Daytona 500 Smashes NBA All-Star Ratings

Sunday's Daytona 500 on Fox drew 8.9 million viewers, topping every primetime entertainment show on television to date this year.

For comparison, Daytona beat the NBA All-Star Game, which aired on TNT later that evening, by over 41%. That's the largest gap between the two events in five years, says research guru Michael Mulvihill.

You'd never know that more viewers chose NASCAR than the NBA on Sunday. After all, ESPN and TNT spent the entire week promoting LeBron James' return to Cleveland, the site of the All-Star Game.

Daytona also topped the same-day coverage of the Olympic closing ceremonies on NBC. Here's how they compare:

NASCAR is quietly experiencing significant year-over-year growth. FOX's half of the NASCAR season, through two events, is up 94%.

I, too, choose NASCAR over LeBron.