The Mountain Dew Southern 500, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held last Sunday at Darlington Raceway and televised by NBC, was the most-watched sporting event of Labor Day weekend, with an average of 7,965,000 viewers. The race’s household viewership of 5,241,000 easily outdistanced the weekend’s second-most watched sporting event college football on ABC on Saturday night by 40%. Other TV highlights from Labor Day weekend: …… The Mountain Dew Southern 500’s viewership was 20% higher than 2002, when the race was broadcast by TNT. …… The NASCAR Busch Series’ Winn-Dixie 200 Presented by PepsiCo, held last Saturday at Darlington and also televised by NBC, had an average of 2,292,000 viewers, a 40% increase from 2002’s TNT telecast. The household viewership of 1,803,000 was a 52% increase from 2002. …… The Winn-Dixie 200 Presented by PepsiCo was the most-watched NASCAR Busch Series race in the history of Darlington Raceway.(Figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research.)(NASCAR PR)(9-6-2003)
