25 JULY 2007:  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Inaugural IndyCar Series Event Sets Broadcast Record

DUBLIN, Ohio – ESPN and ABC’s flag-to-flag coverage of The Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance on July 22 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earned exceptionally high ratings, according to initial reports from Nielsen Media Research.

Overnight ratings for The Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance are reported separately due to split television coverage of the event on ESPN from 2:00 – 3:00pm, followed by coverage on ABC from 3:00 – 4:00pm.

ESPN's coverage of the twelfth round of the IndyCar Series earned a .6 overnight rating with a 1 share which represents a 67% increase over the IndyCar Series race in Milwaukee which aired on ESPN during the same week in 2006.

ABC's coverage of the race earned a 1.9 overnight rating with a 5 share. Should the ABC rating hold (final numbers expected out Thursday), it will represent the highest IndyCar Series rating on ABC, excluding the Indianapolis 500, in at least the last five years. The rating would also outperform all Busch Series events televised on ESPN or ABC in 2007. The rating was aided by British Open programming which delivered a 4.1 overnight lead-in.

Further analysis will be done in the coming days and the final Television Ratings Summary will be issued once the final Network numbers are reported.

A comprehensive motorsports facility, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course features a permanent road-racing circuit with two primary configurations: a 2.4-mile, 15-turn, and a 2.25-mile, 13-turn circuit. The park-like, 330-acre complex in Lexington, Ohio also features an amateur motocross venue. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Incorporated is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year.
 

Contact:
Rebecca Ackford
614-793-4620
rackford@midohio.com

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