Final Ratings: FS1 NASCAR Truck Series Opener Up From Speed In ’13, Down From ’12

FS1 averaged 1.5 million viewers for the season-opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from Daytona Int’l Speedway last Friday night, up 7% from 1.4 million viewers for the race on Speed last season. The viewership was FS1’s ninth-best audience since its launch last August. While the NextEra Energy Resources 250 was up from ’13, the audience was down 23% from the ’12 audience and down 16% from ’11.

Meanwhile, ESPN drew 2.7 million viewers for the season-opening Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 last Saturday afternoon, down from 3.36 million viewers for last year’s race, which featured a multicar crash at the conclusion of the race that resulted in several fans being injured. The ‘14 figure also is down from ’11, which marked the most-viewed NNS race ever on cable TV as Danica Patrick made her NASCAR debut.