The Daytona 500, the crown jewel of the NASCAR season, has been postponed for the first time ever.
NASCAR announced Sunday that the 2012 Daytona 500 has been postponed to Monday at 12 PM ET due to rain. The race will remain on FOX.
This is the first time the Daytona 500 has been postponed from its scheduled date, and the third time in four years the race has experienced an extensive delay. The 2009 and 2010 races were plagued by rain and pothole delays, respectively.
If not for the rain, this year’s Daytona 500 would likely have earned strong ratings thanks to the much-hyped debut of Danica Patrick. Patrick’s first Indianapolis 500 earned a 6.5 rating in 2005 — up 59% from the previous year, and well above every edition of the race since.
The Daytona 500 is not the first high-profile sporting event to be postponed to a ratings-unfriendly Monday afternoon window. The 2008 Tiger Woods/Rocco Mediate U.S. Open playoff took place on a Monday afternoon and earned an impressive 6.7 rating and 9.179 million viewers on NBC. The U.S. Open concluded on a Monday again in 2009, earning a decidedly less impressive 3.5 and 4.764 million for final round action.
(Sunday’s news from NASCAR.com)
