Double-digit drop for NASCAR finale

NASCAR ended its season with a double-digit decline in ratings and viewership.

Sunday’s Ford 400, in which Jimmie Johnson clinched his 4th straight Sprint Cup title, drew a 3.6 rating and 5.6 million viewers on ABC, down 10% and 15%, respectively, from a 4.0 and 6.6 million for last year’s race.

The 3.6 rating is tied as the second-lowest ever for the Ford 400, ahead of only the inaugural race in ’99 (3.5). Since hitting a peak of 6.2 in ’04 (the inaugural year of the Chase for the Cup), ratings for the race have declined each year.

After regularly drawing over 7 million viewers (with the ’04 race drawing nearly 10 million), viewership for the Ford 400 declined to 6.6 million last year before falling to 5.6 million this year. In the past four years alone, the race has shed just over 2 million viewers.

ABC averaged a 3.5 rating for the 10-race Chase for the Cup, down 8% from a 3.8 both last year and in ’07. Since averaging a 4.7 in ’05, ratings for the Chase for the Cup have dropped 26%.

Overall, 33 NASCAR races averaged approximately 6.6 million viewers on FOX, TNT, ESPN and ABC. That does not include the Coca Cola 600, Pennsylvania 500 or the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, each of which was rained out.

Of those 33 races, 25 had declines in ratings and 26 had declines in viewership.

Ratings/viewership for the Ford 400 since inaugural race in ’99

Average ratings for the Chase for the Cup since ’04

(ESPN)