The "Daytona 500" TV Ratings Are Through the Roof!

-Danica Patrick has landed NASCAR more numbers yet again.  It's surmised that Patrick's participation and records set (First woman pole-setter, first woman to lead a lap in the Daytona 500, only 1 of 13 to have led laps at both the Daytona 500 and Indy 500) has helped NASCAR have a good time with the TV ratings for this latest, the 2013 D500.

Per MediaLifeMagazine.com the TV ratings for this years Daytona race were 30% higher than last year's race, that was held on a Monday night.  (Due to the weather delay last year.)

But ignoring last year, the ratings were also the highest the race has seen in seven years.

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Note: I'm about to toss out some weird numbers in relation to the ratings.  If you want to know more about these mystery numbers, I have an article on my parent site, TV Ratings Explained.

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This race had the best increase from the previous year, ever. Well, if you count back to 2006 when it first aired on NBC as "ever."  And the ratings climbed as the race drew to a close.  The show averaged a 10.0 household rating, but it climbed to a 12.8 as the race wound down.  And numbers like that are always good for our sport.

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First, I can see that some fans didn't want to deal with the usual "roundy-round" racing, as I've heard it called before, but would rather just dial in to see the end result of the race.  Admittedly, races can get pretty long-winded.  Unlike the Nationwide races, where there's no middle-section for drivers to pace out in.

Second, though Danica Patrick was making waves this year this restrictor plate race, I have to wonder if it was all her?  She was in the race last year, albeit, for a lap, but I don't remember huge ratings for that event.

Third, there's other supposition that the horrible accident that claimed 30 fan injuries the day before at Daytona may have also drawn in the TV viewing crowd.  And I do believe that one, being that what I observe at sports bars week in and week out, the bar crowd gets very focused when something sensational, horrible or eye-catching occurs.

In fact, I was at a bar after the Saturday Nationwide Daytona race finished.  When there was a recap on the TV, no one was really paying attention to the regular information.  But the moment they started replaying the wreck, almost everyone to a tee stood up and drifted over to the TV to watch the replay.

When the news turned to the upcoming 500, they all drifted back to their seats.

So I am thinking, as I've seen, that the potential for wrecks draws in a piece of the ratings pie.  I've asked people point-blank about why they might watch NASCAR, and it's not a pretty answer:  "For the wrecks."

The problem I have is that I hear that more than I'd like.

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But regardless, it's time for the Danica Patrick to get to work.

She's in good equipment and many are expecting good things out of her.

I'm worried because when she raced in the Nationwide series last year and only mustered up a top-10 in points finish and didn't dominate.  Almost any Cup Series driver that participates in the Nationwide races tend to dominate.

Heck, she didn't even dominate when she was testing in the ARCA series.

But here's hoping that her 2013 season soothes the naysayers and she not only makes a name for herself, but for the sport.  Because I can only see big things like more records being broken by Danica Patrick.

Meanwhile, her relationship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can't possibly be hurting his media exposure either!!!

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Official Race Results from the "Daytona 500"

Below you can catch the official race results from the first race of the 2013 NASCAR season, the Daytona 500.  We have drivers points, bonus points, owners points and other points!!!

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Race Comments: Jimmie Johnson won the Daytona 500, his 61st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reason indicated: #21, 39, 51, 99 (backup car).

NEXT EVENT: March 3, 2013 - 9th Annual SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500, Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, AZ (312 Miles) (312 Laps)

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 1
55TH ANNUAL DAYTONA "500"
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Daytona Beach, FL - February 24, 2013
2.5-Mile Oval
200 Laps - 500 Miles Purse: $19,346,972

