’05 vs. ’04 IRL TV Ratings
The following presents average Nielsen ratings for each network airing races during the ’05 IRL season, as well as race-by-race ratings, with comparisons to ’04. It appears Danica Patrick did not have to win a race during her rookie season to help television ratings. All three networks airing IRL races posted ratings gains over last year. ESPN aired the majority of races this season and posted a 50% gain from ’04 THE DAILY
IRL RATINGS BY NETWORK
| NET | '05 AVG. (NO. OF RACES) | '04 AVG. (NO. OF RACES) | %+/- |
| ABC | 2.0 (7) | 1.20 (10) | 53.8% |
| ESPN | 0.6 (9) | 0.40 (4) | 50.0% |
| ESPN2 | 0.4 (1) | 0.20 (2) | 100.0% |
IRL RATINGS BY RACE
| DATE | RACE (LOCATION) | '05 RAT (NET) | '04 RAT (NET) |
| March 6 | Toyota Indy 300 (Homestead, FL) | 0.6 (ESPN) | 0.9 (ESPN) |
| March 19 | XM Satellite Radio Indy 200^ (Phoenix, AZ) | 0.6 (ABC) | 0.9 (ABC) |
| April 3 | Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg^^ (St. Petersburg, FL) | 0.4 (ESPN) | NA |
| April 30 | Indy Japan 300 (Motegi, Japan) | 0.5 (ESPN) | 0.1 (ESPN2) |
| May 29 | Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis, IN) | 6.8 (ABC) | 4.1 (ABC) |
| June 11(p) | Bombardier Learjet 500 (Fort Worth, TX) | 1.0 (ESPN) | 0.4 (ESPN) |
| June 25(p) | SunTrust Indy Challenge (Richmond, VA) | 0.4 (ESPN2) | 0.2 (ESPN2) |
| July 3 | Argent Mortgage Indy 300^^^ (Kansas, KS) | 1.1 (ESPN) | 1.2 (ABC) |
| July 16(p) | Firestone Indy 200 (Nashville, TN) | 0.3 (ESPN) | 0.5 (ESPN) |
| July 24 | ABC Supply Co. / A.J. Foyt 225 (West Allis, WI) | 0.5 (ESPN) | 0.8 (ABC) |
| July 31 | Firestone Indy 400 (Brooklyn, MI) | 1.3 (ABC) | 0.8 (ABC) |
| Aug. 14 | Amber Alert Portal Indy 300^# (Sparta, KY) | 0.9 (ABC) | 0.8 (ABC) |
| Aug. 21 | Honda Indy 225 (Fountain, CO) | 0.8 (ABC) | 0.5 (ABC) |
| Aug. 28 | Argent Mortgage Indy Grand Prix^& (Sonoma, CA) | 0.6 (ESPN) | 0.9 (ABC) |
| Sept. 11 | Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 (Joliet, IL) | 1.0 (ABC) | 0.80 (ABC) |
| Sept. 25 | Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix^$ (Watkins Glen, NY) | 0.7 (ABC) | NA |
| Oct. 16 | Toyota Indy 400 (Fontana, CA) | 0.6 (ESPN) | 0.10 (ESPN) |
NA = Not applicable. ^ = Previously Copper World Indy 200. ^^ = New event in ‘05. ^^^ = Previously Argent Mortgage Indy 200. ^# = Previously Belterra Casino 300. ^& = New event in ‘05, compared to ‘04 Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway. ^$ = New event in ‘05. (p) = Primetime races.