TNT eked out only the third increase in viewership for NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage this season.

Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Sonoma earned a 2.8 U.S. rating and 4.7 million viewers, down 7% in ratings and virtually flat in viewership compared to last year (3.0, 4.7M) and down 15% and 10%, respectively, from 2012 (3.3, 5.2M).

Viewership for the race was up just 0.3% from last year, rising from 4.66 million to 4.68 million. Still, that marked the third viewership increase of the season for Sprint Cup racing, and the second on TNT.

Considering the competition from the World Cup, and the overall down season for NASCAR, any increase over last year is fairly impressive. Even so, this year’s race ranks as the second-lowest rated from Sonoma since at least 1998 and the third-least viewed since at least 2002.

For the week, NASCAR on TNT ranked as the sixth-most watched program on cable. Only the World Cup and a pair of TNT dramas did better.

(Sun. numbers from Bloomberg/TV By the Numbers)