Though low by historical standards, overnight ratings improved for NASCAR’s Southern 500.
The Southern 500 drew a 3.9 overnight rating on FOX Saturday night, up 8% from last year (3.6), down 9% from 2008 (4.3) and down 3% from 2007 (4.0) — when the race was rained out and run on a Sunday.
The 3.9 overnight is the second-lowest for the Southern 500 since the race moved to its current May date in ’05, ahead of only last year.
Saturday’s race was outdrawn head-to-head by Lakers/Jazz on ABC (4.4), though it easily outdistanced its Yankees/Red Sox lead-in.
Five of the last six regularly scheduled NASCAR races on FOX have had increases in overnight ratings.
