Viewer's Guide: Loudon

The first Cup race televised on ABC since July 2000 delivered an increase in ratings and viewership for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The telecast by ESPN on ABC delivered a 4.2 fast national rating with more than 4,731,000 households and more than 6,750,000 viewers.

The households represent a 33 percent increase (up from 3,568,000) and the viewership increased 28 percent (up from 5,288,000) from last year's Richmond telecast.

ABC won Saturday night in all key adult demographics, and the race delivered ABC its largest Saturday night audience since April, as well as its strongest Adult 18-49 Saturday night audience since December.

ESPN on ABC will have live coverage of all 10 races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, beginning with Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H. The telecast begins at 1 p.m. ET with NASCAR Countdown. The green flag is set for 2:17 p.m. ET.

Q&A: Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace, ESPN analyst and the first winner at NHIS in 1993, provides an insider's look at the track.

Wallace: New Hampshire is a track that has very long straightaways and real wide corners. It's really hard to get around Loudon. But it does create some very exciting racing. You can pass all over the place, although it is very hard to pass. There's no one groove that's the best place to pass. A lot of drivers like it; a lot of drivers hate it.

Q: From a driver's standpoint, how difficult is NHIS to maneuver?

Wallace: It's very difficult. The reason is that the track has the widest corners and the drivers must spend a lot of time getting around, and it's also very flat, which increases the difficulty. Bad handling characteristics of the car shows up at Loudon. It drives different than any other racetrack. It's a track all its own.

Q: Is NHIS a track where a Chase driver can make up ground if he has some tough luck early in the race?

Wallace: Yes, because New Hampshire is one of the only racetracks where a two-tire pit stop will work out well 90 percent of the time. You can put two right-side tires on and get back in the ball game again. That is the only reason you can make up time. The cars don't mind two tires at all and the track is very easy on the left-side tires."

Q: What should ESPN viewers watch for that is unique to NHIS?

Wallace: They're going to be driving so fast on the straightaways and then come into the corners where there is a really flat entry. There is always a crash going into Turn 1 and Turn 3 and a lot of guys just flat lose it. I compare it to a big Martinsville, but at Loudon you're running close to 150 mph.

Will the absence of Dale Earnhardt Jr. decrease viewership of the Chase?

Wallace: I think we made such a story going into it that everybody's well aware of what's happening right now, and I think the viewership's not going to change a whole lot. He's going to be out there racing every single week, he's still going to be in the races and he's still a big story. You're not going to turn the TV off just because he's not in the Chase. I think you'll want to keep the TV on because he's your favorite guy. He's still in it, he's just not in the Chase, but there's still a lot of good stories going on."

Q&A: Rich Feinberg

Rich Feinberg is the vice president of motorsports for ESPN.

Feinberg: We're a company with multiple platforms and multiple business units that are involved with the NASCAR project, and I think across the board on a whole lot of different levels the company is very satisfied with where we are season to date.

Q: Was your ratings success at Richmond a turning point?

Feinberg: We're working hard using research and whatever techniques we can come up with to put shows on that people will enjoy and hopefully create some more appointment viewing and stay with us longer, which is a key. It's an example of how much of ESPN has gotten behind our relationship with NASCAR. We're really excited with where the Chase may take us over the next 10 weeks. Hopefully what happened in Richmond is a positive indication of where we're headed.

Q: What could NASCAR do to help the telecaster not miss restarts?

Feinberg: I'm not happy when we miss a restart, either. I'm not sure what NASCAR should do or would do when it comes to stopping the game to do commercials, as is done in some other sports. Stopping a racecar in the middle of the race is a tough deal, and even extending caution laps when we're in a commercial, because we try to do our breaks after pit stops around a yellow flag, could ultimately affect the race because so many fuel-mile stories are involved at any given time. If there was any way I could predict what's going to happen on the track, especially as it relates to incidents or green-flag passing while I'm in break, or if there's somebody out there who knows how to do that, I'd love to give them a job sitting next to me in that truck, because we'd all feel a lot better about it.

ESPN2 will air Nextel Cup qualifying at 3 p.m. ET Friday, and Happy Hour on a tape-delayed basis at 7 p.m. ET Saturday.