A "handful of NASCAR officials" and TV analysts said
that the 5% drop in overnight ratings for Sunday's Daytona
500, which earned a 7.5/18 overnight, was partly
attributable to CBS' lack of promotion, according to Howard
Manly of the BOSTON GLOBE. NASCAR VP/Broadcasting Bray
Cary: "This was probably the first time in recent history
that anything has done that well with so little promotion.
It's quite clear that CBS chose to promote other things."
Manly reports that the race "drew its best ratings in the
Deep South," with Greensboro, NC, earning an 18.7 overnight
rating and Orlando, FL, earning a 16.9. Markets that
"weren't so kind" included Boston with a 6.9/19 local
rating, followed by Chicago with a 6.4. In the N.Y. market,
the race earned a 3.7 local rating (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/23).
ARE NASCAR/PRESS RELATIONS AT A LOW? In Gastonia, NC,
Monte Dutton writes that he has noticed a change in NASCAR's
relations with the press since the controversial Article
Four provision was discovered in Daytona media credential
applications. Dutton adds that NASCAR officials "served
notice" at the Daytona 500 that "in the future, getting even
the most routine information is going to be, please forgive
the cliche, like pulling teeth." Dutton reports that NASCAR
"refused to release the names and hometowns of the fans who
were injured" when Geoffrey Bodine's truck crashed during
Friday's Craftsman Truck race and sent debris into the
stands. Dutton, on NASCAR preventing the release of the
names: "First of all, none of the injuries were life-
threatening. There was no issue of informing families.
Secondly, given the circumstances ... it was newsworthy."
Dutton: "In most past instances, NASCAR tracks have been
generally cooperative with the media. This is apparently no
longer the case. ... Maybe we should challenge NASCAR at
every step along the way, and maybe NASCAR should be less
forthcoming and challenge us to do our jobs. But it's going
to make an already long season even longer" (GAZETTE, 2/23).
In Buffalo, Greg Connors reviewed NASCAR-related sites and
noted that NASCAR.com "was one of the few sites that did not
show a picture" of Bodine's crash on Friday (B. NEWS, 2/22).
