NASCAR Chase TV ratings dip

The audience for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is seeing a small dip at the halfway point this year. Through five races, ESPN/ABC is averaging a 2.7 U.S. rating and 4.3 million viewers, down from a 2.8 rating and 4.5 million viewers in ’11. The figures from last season exclude the Chase-opening race at Chicagoland Speedway, which was run on a Monday due to poor weather. Last Saturday’s Bank of America 500, the only Chase race scheduled for primetime and for ABC, finished with a 3.2 rating (5.1 million viewers), flat compared to the same race in '11 and '10. Austin Karp, THE DAILY