For the second straight week, NASCAR on TNT failed to attract even 3% of U.S. television households.
Sunday’s NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 drew a 2.7 U.S. rating (3.099 million HHs) and 4.479 million viewers on TNT, down 21% in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (3.4, 5.788 mil), and down 27% and 26%, respectively, from 2008 (3.7, 6.015 mil).
This marks the lowest rated, least-viewed edition of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since at least 1999. Ratings and viewership prior to 1999 were not available.
Additionally, this is the fifth straight year that ratings and viewership have declined for the race. To put the numbers in perspective, the race drew a 5.7 and 8.769 million viewers as recently as 2005.
This is the second straight week that NASCAR on TNT has failed to draw a 3.0 rating. Only once in the previous three seasons had a regularly scheduled NASCAR race drawn less than a 3.0 rating.
Overall, ten of the fourteen regularly scheduled NASCAR races on FOX and TNT this season have had declines in ratings compared to last year.
Despite the lower numbers, Sunday’s race was the ninth-most viewed program of the week on cable and the second-most viewed sporting event — behind only the United States/Slovenia World Cup match on ESPN.
Ratings/Viewership For Toyota/Save Mart 350 Since ’99
| Year | Date | Winner | Net | Rating | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sun., 6/20/10 | Johnson |
TNT
|
2.7
|
4,479
|
| 2009 | Sun., 6/21/09 | Kahne |
TNT
|
3.4
|
5,788
|
| 2008 | Sun., 6/22/08 | Busch |
TNT
|
3.7
|
6,015
|
| 2007 | Sun., 6/24/07 | Montoya |
TNT
|
4.0
|
6,520
|
| 2006 | Sun., 6/25/06 | J. Gordon |
FOX
|
5.1
|
8,188
|
| 2005 | Sun., 6/26/05 | Stewart |
FOX
|
5.7
|
8,769
|
| 2004 | Sun., 6/27/04 | J. Gordon |
FOX
|
4.7
|
7,524
|
| 2003 | Sun., 6/22/03 | R. Gordon |
FOX
|
4.8
|
7,569
|
| 2002 | Sun., 6/23/02 | Rudd |
FOX
|
4.5
|
—
|
| 2001 | Sun., 6/24/01 | Stewart |
FOX
|
5.0
|
—
|
| 2000 | Sun., 6/25/00 | J. Gordon |
ESPN
|
3.5
|
—
|
| 1999 | Sun., 6/27/99 | J. Gordon |
ESPN
|
3.4
|
—
|
