For the first time in a decade, NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 was not the highest rated race of Memorial Day weekend.
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Charlotte earned a 3.8 final rating and 6.4 million viewers on FOX Sunday evening, down 7% in ratings and 8% in viewership from last year (4.1, 7.0M), down 12% and 10%, respectively, from 2013 (4.3, 7.1M), and the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the race since it moved to FOX in 2001. That excludes 2009, when it was postponed to Memorial Day due to rain (3.3, 5.3M).
The previous lows were a 4.0 and 6.5 million in 2010. Since drawing a 6.1 and 10.2 million viewers ten years ago, ratings and viewership for the race have dropped in seven of nine years — including each of the past four.
Carl Edwards‘ win drew a lower rating than the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day (4.2), marking the first time since 2005 — and only the third time since FOX acquired rights — that the Coca-Cola 600 trailed its open wheel rival. The race also earned a smaller audience (6.48M to 6.41M), ending a 14-year streak in which it attracted more viewers. [UPDATE 6/3: Post updated with final numbers, rather than fast-nationals, for Indy 500.]
Keep in mind that again excludes 2009, when the postponed race trailed the Indy 500 in both measures.
Adding to the soft performance, the 3.8 rating tied the fourth-lowest mark for a scheduled Sunday race on FOX — matching Fontana in 2012 and Dover in 2013. Only the Dover races in 2010 (3.7), 2012 (3.7) and 2014 (3.5) earned a lower rating.
(Sun. numbers via Media Life Magazine)
