NASCAR says last weekends Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series races saw significant increases in television viewership. TNT’s airing of Friday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants the Movie 300 was the most-viewed Busch Series fall event in the history of Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The average number of viewers jumped 50 percent over the 2002 race to 2,149,000, NASCAR says. (The 2003 race was run on Saturday morning after a Friday night rainout forced its rescheduling.) Speed Channel’s airing of Saturday’s Silverado 350K Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, meanwhile, earned a 0.6 rating on Speed Channel, a 100 percent increase over the same events 0.3 a year ago, according to Nielsen Media Research. NASCAR says the the number of viewers increased 44 percent (427,000 vs. 297,000). The series has earned a 0.7 average rating on Speed Channel, up 17 percent over 2003, through the first 20 races.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)(10-21-2004)
