Drivers, NASCAR at a loss on plummeting popularity

Jimmie Johnson scoffs at the notion that his five-year run of success and dominance in the Chase is responsible for NASCAR’s sharp decline in TV ratings. But, like most other Sprint Cup drivers, Johnson has no explanation for why ESPN has seen a sharp decline in ratings for the first four Chase races this year.

Though TV ratings for NASCAR and most sports have been down this year, the ratings for Sprint Cup races began to drop at an alarming rate when the Chase For The Sprint Cup began Sept. 19.

The ratings for the first four Chase ratings are down an average of 27 percent, with last week’s race at Auto Club Speedway plummeting by 31 percent over last year’s rating.

Officials at NASCAR and ESPN have been at a loss to explain the sudden decline. ESPN officials say the switch from ABC last year to the cable network this year is not a factor. They believe a big reason may be the switch to earlier start times on Sunday, which conflict with the 1 p.m. start of NFL games.

But both ESPN and NASCAR officials admit that they have not concrete answer for the dip.

Sprint Cup drivers are equally baffled. Scenedily.com

[Editors Note: See feature article by Mark Cipolloni on this topic. It was written about IndyCar, but it applies to NASCAR as well.)