Perhaps boosted by the momentum from Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s win a night earlier, Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 became only the fourth NASCAR race this season to have an increase in ratings from last year.
The Coke Zero 400 drew a 3.6 U.S. rating and 6.127 million viewers on TNT Saturday night, up 16% in ratings and viewership from last year (3.1, 5.277 mil), down 5% and 4%, respectively, from 2008 (3.8, 6.390 mil), and down 6% and 1%, respectively, from 2007 (3.8, 6.162 mil).
This marks just the fourth time this season that ratings have increased for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and the first time on TNT. Additionally, the 16% increase is easily the largest of the season; no other race had a double-digit percentage increase.
Despite the increases, this marks the second-lowest rated edition of the Coke Zero 400 (formerly the Pepsi 400) since 1999. For perspective, the race drew a 6.1 and 10.221 million viewers as recently as 2001.
Saturday’s race was the most-viewed program of the week on cable, and the only one to top six million viewers.
(Turner Sports, TV By The Numbers)
