Another great win by tour leader Tony Stewart...but another weak TV ratings show for NASCAR (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
By Mike Mulhern
mikemulhern.net
NASCAR took yet another TV ratings hit with Monday's Watkins Glen 220, rain-delayed from Sunday until Monday.
ESPN earned a final national household coverage rating of 1.7, which the network says means an average of 1,994,457 viewers watching Tony Stewart beat Marcos Ambrose.
ESPN's two-hour Sunday show in the rain from the Glen earned a 2.0 rating. The race was finally postponed at 4: 30 p.m.
Saturday's Nationwide race, won by Ambrose over Kyle Busch, drew a 1.5 rating on ESPN2, which the network says means an average of 1,755,640 viewers. That Nationwide race was carried last year on ABC, and also drew a 1.5.
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NASCAR isn't the marketing
NASCAR isn't the marketing and media juggernaut it used to be. Lowe's leaving Charlotte proved that. These teams have lived on over indulgence for the past decade. It's starting to bite them in the rear end.
I predict that a large slice of humble pie will be fed to this sport in the next couple of years unless NASCAR can find a way to improve it's dwindling fan base. Without the TV numbers like the sport has had, sponsors won't want anything to do with it at the current cost to participate.
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