NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Takes Checkered Flag Over Indianapolis 500
In a battle of big races, the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 edged the Indianapolis 500 to take the sports ratings checkered flag for the week of May 19-25, 2008 with a viewership of 7.584 million. Remember when the Indianapolis 500 was a big event? I do. Not so much anymore, but it still managed an audience of 7.245 million.
They both lead a field of seven NBA Playoff games topped by the May 19th’s Spurs/Hornets conference semi-final game 7. Luckily for the NBA Finals ratings, the Lakers have beaten the solid but ratings killing Spurs to advance to the NBA finals. Now, if the Celtics can just hang on to beat the Pistons, the NBA, like the NHL, will have its Finals dream (ratings) match up.
Top Sports Shows for the Week of May 19-25, 2008:
| RANK | PROGRAMS | Network | Persons Live+SD (000) | HH Rating Live+SD |
| 1 | NASCAR SPRINT CUP COCA-COLA 600 | FOX | 7,584 | 4.7 |
| 2 | INDIANAPOLIS 500 5/25 | ABC | 7,245 | 4.6 |
| 3 | NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/HORNETS) | TNT | 6,547 | 4.3 |
| 4 | NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) | TNT | 6,190 | 4.1 |
| 5 | NBA PLAYOFFS (LAKERS/SPURS) | TNT | 5,729 | 3.7 |
| 6 | NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) | ESPN | 5,698 | 3.9 |
| 7 | NBA PLAYOFFS (SPURS/LAKERS) | TNT | 5,513 | 3.7 |
| 8 | NBA BOSTON/DETROIT-SAT 5/24 | ABC | 5,454 | 3.7 |
| 9 | NBA PLAYOFFS (PISTONS/CELTICS) | ESPN | 5,431 | 3.7 |
| 10 | WWE RAW | USA | 4,742 | 2.8 |
| 11 | WWE RAW | USA | 4,449 | 2.7 |
| 12 | FOX NASCAR SPRINT PRE | FOX | 4,401 | 2.8 |
| 13 | FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN | CW | 4,170 | 2.4 |
| 14 | INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRE-RACE 5/25 | ABC | 3,159 | 2.2 |
| 15 | NBA PLAYOFFS PRE-GAME FRI | TNT | 2,927 | 2.0 |
| 16 | INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS MON | TNT | 2,790 | 2.0 |
| 17 | INSIDE THE NBA PLAYOFFS WED | TNT | 2,684 | 2.0 |
| 18 | FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL (VARIOUS) | FOX | 2,399 | 1.7 |
| 19 | GMC NBA SAT 5/24 | ABC | 2,326 | 1.7 |
| 20 | COLONIAL GOLF SUN 5/25 | CBS | 2,253 | 1.7 |
As usual the faux wrestling shows of WWE Raw were in the top 20 at #10 and #11 with 4.7 and 4.4 million viewers respectively. Their broadcast relative, Friday Night Smackdown came in at #13 with 4.2 million viewers.
Major League Baseball put one game in the top 20 at #18 with 2.4 million viewers.
No NHL Playoff games made the top 20 (but only because of the way we receive data from Nielsen, see below), but expect that to change when the current week’s results are in. The Detroit/Pittsburgh Finals have been a ratings winner.
PGA golf placed the Sunday action at the Colonial at #20 with 2.2 million viewers.
Our Sports Ratings combine the top Broadcast sports shows and any cable sports shows that appeared in the top 40 cable programs. It is possible that a cable sports show that had enough viewers to make this list is left off because it didn’t have enough viewers to make the list of the top 40 cable programs for the week which is all we have access to.
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Well….that explains it!
Although in pure numbers, NASCAR squeaked by with a win, considering that Indy was a day time start (10 am on the West Coast) and NASCAR was prime time, the numbers for Indy were more impressive.
Indy is coming back….in a big way! I would rather watch cars going 220 miles per hour than 190 around the same track. An IndyCar can lap a Cup car every 4 to 5 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Think about it, Indy compared to NASCAR is like boxing (NASCAR) compared to cage fighting (Indy) these guys don't have fenders and are going over 200….Hmmmm! In the long run since the 2 open wheel series have now come back together Indy will soon dominate.