Full Throttle

It can’t be a good thing when the NASCAR suits come a knocking.

I suspect Jack Roush would be off limits for ones personal safety reasons for the next week or so, but one could ask Cousin Carl about what it’s like to The Suits pay a visit.

Surprisingly when they came into the Detroit News Sports Department they had good news for DetNews motorsports blogger Doug Guthrie.

Jennifer Powell, NASCAR’s senior manager of broadcast communication, and Herb Branham, director of strategic writing communication and managing editor of NASCAR Insider Magazine are the Suits in question.

They actually rode into my old stomping grounds (so old I remember Benny Parsons at the wheel of a ‘59 Edsel dirt late model) touting the gains NASCAR has made in local viewership.

The greater Detroit area had the nation’s 15th ranked Sprint Cup viewing audience (an estimated 77,000 households) last year according to Nielsen Media Research and have increased 38 percent so far this year.

But wait, there’s more. Metro Detroit is the 10th ranked Nationwide Series audience with an estimated average of 38,000 households.

“Detroit is a strong sports town and a motor sports town,” said Powell, explaining that we are among the few places in the country where NASCAR isn’t the No. 2 network televised sport behind only the National Football League. Our love of Deeee-troit Basketball makes the NBA number two and NASCAR the number three in network rankings here. Nationally, Sprint Cup racing is number two and the NASCAR Nationwide series number six, slightly behind Major League Baseball and tied with the NBA.

Look, I say look, at those Nationwide numbers.

NASCAR’s second tier series scored only slightly behind the beloved Tigers! The winning Tigers I might add after a couple decades sucking hind teat on a bore hog.

And to be tied statistically with the Pistons, who have been next to Godliness since the days of Dave Bing, is remarkable.

I have to say it, Hats Off to my old hometown and state and its racing fans that have consistently over the years shown support for all forms of racing.

And for that, The Suits, are happy.

AS A SIDENOTE: In addition to Doug Guthrie’s blog linked above that many may not be aware of, Monte Dutton NASCAR writer for the Gaston Gazette has started a new blog, NASCAR This Week. And if being one of the sharpest NASCAR beat writers around isn’t enough, he’s also smart enough to use WordPress as his blogging platform. Well done Monte!

For those without a blog and are getting the itch to let your NASCAR hair down on the world-wide interwebs, go see Luke for a free hosted blog at Thunder Lounge.

UPDATE: In verification of the Detroit TV numbers noted above, the Las Vegas numbers are out. Sunday’s Cup event scored the fifth highest rating in series history discounting the Daytona 500 which annually leads each year.

The 7.1 rating for the UAW-Dodge 400 on Fox Sports was a 13 percent increase over last year’s Las Vegas-based Cup race, according to Nielsen Media Research. With the largest gains in the markets of Detroit (38 percent), Chicago (35 percent) and Los Angeles (30 percent).

Those numbers should send a certain so-called sports writer/Toyota hating nitwit into a full fledged tizzy fit. And it goes without saying a couple of his commenters are as far out in space as he.

UPDATE II: In an unrelated note. For all you Baby Busch haters out there you don’t want to read the next to last paragraph (it’s a sentence actually) in this article. Really you don’t. Not that it would change your mind any, just tweak you a bit.