SPEED notches record ratings for All-Star Race

SPEED scored its highest rating in network history, earning a Nielsen Media Research mark of 3.74 (2,701,000 households), up six percent from last year's 3.53 (2,480,000 Households), making it the No. 1 network in basic cable during its coverage of All-Star Race XXIV on Saturday. The event, in its second of eight seasons on SPEED, peaked at 4.75 (3,430,000 households) and drew a network record four million viewers.

All-Star Race

Kasey Kahne needed the Fan Vote just to have the opportunity to compete in the Sprint All-Star Race. Then on old tires, he pulled away from Greg Biffle in the final segment to become the first voted-in winner of the event.

• Complete coverage

"We are jacked up about seeing record ratings for the second consecutive year, and we are very aware that it is a total team effort that delivered these results," SPEED president Hunter Nickell said. "Everyone at SPEED, everyone at Sprint, everyone at JHE Production Group, everyone at NASCAR, everyone at Lowe's Motor Speedway puts maximum effort into this event and it shows. That said, we all will continue to set the bar higher each season, settling for nothing less than the coolest NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race experience possible."

SPEED pre- and post-race programming also delivered larger audiences in 2008 as Nielsen Ratings for both NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane were up from 2007. NASCAR Victory Lane jumped 20 percent from a 1.03 (721,000 households) to a record 1.28 (926,000 households) and NASCAR RaceDay has been up double digits from 2007 all season long.

The Craftsman Truck Series race from Lowe's Motor Speedway scored an average Nielsen Household Rating of 1.13 (817,000 households), a 41-percent increase over the 2007 event, which scored a .80 (563,000 households). The race peaked at 1.54 (1,112,000 households).

An average of 1.1 million viewers watched the race, the most ever for the Charlotte event. Nielsen ratings for NCTS races on SPEED in 2008 are up 18 percent from 2007.