NHRA Mello Yello series racing continues to see increases in television viewership, attendance - Speedway Digest

Television viewership on ESPN/ESPN2 and event attendance for the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series continue to increase in 2015 after a year-over-year increase in 2014, the NHRA announced today.

Television viewership for the season-opening Circle K NHRA Winternationals, the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals and the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals was up 30 percent overall for Sunday’s eliminations shows and 50 percent for Saturday’s qualifying shows.

The trend continues to build on positive television viewership numbers that the NHRA Mello Yello Series saw in 2014. Bolstered by three live shows, Sunday’s eliminations shows in 2014 were up by 9 percent over the previous year.

In what should provide another sizeable boost to those viewership numbers, five Sunday eliminations programs will air live in 2015, with three on ESPN and two on ESPN2. The first live eliminations show will be this weekend’s Four-Wide NHRA Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. Other live eliminations shows are set for Houston, Bristol, Norwalk and Chicago.

“We’re thrilled with our viewership gains in 2014 and the strong television performance we’re seeing for the start of the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello season,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “With compelling action on the track and the addition of more live programming scheduled for this season we look forward to that trend continuing.”

In addition, ESPN2 will air a live qualifying show from the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas on April 11, which also will include live coverage of the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a bonus race for qualified Pro Stock teams.

Attendance at NHRA Mello Yello Series events continues to rise as well. Following a three year trend that started in 2012, attendance is continuing to experience growth in 2015, as each of the first three races produced attendance increases.

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street program and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 5 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville in Florida; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.