ESPN2’s Nationwide Series Ratings Up for 2008

NASCAR Nationwide Series Season Ends on High Ratings Note; ESPN2’s Ratings Up for 2008

A season of improved ratings and viewership for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on ESPN2 ended on a high note this past weekend as the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway delivered a 1.6 household coverage rating, an increase of 33 percent from the 1.2 rating for last year’s race that also aired on ESPN2.

ESPN2’s coverage of 23 NASCAR Nationwide Series races during the 2008 season averaged a 1.5 rating, a seven percent gain from last year’s 1.4 average. The coverage also saw a double-digit increase in the Males 25-54 demographic, averaging 1.3 vs. 1.1 last year.

The event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in which Clint Bowyer wrapped up the series championship, averaged 2,096,644 viewers, up 38 percent from last year’s telecast.

Live NASCAR racing returned to the ESPN networks in 2007 and the NASCAR Nationwide Series immediately became ESPN2’s highest-rated series.

ESPN2 airs highlights of the NASCAR Nationwide Series awards banquet on Sunday, Nov. 30, at noon ET.

NASCAR Season Reviews Air Sunday on ESPN2

The recently-completed NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series seasons will be reviewed in a pair of half-hour special programs airing Sunday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Sprint Cup season review program airs first, followed at 1:30 p.m. by the Nationwide Series review.

ESPN and ABC aired the final 17 races of the Sprint Cup season, while ESPN2 was the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season.