Indy 500 TV Ratings Jump 40 Percent

Beloit Daily News ^ | 5/30/05

[LdSentinal]

NEW YORK - Danica Patrick's first Indianapolis 500 made for great television. ABC's broadcast on Sunday drew a 6.6 overnight rating and a 17 share, up 40 percent from last year and the highest since 1997.

Patrick, who became the first woman to hold the lead at the Indy 500, led several of the final laps before settling for fourth. The ratings during the last 15 minutes of the race spiked to 8.8/21.

Dan Wheldon passed the 23-year-old rookie with seven laps to go and coasted to his first victory at the Brickyard.

Last year's race, won by Patrick's Rahal-Letterman teammate Buddy Rice, drew a 4.7/11.

Arie Luyendyk's victory in the 1997 race, which finished on a Tuesday because of rain, drew a 7.6/19.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, covering nearly 70 percent of the country. Share is the percentage of people actually watching TV at a time who tune in at any point during a specific program.

Each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 TV homes.

[ProudVet77]

You all knew this was coming.....

[al baby]

she should be home baking cookies and cleaning house gezzz

[RoseofTexas]

Watch the She-DEVIL, who's name will not be mentioned, become a SUDDEN Indy 500 race car fan...MARK MY WORDS!! You'll be seeing her in every darn race that's televised! Sad thing about the whole thing will be watching the drivers of those cars extend a warm welcome to the Beast, of course them being gentlemen and all...uughh! Can't stand the *itch!!

[baystaterebel]

She ran a good race. A few mistakes but she handled her car well. Fuel pressure eventually killed her run. She will get a win eventually. Coming in fourth as a rookie is not easy by any means. IRL needed this, and her, badly.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Yup, they got exactly what they wanted.

[Perdogg]

What's going to happen in the near future is Indy race teams are going to develop young women who weigh about 100 lbs and basically give the drivers instructions over the com.

I would not be surprise to see Paris Hilton as a Indy race driver.

[BurbankKarl]

She did great...better than black flagged leaker Robbie Gordon at the Coke600.

Although, she needed more than a yellow to win the race in the end....

It was the most competitive race in recent memory.

(And please boot anyone with the Foyt name out next year...they take too many other drivers out with their bad driving )

[Bernard]

If Paris Hilton keeps eating those hamburgers from the commercial she won't weigh 100 lbs. anymore. But then, she can take lessons from Roseanne on how to sing the anthem.

[BurbankKarl]

Did you watch the race?

[al baby]

You do know i was kidding. I was yelling and jumping up and down hoping she would win. Letterman would have had a great top ten list, still might. I say go Danica

[baystaterebel]

"What's going to happen in the near future is Indy race teams are going to develop young women who weigh about 100 lbs and basically give the drivers instructions over the com."

Where you been? Thats been going on since the cars have gotten radio communications. And holy jock straps Bat Man!.....They were coaching the male drives too.

[RoseofTexas]

Ooops, sorry should have been more clear about who I was talking about...I was talking about Hillary! According to some stats, race car fans are a HUGH voting block! They usually lean republican, I think. This sport is becoming extremely popular and political, so watch the SHE-DEVIL, aka Hitlary become a rabid fan like she did baseball when she was running for senator.!

[Perdogg]

I agree, I never said it was new. All I am saying is get a young skinny woman with decent driving skills, it may take a few years to develop, and basically coach her.

I was not being misogynistic or lacking understanding for the obvious.

[troublesome creek]

Are you being series?

[Perdogg]

I saw about half of it. I saw the beginning and the ending, I missed from about lap 90 to 180.

[Southack]

"I would not be surprise to see Paris Hilton as a Indy race driver."

The TV ratings would go up so much that *all* of the Indy Teams would become profitable, especially if Paris Hilton won and there was a pay-per-view for the winner's circle traditional kiss from the trophy girls.

...And lets face it, without sexy women in the hunt for the checkered flag, the sport is too mundane to attract a big TV audience (live attendence is a different beast, though).

Besides, racing has so many rules in it now that mandate so much evenness between cars and teams, that relatively inexperienced female drivers really can win now.

It was only a matter of time before the teams figured that much out, too.

[troublesome creek]

Head Cheerleader, Todd "Brown Nose" Harris, who called the race for ABC was insufferable. Danica this. Will Danica do that? Danica, oh Danica, wherefore art thou, oh Danica.

Not her fault he was such an obsequious, fawning ba*tard. Had his order from the brass, though. Play it up big.

She did well. Next thing you know there will be a copier named after her.

[al baby]

[troublesome creek]

No wonder Bill thought Monica was shapely and svelte.

