AVONDALE, Ariz.--- The Daytona 500's move to Monday night may have been happenstance, but the solid TV numbers generated by the event -- particularly in the coveted 18-49 age group--should give NASCAR plenty of food for thought.
For the first time in 54 years, the 500 was postponed from its scheduled day as rain drenched the track on Sunday, Feb. 26. NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway originally rescheduled the race for noon on Monday but quickly moved it to prime time --- 7 p.m. --- because of the threat of an afternoon storm.
The shift to Monday evening paid dividends. The live broadcast of the race pushed FOX into the overall Monday night prime time ratings lead, and -- despite a delay of more than two hours that resulted from the bizarre collision between Juan Pablo Montoya's Chevrolet and a jet dryer -- FOX won the overall Monday night battle in the 18-49 demographic despite strong competition from NBC's "The Voice," which captured the 18-49 group in its time slot.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski gained more than 100,000 new Twitter followers when he tweeted from the backstretch during the delay, suggesting that there were a lot of new eyes on NASCAR racing on Monday night.
But should that cause NASCAR and its affiliated racetracks to consider an occasional Monday night race in a departure from the typical weekend shows?
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Keselowski, 28, thinks such a move might alter the balance between TV viewership and at-track attendance.
"As a fan of the sport -- and obviously I'm in that demographic, the 18-49 -- I find myself asking the question of what would I want to see," Keselowski told the NASCAR Wire Service on Friday at Phoenix international Raceway. "...You look at the time line, and I think that probably helped a lot, being in
prime time. I think we've seen how well that's worked for other sports, and I think that probably opened up a bit of a Pandora's box for the sport, where we have to decide the trade-off.
"We have to reevaluate the trade-off between track attendance and TV audience. That's difficult, because, obviously, we have a lot of people who make major sacrifices to get to the track. It's important to keep them as well, so it's tough to keep everybody happy, and obviously the TV audience is part of that.
"It certainly opens up a question maybe we never asked like we should have before."
SADLER CAN DRIVE 55
Team owner Michael Waltrip filled in some of the empty dates on his No. 55 Toyota with the announcement Saturday that Elliott Sadler will drive the car in five races, starting Mar. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Sadler will pilot the car in both Bristol races and both Martinsville races this season in addition to the July 15 event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
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"This is an awesome opportunity," said Sadler, who notched the first of his three career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories at Bristol in 2001. "We've been talking about this for a while, but wanted to get through Daytona before we announced it to everyone.
"If I had to pick a place on the circuit to start then Bristol would be my first choice. I've had a lot of good memories at Bristol. Martinsville is in my
home state of Virginia, and I've always enjoyed racing at Loudon. I can't thank Michael and everyone at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) enough for giving me this opportunity."
Mark Martin will compete in 24 points events and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race in the No. 55. Waltrip himself will drive the car five times. The team has not announced a driver for either of the two road course events, at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
GREAT CLIPS SPONSORS PHOENIX RACE
Great Clips will sponsor the fall NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, the hair cutter and track announced Saturday.
The Nov. 10 Great Clips 200 is one of four races scheduled at PIR on the Nov. 9-11 weekend. Great Clips is the longest-running current sponsor in the Nationwide Series, dating to 2000.
Great Clips also sponsors the No. 38 Chevrolet fielded by Turner Motorsports and driven this season by Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet.
