NASCAR season finale TV rating

The Nov. 18 Ford 400 season finale of the Nextel Cup Series in Homestead, Fla., received a 4.2 national rating on ABC, down 11 percent from the same race one year ago, according to Nielsen Media Research. Last season's race on NBC received a 4.7 national rating. All 10 races in this season's Chase for the Nextel Cup produced lower TV ratings – many significantly so – than last season.

The Cup season finale was the seventh-highest-rated sports program of the weekend, coming in behind four NFL games and two college football games.

The Nov. 17 Busch Series finale received a 1.2 rating on ESPN, down from a 1.9 a year ago on TNT. The Nov. 16 Craftsman Truck Series finale received a 0.4 rating on Speed, down from a 0.6 on the same network a year ago.