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NASCAR: Texas Motor Speedway National TV Ratings Strong

3 April 1999

FORT WORTH-DALLAS - National ratings for the PRIMESTAR 500 at Texas Motor Speedway remained strong with even more fans watching this year's CBS broadcast.

The ratings for the Sunday, March 28 race matched last year's event receiving a 5.4 rating with a 14 share. The average number of households watching this year's race was up - 5,380,000 compared to 5,250,000 in 1998, an increase of 2%.

"We're quite pleased with the numbers," said speedway general manager Eddie Gossage. "For the fans who couldn't be in town for the race, we're glad they were able to watch it on CBS."

The rain-delayed Coca-Cola 300 drew an estimated 2.7 rating for the race portion which was televised live on CBS.

Local television ratings for the Fort Worth-Dallas market were up for both Sunday's PRIMESTAR 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race and Saturday's Coca-Cola 300 NASCAR Busch Series event. The PRIMESTAR 500 drew a rating of 10.7 with a 22 share, compared to 1998 figures of 8.8 rating with a 21 share - a ratings increase of 22%. The sold-out PRIMESTAR 500 was the largest attended sporting event in Texas history.

The Coca-Cola 300 had a local rating of 4.3 with an 11 share, up from a 3.8 rating with an 11 share in 1998 - a 12% increase in ratings from the previous year. The Coca-Cola 300 drew the largest crowd in the history of the NASCAR Busch Series.

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