ESPNs live telecast of the season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 23, continued the Nationwide Series trend of strong ratings and viewership on ESPN networks as it was the #1 sporting event of the weekend on cable television. Coming off three consecutive good ratings years for the series on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, the Daytona race earned a 2.5 household coverage rating (2.2 U.S. rating), averaging 3,360,122 viewers. Last years race set a record as the most-viewed Nationwide Series race ever on cable with 4.4 million viewers (3.3 household coverage rating) and while the 2013 race did not match that, it was the third-highest viewership for the race since ESPN returned to live NASCAR telecasts in 2007. The race earned high ratings in several markets traditionally associated with racing, with Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, N.C., leading the way with an 8.0 rating. The Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., market was second with a 6.4 rating, followed by Indianapolis at 6.3, Charlotte at 6.1 and Richmond, Va., at 5.1.(ESPN)
