffs and other programs. The Daytona 500 was an afterthought.
Between that, the astonishing lack of coverage throughout the week (man, I miss shows like Trackside and the OG Raceday), the lack of hype in general from Fox, and the much maligned race broadcast itself, there was no way the 500 would get and keep casual viewers.
It’s one thing to realize there are casual viewers watching and talk to people like they’re first time viewers. It’s another to not get technical at all, and I’d much rather see NBC’s approach - especially since NBC doesn’t miss when it comes to major events.
Next contract, this race needs to alternate between Fox and NBC, or Fox and ABC, or whatever it ends up being.