NASCAR: ESPN Announces Talladega Ratings

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was one of the first true tests of how fans liked the new chase system that NASCAR introduced this season. As far as NASCAR was concerned the stage was set. Three championship contenders in Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were essentially in a must-win situation. Other drivers were looking to survive what makes Talladega one of the most-watched spectacles on the NASCAR schedule, that of course being “the big one.” Plus, NASCAR was coming off of all of the drama that unfolded the weekend prior in Charlotte which setup a plethora of storylines heading into Talladega. On top of all of that, the race actually delivered the drama and action that other races have promised to deliver but ultimately failed (Richmond for example).

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Despite everything seeming to lineup for NASCAR the only thing that wasn’t there were the viewers.

According to ESPN, Sunday’s race at Talladega did a 2.7 TV rating and averaged about 4.3 million viewers. The same race in 2013 did a 3.1 rating with ESPN and averaged about 4.9 million viewers. In short, this is not the kind of numbers that NASCAR would like to see.

Heading into the 2013 race Jimmie Johnson trailed Matt Kenseth by four points in the standings. Kevin Harvick (-29), Jeff Gordon (-36) and Kyle Busch (-37) comprised the rest of the top-five with 6th place driver Greg Biffle almost 60 points back. There is no question that the championship was close entering Talladega in 2013 but it’s impossible to argue that it wasn’t much closer in 2014 given the changes in the championship format.

Conversely, it might be hard to say that the new chase is the reason foe the lower rating considering the fact that NASCAR ratings have been down all season and have been trending down for the past several years. Below is a look at the ratings for the fall Talladega race since 2009.

2009 – 4.1 rating with an average of 6.6 million viewers.
2010 – 3.6 rating with an average of 5.1 million viewers.
2011 – 3.9 rating with an average of 5.4 million viewers.
2012 – 3.7 rating with an average of 5.1 million viewers.
2013 – 3.1 rating with an average of 4.9 million viewers.
2014 – 2.7 rating with an average of 4.3 million viewers.

In just a span of five years this race (and most races across the board on average) are down 1.5 from a rating standpoint and over 2 million viewers. Again, this doesn’t all have to do with the new chase format and to be honest most of it most likely doesn’t have to do with the new chase format. There is a disconnect between NASCAR and theirs fans and the ratings are just one of many stats that prove that. While the cause may not be one particular thing, thus far the new chase format has not been the answer. While I personally believe the new format has produced some exciting moments, the numbers show that it’s not keeping the fans watching.

Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.

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