IRL TV ratings dwindling! (1 Viewer)

Final rating for IRL Phoenix race: 0.9

The historical record:

1996: 2.2
1997: 1.8
1998: 1.9
1999: 1.9
2000: 1.7
2001: 1.2
2002: 1.2
2003: 0.9

From Motorsportstv.com:

"The final ratings for the IRL race from Phoenix on March 23 are finally in, and they're not encouraging. The race on ABC pulled in a 0.9 rating and 2 share, down 25 percent from last year's 1.2 rating. It was the lowest-rated sports broadcast of the weekend. It couldn't outpace Arena League football on NBC (1.2), the NHL on ABC (1.2), or the GMAC NBA Shootaround on ABC (1.4). (Ratings from Sports Business Daily)"

What a shame. Not.

It appears that oval racing fans a) prefer NASCAR and/or b) can recognize a sham when they see one (mandated minimum wing angles).

The sooner the other Hulman heirs get tired of Tony George wasting their (Grandfather's) money and cut him off the better it will be for American open wheel racing (if it happens soon, OW racing might even survive in the US).