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Fin	Car				Series	Bonus			Leader
Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	Points	Winnings	Status	Times	Laps
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	200	47	4	$1,525,275	Running	4	17
2	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	National Guard Chevrolet	200	42	0	1,104,814	Running
3	55	Mark Martin	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	200	41	0	817,013	Running
4	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Ford	200	41	1	707,855	Running	4	13
5	39	Ryan Newman	Quicken Loans Chevrolet	200	40	1	578,471	Running	2	3
6	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	200	38	0	461,389	Running
7	51	Regan Smith	Phoenix Construction Chevrolet	200	0	0	411,822	Running	1	1
8	10	Danica Patrick #	GoDaddy Chevrolet	200	37	1	357,464	Running	2	5
9	98	Michael McDowell	K-Love/Curb Records Ford	200	35	0	366,121	Running
10	36	J.J. Yeley	Golden Corral Chevrolet	200	34	0	344,338	Running
11	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Toyota	200	34	1	373,096	Running	1	1
12	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr #	Best Buy Ford	200	32	0	373,399	Running
13	43	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford	200	31	0	356,449	Running
14	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	200	31	1	330,739	Running	3	33
15	47	Bobby Labonte	Kroger Toyota	200	29	0	337,647	Running
16	83	David Reutimann	Burger King Toyota	200	28	0	324,872	Running
17	7	Dave Blaney	Florida Lottery Chevrolet	200	27	0	322,785	Running
18	9	Marcos Ambrose	Stanley Ford	200	26	0	340,052	Running
19	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	200	26	1	339,097	Running	1	2
20	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet	200	25	1	360,799	Running	1	31
21	27	Paul Menard	Menards/Peak Chevrolet	200	24	1	343,279	Running	1	1
22	26	Michael Waltrip	Sandy Hook School Support Fund Toyota	200	23	1	309,564	Running	2	4
23	95	Scott Speed	Leavine Family Racing Ford	200	22	1	305,514	Running	1	2
24	56	Martin Truex Jr	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	200	20	0	340,114	Running
25	93	Travis Kvapil	Burger King Toyota	199	20	1	317,038	Running	1	1
26	32	Terry Labonte	C&J Energy Services Ford	199	18	0	307,838	Running
27	21	Trevor Bayne	Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford	198	0	0	306,789	Running
28	78	Kurt Busch	Furniture Row Chevrolet	195	16	0	336,234	Running
29	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Ford	181	15	0	312,314	Running
30	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	176	14	0	311,013	Accident
31	33	Austin Dillon	Honeynut Cheerios Chevrolet	175	0	0	313,563	Running
32	1	Jamie McMurray	McDonald's Chevrolet	161	12	0	328,933	Running
33	99	Carl Edwards	Fastenal Ford	159	11	0	334,164	Running
34	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	151	10	0	377,110	Engine
35	34	David Ragan	Detail Doctor Ford	150	9	0	308,188	Accident
36	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet	150	8	0	334,293	Running
37	20	Matt Kenseth	Dollar General Toyota	149	9	2	544,306	Engine	4	86
38	38	David Gilliland	Love's Travel Stops Ford	144	6	0	283,879	Accident
39	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	144	5	0	318,693	Running
40	35	Josh Wise	MDS Transport Ford	137	0	0	276,953	Accident
41	14	Tony Stewart	Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	118	3	0	321,179	Running
42	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	47	2	0	345,168	Accident
43	87	Joe Nemechek	MaddiesPlaceRocks.com/DAB Construct. Toyota	42	0	0	264,354	Engine

# Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender.
Bonus Points: includes winner, lap leader & most laps led points
(i) = Ineligible for driver points in this series

Failed to qualify: (2) #52 Brian Keselowski; #19 Mike Bliss

TIME OF RACE:  3 hours, 8 minutes, 23 seconds AVERAGE SPEED:  159.25 mph MARGIN OF VICTORY:  0.129 second(s)

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Danica Patrick (196.434 mph. 45.817 secs.)

3M LAP LEADER: Matt Kenseth (86 Laps)

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Danica Patrick
++Rollover money awarded at year's end, amount not included in race winnings.

Caution Flags: 6 cautions for 24 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
28-30 (Debris [87]);
34-36 (Car #1, 2, 5, 13, 14, 18, 29, 42, 78 Accident Tri-Oval [38]);
86-89 (Debris [36]);
139-146 (Car #2, 17, 21, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 99 Accident Turn 1 [None]);
178-181 (Car #31 Accident Tri-Oval [22]);
193-194 (Debris [32]).

