IndyCar Series Opener Scores Record Rating on ESPN2

It looks like the merger of Champ Car and the IRL is beginning to get some positive results. ESPN2 earned its highest rating ever for an IndyCar Series race for coverage of Saturday night’s event from Homestead-Miami Speedway, the opening race of the 2008 season and the first event since the recent unification of American open wheel racing. The race also marked the debut of ESPN’s full-season coverage in high definition.

ESPN2's race averaged a 0.8 household coverage rating and 815,070 household impressions, making it ESPN2's highest rated IndyCar Series race ever and the most viewed IndyCar Series race on ESPN or ESPN2 in almost three years. The rating was up from the .7 for last year’s Homestead telecast, previously ESPN2’s highest rating ever for an IndyCar Series event.