[BurbankKarl]

Well, for a rookie to have the presence of mind to get over to the rapidly approaching pits after losing her nose cone in that mishap was amazing to me. Most drivers would have been to stunned to make that decision that quickly.

[BurbankKarl]

Racing for 13 years is inexperienced?

[al baby]

she did well yes indeed

[leadpenny]

Next year the Indy 500 will be on the "Lifetime" channel. /s

[LdSentinal]

Ashley Judd should be in the cockpit, perhaps even on Dario Franchitti's lap.

[baystaterebel]

One more thing for all us NASCAR fans.....

She tested a Busch car in June of 2002.

[Perdogg]

I think a lot of people will fall off the Danica bandwagon after that miserable commentary.

That's unfortunate.

[BurbankKarl]

Beth Ann Morgenthau, the car owner for Ken Schrader's No. 49 Dodge, was among those watching Danica Patrick's efforts in the Indianapolis 500 Sunday afternoon.
"I guess it's just natural for a female to pull for the female driver, but it was incredibly exciting to see how well she did," Morgenthau said after watching Patrick's fourth-place finish.

"It was impressive, not just to see her finish so well but to overcome so much adversity. Any driver doing that well would be admirable but the fact she did it as an Indianapolis 500 rookie is very, very impressive."

Morgenthau said she would like to see more women involved in all aspects of motorsports, not only as drivers but as owners, crew members and officials as well.

"Someone running as well as Danica Patrick did today in front of an international television audience is great for the sport," Morgenthau said. "I'm hoping there were thousands of little girls all across the country watching, rooting for her and dreaming of the day they will run in the Indianapolis 500 or the Coca-Cola 600."

[SamAdams76]

Just to let you all know, I spent most of that afternoon cooking dinner and scrubbing the bathroom floor while my wife was drinking beer and watching the Indy 500.

The worm has turned...

[RightMike]

maybe bewcause some of us wanted to hear about danica, and not as much about the other drivers. duh.

[Perdogg]

I'll tell you one thing, if she doesn't win a race, that pseudosapphic columnist Christine Brennan at USA Today will make her out to be the next Anna K.

[Pukin Dog]

Meow, dude.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I have to agree. That was the most sycophantic and pathetic *ss-kissing by a sportscaster since Ahmad Rashad was licking Jordan and Pippin's Nikes during the 90s.

[BurbankKarl]

[LdSentinal]

Oh no . . .

[BurbankKarl]

Oh, I think she will win...

Plus, I didnt see her running her teammate off the road like others yesterday...

[American Vet Repairman]

Having a 50-60 pound weight advantage for 500 miles is a big deal in these cars. Put some weight under the seat and lets see the big deal then.

In regards to NASCAR- she will not make it. Not because she is a woman either.

This fawning over a "rookie" status is crap also. I remember one I500 when the new driver took a tour on the track bus and the old tour driver showed the best line of the track. The kid won the race.

Here is the formula for winning at racing. Money, money, money, luck, skill, and more money.

[zipper]

It's too bad she wasn't an illegal alien too-- think how good for the ratings that would've been.

[Perdogg]

[StoneColdTaxHater]

I am a lifelong Indy 500 and Indy car fan. I applaud her for doing so well. I know it must be tough to drive that fast for that long and not get dead. On the other hand, if ABC or ESPN said "Danica" one more time I was going to scream! By the end of the race I prayed for her to finish antwhere but 1st just so they would shut up about her. Kind of like John Tesh at the summer olympic games a number of years ago he was obbsessed with sonme Russian Gymnast.

[umgud]

Un freeking believable! She's so green, she hasn't even been taught to leave the toilet seat up, and somebody's given her an Indy ride.

(BTW, I was rooting for her too)

[JBCiejka]

Even given the "weight" issue, I still think it took guts to drive as fast as she did. What if one guy is 210 and another is 180. Are they going to complain about that? I for one, applaud anyone that can drive that fast no matter what they weigh. And by the way, I was thrilled that Carl Edwards won the Busch and Nascar the same weekend. That is quite an incentive for rookies.

[Para-Ord.45]

I R who ?

Oh,that 3rd tear open racing ? yeah,heard of it,don`t watch it.

CART / F1 Rules.

[Para-Ord.45]

* Tier.

Fruedian slip there

[b4its2late]

[Right Brother]

Jeff Gordon has a bigger chest.

[Perdogg]

She's very cute but her hands look kind of masculine.

[troublesome creek]

Dictionaries are available in most good bookstores. Try one out. You might be amazed at how some words are actually spelled. Not sure either "duh" and "bewcause" are in there, but, hey, it's worth a shot.

[Tribune7]

Smart move for the Indianapolis 500.

[RightMike]

she is gorgeous isn't she?