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NNSracing.com
ESPN officials says ESPN2's telecast of the Aaron's 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on April 16, earned a 2.1 final national household coverage rating.
The Talladega race was the fifth-highest that ESPN2 has earned for a non-Daytona race since ESPN returned to NASCAR in 2007.
The race averaged 2,940,000 viewers, according to the Nielsen Company.
Last year's Talladega race was rained out on Saturday and run on Sunday after the track's Sprint Cup race. The rescheduled event aired live on ESPN2 and earned a 1.3 rating.
For the NASCAR Nationwide Series season so far, the ESPN Networks are averaging a 1.6 U.S. rating, up slightly from both 2010 and 2009 at this point.
2011 Nationwide Series Television Ratings
Race | 2011 | 2010 | % Change | Network |
Daytona 1 | 2.4 | 3.2 | -25 | ESPN2 |
Phoenix 1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | +50 | ESPN2 |
Las Vegas | 2.2 | 1.8 | +22.2 | ABC |
Bristol 1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | -6.3 | ESPN/ABC |
California | 1.6 | N/A | N/A | ESPN |
Texas 1 | 1.1 | N/A | N/A | ESPN2 |
Talladega | 2.1 | 1.3 | +61.5 | ESPN2 |