For the second straight year, ratings and viewership increased for NASCAR’s second race of the season from Bristol Motor Speedway.
ABC drew a 3.5 final rating and 5.842 million viewers for Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race, up 6% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year’s race (3.3, 5.323 mil), up 17% in ratings and viewership from 2008 (3.0, 4.997 mil) and up 3% and 2%, respectively, from 2007 (3.4, 5.735 mil). The race aired on ESPN in each of those prior years.
This marks the highest rated edition of the race since 2006 (3.6 on TNT) and the most-viewed since at least 2005 (viewership for the 2005 race was not available).
Additionally, Saturday’s race drew more viewers than all but two NASCAR races on ABC last year — the October 11 Pepsi 500 from Fontana, CA (5.953 mil) and the November 1 Amp Energy 500 from Talladega, AL (6.627 mil).
Of the 19 NASCAR races that can be compared to last year, Saturday’s race is just the fifth to have an increase in ratings.
(ESPN)
