Numbers could change, though as of 5-27-08:

"The Indianapolis 500 earned a 5.1 overnight Nielsen rating on ABC on Sunday, up 6.3% from a 4.8 overnight last year. On Sunday night, Fox earned a 4.4 overnight Nielsen rating for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte, down 2.2% from a 4.5 overnight in ’07."

Definitely positive numbers for Indycar. It may never get back to the old numbers, but the trend is good. All motorsports fans should cheer for that.

OUTSTANDING!!

and, you could see plenty of available seating in Charlotte. This is great news for Open Wheel fans.

PJGIndy500 - 28 May 2008 08:17 AM

Definitely positive numbers for Indycar. It may never get back to the old numbers, but the trend is good. All motorsports fans should cheer for that.

But we can hope. The numbers speak volumes for what might be possible now that we have a united open-wheel series again. Look at how well CART fared against NASCAR during its best years. If interest in the Indy 500 is back, then why not all open-wheel racing?

Good for Indy Car. But...that was for the 500. Numbers for the rest of the season will tell the story.

diamonddan - 28 May 2008 02:27 PM

and, you could see plenty of available seating in Charlotte.

And at Indy too, so there's still a ways to go.

Is it just me or do the Indy races seem a little more exciting than the cup races lately? Maybe Nascar has gotten too big for its own britches and forgotten that it was the close racing that brought the fans. We'll leave follow the leader racing in Cup just like we left follow the leader in Champ.

fred8615 - 02 June 2008 09:53 AM

diamonddan - 28 May 2008 02:27 PM

and, you could see plenty of available seating in Charlotte.

And at Indy too, so there's still a ways to go.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway can hold over 600,000 spectators. Saying there were empty seats at Indy means nothing; saying there were empty seats at Charlotte for the longest race of the season, after all the pre-race hype of the All-Star Race, is another matter entirely. NASCAR considers any race that isn't sold out to be a bad omen -- it's the reason they dumped Rockingham.

The IRL (or is it Tony's World Series yet?) ran a fast, exciting show at Milwaukee with passing, fuel strategy, and even some wrecks . . . and there were lots of empty seats there. USAC/CART/ChampCar/IRL racing on one mile tracks is some of the best racing anywhere at any time. When you can't fill the stands for those events then there is no other conclusion but that the public doesn't notice anything that doesn't have NASCAR in the headline. P.S. I remember when the promotor at Phoenix was so thrilled to be getting rid of Champ Car, saying that the IRL were much more "friendly" towards him. Phoenix, of course, had traditionally been the prelude to Indy. Now no one in senior open-wheel racing races at Phoenix, and we've all seen what those stupid Silver Crown cars look like with vacformed slot-car bodies. Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for . . .

mdsjohn - 02 June 2008 02:24 PM

Is it just me or do the Indy races seem a little more exciting than the cup races lately? Maybe Nascar has gotten too big for its own britches and forgotten that it was the close racing that brought the fans. We'll leave follow the leader racing in Cup just like we left follow the leader in Champ.

For lack of anything else to watch, I watched part of the Cup race at Dover. It was mostly a follow the leader parade with lead changes coming only with pit stops. I think NASCAR clearly feels the pinch at the ticket window and with the TV viewer. Why else would they resort to what some of consider to be gimmickry such as the highly over-touted All Star race and the upcoming Chase? Close racing may or may not return them to their former status; only time will tell. I do have to believe that a unified open-wheel series will make some serious inroads into their fan base.

fred8615 - 02 June 2008 09:53 AM

diamonddan - 28 May 2008 02:27 PM

and, you could see plenty of available seating in Charlotte.

And at Indy too, so there's still a ways to go.

But how many empty seats at any race can be attributed to higher gas prices than ever? If high gas prices are changing conventional vacation plans, might they not also have a direct impact on attending races outside the track's immediate area? How many people - race fans, of course - plan vacations around races?

According to Jayski.com, the final Indy 500 rating was 4.5. The final Coke 600 rating was 4.7.

http://www.jayski.com/pages/tvratings2008.htm