Viewership for Verizon IndyCar Series telecasts on NBCSN increased 3 percent from 2016 – an average of 507,000 viewers for the 12 races – making it the second-most watched INDYCAR season for NBCSN, according to data provided by The Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics.

Season viewership on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app exceeded the 2016 average of 492,000 and was just 1 percent shy of NBCSN’s record in 2015 (510,000 average).

Seven NBCSN race telecasts this season exceeded 500,000 average viewers, the most since the network acquired INDYCAR rights prior to the 2009 season.The ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 20 achieved the highest viewership -- 624,000 – of any NBCSN telecast in 2017.

Other NBCSN telecasts that exceeded 500,000 were: Watkins Glen International, Sept. 3, 612,000; Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 30, 581,000; Road America, June 25, 575,000; Texas Motor Speedway, June 10, 567,000; Iowa Speedway, July 9, 540,000; and the Sonoma Raceway season finale, Sept. 17, 536,000.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship by finishing second to teammate Simon Pagenaud in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma that concluded the 2017 season on Sept. 17.

TV-only viewership on NBCSN averaged 502,000 viewers this season, also up 3 percent over 2016 (488,000 average) and produced a 0.32 household rating. Indianapolis led all local markets for Verizon IndyCar Series telecasts on NBCSN with a 2.1 rating.

Digitally, 2017 was INDYCAR’s best season on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, delivering 124,000 unique views and 8.7 million live minutes, up 29 percent and 35 percent, respectively, from 2016. This season also saw the first two Verizon IndyCar Series races (Texas, 1.091 million; and Sonoma, 1.014 million) eclipse one million live minutes on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.