For the third straight week, a NASCAR race drew its lowest ratings in several years.
Last Sunday’s Shelby American from Las Vegas drew a 4.4 final rating on FOX, down 32% from last year (6.5) and down 38% from 2008 (7.1).
The 4.4 rating is the lowest for the race since 2000 (4.0), and the second-lowest in the 12-year history of the event.
This comes on the heels of the Daytona 500 drawing its lowest rating since ’91 and the Auto Club 500 drawing its lowest rating since ’03.
While competition from the Winter Olympics certainly did not help matters, the 10-year low for Sunday’s race — along with the 18-year low for Daytona and the seven-year low for the Auto Club 500 — continues a trend from last season.
Among the final five races of last season alone, one race hit a 10-year low (Ford 400), with nine, eight and seven year-lows for three other races (the Amp Energy 500, Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 and Tums Fast Relief 500, respectively).
As alluded to earlier, Sunday’s race aired directly opposite the Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game (Canada/USA), which drew a 15.2 rating and 27.6 million viewers.
Despite the declining ratings, the Shelby American was the highest rated non-Olympic sporting event on broadcast last weekend.
Through three races, NASCAR on FOX is averaging a 5.9 rating, down 18% from last year. Dating back to October 2008, ratings have now declined for 35 of the last 45 Sprint Cup telecasts (including the NASCAR All-Star Race, Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500 Pole Qualifying).
Ratings For NASCAR at Las Vegas Since 1998
(Sports Business Daily)
