Ratings down 16 percent for Fox coverage of Daytona 500

A colleague on the sports desk figured out that in a 500-mile automobile race there are 31,680,000 inches — 500 miles multiplied by 5,280 feet in a mile multiplied by 12 inches in a foot. And that at the end of 500 miles on Sunday, Denny Hamlin edged Martin Truex Jr. by about four inches to win a thrilling Daytona 500.

That seemed pretty remarkable to him, and it must have been pretty exciting to those watching at the track, and to those watching at home on TV.

But, apparently, not that many were watching on TV.

The Daytona 500 earned a 6.1 overnight rating on FOX, down 16 percent from last year's overnight rating of 7.3. The 6.1 was the second-lowest overnight rating for the race since 2008, when overnight ratings first became available.

Industry sources predict this year's Daytona 500 final TV ratings will be the second-lowest since flag-to-flag coverage began in 1979.

Perhaps this is where it should be pointed out there are a lot more channels to watch today than there were in 1979. Sports Media Watch website reported the Daytona 500 ranks well behind other sports such as the World Series, NBA Finals, NCAA Final Four and college football playoffs, horse racing's triple crown and the latter rounds of the Masters for TV viewership.

But at least Denny Hamlin and company beat golf on Sunday.

The final round of the PGA's tour stop at Riviera Country Club at Pacific Palisades, California, earned a 2.8 overnight rating, which was a lot more than four inches behind NASCAR.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski