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Sports Media Watch reported Monday that the
race on Fox earned a 5.1 overnight rating, down a whopping 22
percent from last year and the lowest overnight rating for the
season-opening race in at least 10 seasons.
Overnight ratings were not immediately available before 2009 and
the report stated: "It is likely that the 5.1 is the lowest ever
for the race."
According to the report, after five straight years of reaching
an overnight of at least 7.0, the Daytona 500 has hit the mark
just once in the last five races. The 5.1 overnight is the same
number the Atlanta 500 -- the next race on the NASCAR schedule
-- pulled in just three years ago.
The ratings could be particularly alarming considering the
storylines -- both entering the race and as the race developed
-- that spanned a wide range of demographics:
--It was the final NASCAR race for Danica Patrick, the most
successful female in the league's history.
--Bubba Wallace Jr. was the first African-American full-time
driver in the Daytona 500 since 1971. He was in contention to
the end, finishing in second.
--The race featured a green-white-checkered finish, with a
last-lap crash taking out the then-race leader.
--Austin Dillon won the race in one of NASCAR's most revered
numbers, taking the No. 3 to victory lane in the 500 for the
first time since Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1998.
--Field Level Media
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