The National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC), Australia’s premier drag racing series, has recorded major year-on-year audience growth on 7plus, with the Riverbend Nationals delivering strong gains across every key streaming metric compared to the same event in 2025.
On 7plus, the 2026 Riverbend Nationals recorded total viewing minutes is up 65.2% on last year’s event. Total stream starts rose by 53.1%, while unique users also climbed strongly by 37.7%.
Held at Dragway at The Bend in Tailem Bend, South Australia on 28–29 March, the Riverbend Nationals drew thousands of fans across two huge days of racing.
The event featured BLAHST Top Fuel, XPRO Nitro Funny Car, Top Doorslammer, Top Fuel Motorcycle, Pro Alcohol, Pro Mod and the Aeroflow National Sportsman Championship, giving fans trackside and at home a packed weekend of championship action.
The broadcast result highlights the NDRC’s growing national reach and the rising appetite for drag racing across both live and broadcast audiences. It also reinforces the championship’s value for racers, teams, sponsors and commercial partners, with more fans engaging with the sport than ever before.
This growth continues to deliver meaningful value for the NDRC’s broadcast and category partners, providing increased exposure, deeper audience engagement and stronger integration opportunities across both live and digital platforms.
NDRC Co-Owner Andy Lopez said the figures were another strong sign the championship was building real momentum with fans around the country.
“The ability for fans to watch live and free on 7plus is helping us bring the championship to more people than ever before,” Lopez said.
“It means the NDRC is delivering broadcast value to our sponsors and that’s essential to the sustainability of the Championship. However, another thing that’s really pleasing is that, as our broadcast audience grows, we’re also creating more value for our racers and their sponsors and partners.”
Morice Mcmillin, CEO of Aeroflow and Nitro Funny Car Champion, said the growth was a strong result for the sport and the wider drag racing industry.
“Aeroflow and Rocket Industries have sponsored drag racing in Australia for many years. In a relatively short period, the NDRC has demonstrated strong growth both in spectator attendance and broadcast viewership.
“As a sponsor, I’m really happy to see the Aeroflow Sportsman Championship hit so many eyeballs. With my race helmet on, these numbers give racers a really good story to tell existing and potential sponsors.”
Attention now turns to the Gulf Western Oil Nitro Champs at Sydney Dragway on 1–3 May, one of the biggest events on the NDRC calendar. Featuring every championship category and one of the largest entrant fields in the event’s history, Nitro Champs will also be broadcast live and free on 7plus.
Fans can watch live and free on 7plus via the 7plus app, or on compatible smart TVs and connected TV devices.
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