NASCAR TV ratings continue to tank on ESPN

ESPN says its ratings for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series races last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in California were down from the same events a year ago.

Sunday night’s Pepsi 500 Cup race earned a 3.9 household coverage rating, down 10.3 percent from last year’s 4.3

The race was the sixth and final Cup event of the season to air on ESPN. For its six races, ESPN averaged a 4.12, down 6.6 percent from last year’s 4.41 average for five races.

The final 11 races of the 2008 season are scheduled to air on ABC while produced by ESPN.

Saturday night’s Camping World RV Service 300 Nationwide Series race earned a 1.1 household coverage rating on ESPN2, down 15.4 percent from last year’s 1.3. The race started on ESPN Classic and then went to ESPN2 after nine laps because a college football game ran long. Both the race this year and last year started shortly after 10 p.m. EDT.

[Editor's Note: With TV ratings down how is ABC/ESPN going to justify all that money they will lose on their NASCAR TV deal? NBC, who refused to bid again because they knew it was a money-losing proposition, must be laughing all the way to the bank. With attendance down dramatically, being blamed by the fuel prices, you would think more people would be staying home and watching the race on TV, thereby, bumping up ratings. The fact of the matter is that NASCAR, with its gas guzzling, 1950s technology (some say what technology?) is losing touch with the average consumer, who is becoming more sophisticated by the day.]