Lap Leaders: 28 lead changes among 14 drivers. Patrick-pole, J. Gordon 1-31, Johnson 32-36, Kenseth 37-39, Bowyer 40, Kenseth 41-71, Menard 72, Newman 73-74, Waltrip 75, Newman 76, Hamlin 77-85, Kvapil 86, Waltrip 87-89, Patrick 90-91, Hamlin 92, Kenseth 93-126, Patrick 127-129, Logano 130-131, Kenseth 132-149, Hamlin 150-172, Smith 173, Keselowski 174-176, Speed 177-178, Keselowski 179-185, Johnson 186, Keselowski 187, Johnson 188, Keselowski 189-190, Johnson 191-200.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES TOP 12
Driver	Points	Wins
1 - Jimmie Johnson	47	(1)
2 - Dale Earnhardt Jr	42	(0)
3 - Mark Martin	41	(0)
4 - Brad Keselowski	41	(0)
5 - Ryan Newman	40	(0)
6 - Greg Biffle	38	(0)
7 - Danica Patrick	37	(0)
8 - Michael McDowell	35	(0)
9 - J.J. Yeley	34	(0)
10 - Clint Bowyer	34	(0)
11 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr	32	(0)
12 - Aric Almirola	31	(0)

 

CHECK THIS OUT???  Their dates may get awkward as this keeps up! 

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Driver	Points
Danica Patrick	14
Ricky Stenhouse Jr	10

 

NOTE: The above figures are based upon team winnings and include racing purse and cash contingency awards by participating manufacturers. (2/25/2013)

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OWNER LEADERS
Race #1: 55TH ANNUAL DAYTONA "500" Race Date: 2/24/2013

POS	Car #	Owner	Points	Starts	Wins	Top5	Top10	Attempts
1	48	JEFF GORDON	47	1	1	1	1	1
2	88	RICK HENDRICK	42	1	0	1	1	1
3	55	MICHAEL WALTRIP	41	1	0	1	1	1
4	2	ROGER PENSKE	41	1	0	1	1	1
5	39	TONY STEWART	40	1	0	1	1	1
6	16	JACK ROUSH	38	1	0	0	1	1
7	51	JAMES FINCH	38	1	0	0	1	1
8	10	GENE HAAS	37	1	0	0	1	1
9	98	MIKE CURB	35	1	0	0	1	1
10	36	ALLAN HEINKE	34	1	0	0	1	1
11	15	ROB KAUFFMAN	34	1	0	0	0	1
12	17	JOHN HENRY	32	1	0	0	0	1
13	43	RICHARD PETTY	31	1	0	0	0	1
14	11	J D GIBBS	31	1	0	0	0	1
15	47	TAD GESCHICKTER	29	1	0	0	0	1
16	83	RON DEVINE	28	1	0	0	0	1
17	7	TOMMY BALDWIN	27	1	0	0	0	1
18	9	RICHARD PETTY	26	1	0	0	0	1
19	22	WALTER CZARNECKI	26	1	0	0	0	1
20	24	RICK HENDRICK	25	1	0	0	0	1
21	27	RICHARD CHILDRESS	24	1	0	0	0	1
22	30	BRANDON DAVIS	23	1	0	0	0	1
23	95	BOB LEAVINE	22	1	0	0	0	1
24	56	MICHAEL WALTRIP	20	1	0	0	0	1
25	93	RON DEVINE	20	1	0	0	0	1
26	32	FRANK STODDARD JR.	18	1	0	0	0	1
27	21	GLEN WOOD	17	1	0	0	0	1
28	78	BARNEY VISSER	16	1	0	0	0	1
29	13	BOB GERMAIN	15	1	0	0	0	1
30	31	RICHARD CHILDRESS	14	1	0	0	0	1
31	33	JOE FALK	13	1	0	0	0	1
32	1	FELIX SABATES	12	1	0	0	0	1
33	99	JACK ROUSH	11	1	0	0	0	1
34	18	JOE GIBBS	10	1	0	0	0	1
35	34	BOB JENKINS	9	1	0	0	0	1
36	20	JOE GIBBS	9	1	0	0	0	1
37	5	LINDA HENDRICK	8	1	0	0	0	1
38	38	BRAD JENKINS	6	1	0	0	0	1
39	42	CHIP GANASSI	5	1	0	0	0	1
40	35	JERRY FREEZE	4	1	0	0	0	1
41	14	MARGARET HAAS	3	1	0	0	0	1
42	29	RICHARD CHILDRESS	2	1	0	0	0	1
43	87	ANDREA NEMECHEK	1	1	0	0	0	1
44	152	BOB KESELOWSKI	0	0	0	0	0	1
45	19	RANDY HUMPHREY	0	0	0	0	0	1