A stirring storyline propelled NASCAR’s Nationwide Series to record numbers on ESPN.
Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 — won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his final race in the #3 car and on the same track where Dale Earnhardt Sr. passed away in 2001 — drew 2.575 million viewers on ESPN, the largest audience ever for a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on the network.
Keep in mind that ESPN2 has drawn larger audiences for Nationwide Series races, including 4.271 million for the February 13 Drive4COPD 300.
Friday’s race was up 30% from last year (1.989 mil) and up 1% from 2008 (2.547 mil).
(ESPN)
