NASCAR continues to attract some of the largest non-NFL television audiences in sports, though the numbers remain lower than in previous years.
Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Kobalt Tools 400 from Las Vegas earned a 5.9 final rating and 10.076 million viewers on FOX, up 34% in ratings and 41% in viewership from last year’s race (4.4, 7.154M), but down 9% in both measures compared to 2009 (6.5, 11.123M).
Last year’s race aired opposite the Canada/USA Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game.
Sunday’s race ranks as the fifth-lowest rated edition of Sprint Cup Las Vegas race since its inception in 1998 (fourteen races), and the third least-viewed since 2001 (viewership prior to 2002 was unavailable).
So far this season, all three NASCAR races on FOX have had increases in both ratings and viewership compared to last year. However, ratings have dropped for each race compared to 2009.
The three races have each drawn over 10 million viewers. Just one race all of last season hit that mark.
Ratings/Viewership For NASCAR From Las Vegas
Dating Back to Inaugural 1998 Race
| Year | Date | Winner | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2011
|
Sun., 3/6/11 | Edwards | FOX |
5.9
|
10,076
|
|
2010
|
Sun., 2/28/10 | Johnson | FOX |
4.4
|
7,154
|
|
2009
|
Sun., 3/1/09 | Busch | FOX |
6.5
|
11,123
|
|
2008
|
Sun., 3/2/08 | Edwards | FOX |
7.1
|
12,066
|
|
2007
|
Sun., 3/11/07 | Johnson | FOX |
6.3
|
10,532
|
|
2006
|
Sun., 3/12/06 | Johnson | FOX |
6.2
|
10,322
|
|
2005
|
Sun., 3/13/05 | Johnson | FOX |
6.4
|
10,157
|
|
2004
|
Sun., 3/7/04 | Kenseth | FOX |
5.8
|
9,309
|
|
2003
|
Sun., 3/2/03 | Kenseth | FOX |
6.9
|
11,258
|
|
2002
|
Sun., 3/3/02 | Marlin | FOX |
6.4
|
10,178
|
|
2001
|
Sun., 3/4/01 | Gordon | FOX |
6.5
|
—
|
|
2000
|
Sun., 3/5/00 | Burton | ABC |
4.0
|
—
|
|
1999
|
Sun., 3/7/99 | Burton | ABC |
6.0
|
—
|
|
1998
|
Sun., 3/1/98 | Martin | ABC |
5.8
|
—
|
(Courtesy Robert Seidman, TV By the Numbers)
