TV ratings climb for Cup race

The national TV audience for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday was the fifth largest in series history other than those for the Daytona 500, the circuit's biggest race 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.

Thirteen million households nationally tuned into the race, with huge gains in the markets of Detroit (38 percent), Chicago (35 percent) and Los Angeles (30 percent).

The viewership was the largest in the 11-year history of Cup races in Las Vegas.

Southern Nevada viewers also tuned in, but not as many as a year ago. Research director Melody Schrieber of local Fox affiliate KVVU-TV (Channel 5) said the rating of 10.8 and 77,000 households was lower than last year's 12.2 rating.

Nationally, the Cup race was the highest-rated sporting event of the weekend. It more than doubled the ratings for each of two NBA games, ran away from the PGA Tour event and more than tripled ratings for two college basketball games.

The Nationwide Series Sam's Town 300 on Saturday drew a 2.1 rating on ESPN2.

• LEGENDS CARS -- Bear Rzesnowiecky and Tyler Fabozzi won races Sunday after the Sprint Cup race on the speedway's quarter-mile infield oval. Rzesnowiecky won the 25-lap Legends Cars race; Fabozzi captured the Bandoleros feature.

The speedway's Bullring season opens March 29.

• DIRT TRACK -- USAC National Sprint Car champion Levi Jones of Olney, Ill., won the Feb. 29 30-lap feature in the Las Vegas Dirt Classic at the speedway's half-mile dirt track.

• MOTORCYCLES -- Yamaha's Chad Reed won the AMA Supercross race Saturday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis to maintain his lead in the series standings going into today's nonpoints race at Daytona International Speedway, which is part of Daytona Bike Week.

Seven Supercross races remain before the May 3 finale at Sam Boyd Stadium. ...

Former Supercross champion Ricky Carmichael, 28, will begin driving a stock car in the NASCAR East Series for veteran Ken Schrader. His first race is scheduled for June in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0247.