SPEED Channel’s live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night from Daytona International Speedway scored a Nielsen Rating of 2.1 (1,330,000 households), the highest rating for any program in network history. “We’re obviously very excited to start our 2005 NASCAR season like this,” said SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore. “SPEED enjoyed a strong offseason in the ratings and a lot of us had an expectation that this could be a breakout year for the network. Of course, when you have a race where two teams are both convinced they belong in Victory Lane until 15 minutes after the event is over, you know you had a great race with a memorable finish. That’s the kind of close, exciting racing the NASCAR Craftsman truck series brought to the network when we started broadcasting it three years ago.” The rating for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 was up 31% over 2004 (1.6).(Speed Chanel PR)(2-23-2005)
