NASCAR Texas TV Ratings

NASCAR fans love a good brawl

ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 2, saw its highest rating and viewership in two years, according to Nielsen Media.

The race earned a 2.8 U.S. rating, averaging 4,749,000 viewers, both numbers up from last year’s race (2.6 rating, 4,179,000 average viewers) and the 2012 race (2.5 rating, 3,943,000 viewers).

Greensboro, N.C., was the highest-rated of the nation’s 56 metered markets with an 8.8 rating, followed by Greenville, S.C., at 8.1 and Indianapolis at 7.1. Raleigh-Durham, N.C., was fourth at 6.5 with Knoxville, Tenn., fifth at 6.4.

Rounding out the top 10 markets were Nashville, Tenn., 5.9; Charlotte, N.C., 5.8; Jacksonville, Fla., 5.5; and a tie between Richmond, Va., and Louisville, Ky., at 5.2.

ESPN’s live telecast of Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Texas also saw ratings and viewership growth over last year’s event with a 1.1 U.S. rating and an average viewership of 1,633,000. Last year’s telecast earned a 0.9 rating and averaged 1,395,000 viewers.