NASCAR’s Southern 500 from Darlington was up only slightly in viewership compared to last year, but that was still good enough for a three-year high.
FOX earned a 4.1 final rating and 6.978 million viewers for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Southern 500 on May 7, down 2% in ratings and virtually flat in viewership from last year (4.2, 6.970M), and up 3% and 5%, respectively, from 2009 (4.0, 6.671M).
This marks the most-viewed Southern 500 since 2008 (7.812M), but the second-lowest rated since 2000 (3.5, ESPN). As recently as 2005, the race drew a 5.6 rating and 9.266 million viewers.
The race was outdrawn head-to-head by Game 3 of the Heat/Celtics NBA playoff series on ABC (4.9, 8.202M).
Overnight ratings for this past week’s FedEx 400 from Dover are available here.
(Numbers from Media Life Magazine)
