The NCAA Tournament put the brakes on NASCAR’s television ratings.
Last Sunday’s Food City 500 drew a 4.5/10 final rating on FOX, down 18% from a 5.5 for last year’s race, which did not air opposite the NCAA Tournament. The 4.5 rating is easily the lowest of the season for a NASCAR race.
Additionally, the 4.5 rating is the lowest for the Food City 500 since 2000, when the race drew a 3.7 on ESPN. Prior to this year, the Food City 500 had not drawn a rating lower than 5.0 on FOX.
Despite the lower ratings, the 4.5 rating made the Food City 500 the sixth-highest rated sporting event of the weekend, behind four NCAA Tournament broadcasts on CBS. During the three-hour period when NASCAR and the NCAA Tournament went head-to-head (roughly 2:15 to 5:15 PM Sunday), the NCAA Tournament outrated the Food City 500 by 29%.
So far this season, five NASCAR races have averaged a 6.3 rating on FOX, down 11% from a 7.1 through five races last year, and down 6% from a 6.7 through five races in 2007.
Ratings for NASCAR on FOX during the 2009 season.
| Date | Net | Race | 2009 rtg | 2008 rtg | 2007 rtg | vs. ’08 | vs. ’07 |
| Sun., 2/15/09 | FOX | Daytona 500 | 9.2 | 10.2 | 10.1 | -10% | -9% |
| Sun., 2/22/09 | FOX | Auto Club 500 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.7 | -3% | -10% |
| Sun., 3/1/09 | FOX | Shelby 427 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.3 | -8% | 3% |
| Sun., 3/8/09 | FOX | Kobalt Tools 500 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 5.2 | -14% | 6% |
| Sun., 3/22/09 | FOX | Food City 500 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.1 | -18% | -12% |
| Average rating through 5 races | 6.3 | 7.1 | 6.7 | -11% | -6% | ||
