via FOX Sports press release:

NASCAR ON FOX CONTINUES DOMINANCE AS SPRING’S MOST-WATCHED SPORT FOR NINTH STRAIGHT YEAR

Sprint Cup Regular Season Racing Leaves Competition In The Dust

New York – The 2009 NASCAR on FOX Sprint Cup season waved the checkered flag after an epic battle between two of the sport’s premier drivers, Jimmie Johnson & Tony Stewart, this past weekend from Dover International Speedway. From February through May, Sprint Cup racing on FOX concluded as the top-rated and most-watched regular season sport for the ninth consecutive year.

NASCAR Sprint Cup racing remains one of the strongest attractions in all of television and dominates its network sports competition. FOX’s 8.5 million viewers this season more than doubles ABC’s viewership for the NBA’s regular season (+124% vs. 3.8 million), and is 57% better than ABC’s NBA Playoff viewership of 5.4 million. NASCAR on FOX viewership outpaced the NHL’s regular season average by 431% (8.5 million vs. 1.6 million) and is 372% higher than the NHL Playoffs on NBC (1.8 million).

Among Men 25-54, NASCAR on FOX’s 4.8 is equal to the rating of hit Primetime shows such as NBC’s The Office and higher than CBS’s The Mentalist. Dating back to 2001, every Saturday night NASCAR race on FOX has won the key primetime demo, a remarkable 16 races over nine seasons.

Year-to-year, NASCAR on FOX posted a 5.1/11 compared to a 5.7/12 in 2008.