NASCAR ratings sputtering on FOX. (UPDATED)

NASCAR ratings continue to decline on FOX.

Last Sunday’s Samsung 500 was the latest NASCAR race to see a double-digit drop in ratings. The race drew a 4.7/10 final rating on FOX, down 13% from a 5.4/12 for last year’s race, and down 16% from a 5.6/12 in ’07.

The 4.7 rating is the lowest ever for the Samsung 500, excluding the rained-out ’02 race. Previously, the race had never drawn less than 5% of U.S. television households. This comes a week after the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 drew its lowest rating since ’02, and two weeks after the Food City 500 drew its lowest rating since ’00.

Through seven races, NASCAR on FOX is averaging a 5.9 rating, down 11% from a 6.6 through seven races last year.

Ratings for NASCAR races in ’09, with comparisons to previous years.
Ratings and shares presented for races on broadcast; U.S. area rating presented for games on cable, with cable rating in parentheses ().
Asterisk (*) indicates race was postponed due to rain

Year	Daytona	Calif.	Vegas	Atlanta	Bristol	M’ville	Texas
2009	9.2/19	6.0/10	6.5/12	5.5/12	4.5/10	4.6/10	4.7/11
2008	10.2/20	6.2/10*	7.1/13	6.4/15	5.5/13	5.3/12	5.4/12
2007	10.1/20	6.7/13	6.3/13	5.2/12	5.1/12	5.3/13	5.6/12
2006	11.3/23	7.4/14	6.2/12	3.7/9*	6.2/14	6.2/15	5.4/13
2005	10.9/23	7.9/16	6.4/14	5.5/13	6.3/16	5.1/13	5.7/15
2004	10.6/24	6.1/15	5.8/14	5.7/14	6.0/15	5.4/14	6.0/15
2003	9.8/21	5.3/13	6.9/15	6.4/16	5.5/13	5.3/14	6.3/14
2002	10.9/26	5.9/13	6.4/13	6.0/15	6.2/16	3.2 (4.5)	3.3/8*
2001	10.0/24	5.4/14	6.5/15	6.7/17	6.2/15	5.4/15	7.0/18
2000	8.4/22	4.2/12	4.0/10	5.7/15	3.7 (4.9)	3.7 (4.8)	6.0/15
1999	9.6/25	4.8/13	6.0/15	5.7/13	3.8 (4.9)	3.7 (4.8)	5.4/14

UPDATED 4/24/09: The Atlanta ratings previously presented were overnight ratings, not final ratings. The post has been updated to feature the final ratings.