Martinsville TV ratings drop…again…

UPDATE ABC's live coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway earned a final national household rating of 2.9, down from the 3.3 rating for last year's race that also aired on ABC. The telecast averaged 4,702,038 viewers. ESPN2's live coverage of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park earned a final household coverage rating of 0.9, averaging 1,161,156 viewers. No direct comparisons can be made to the 2008 race as the event was simulcast on both ESPN Classic and SPEED.(ESPN)
10/26/09 The slide of NASCAR's broadcast ratings continues, as ABC’s broadcast of Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway earned a 2.5 overnight Nielsen Media Research rating, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Daily reports.

The rating is 13.8 percent lower than the 2.9 ABC earned overnight for the race in 2008.

Despite creating "The Chase" and the incredibly successful "Car of Tomorrow" is seems that the public's romance with stock car racing is waning.