Last May, CBS’s “Amazing Race” finale aired in one of the toughest timeslots on television, its final hour competing with Fox’s “American Idol” and ABC’s “Lost,” both of them big hits. The season-ender didn’t do so hot, averaging a 3.4.

Last night, having moved from Wednesday to Sunday at 8 p.m. this season, the 10th edition of “Race” saw a nice boost for its finale. It averaged a 4.0 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, up 18 percent over last year and boosting its season average after two straight seasons of decline.

Through the penultimate episode, “Race” had been averaging a 3.8, 9 percent ahead of season nine’s 3.5 average last year, when it bounced from Tuesday to Wednesday and never really built much steam. The fall 2005 edition of “Race” averaged a 4.3, also down from the spring before.

Certainly a more consistent timeslot, Sundays at 8 p.m., where the competition isn’t as killer as it was for the two-hour finale last year, helped push up this year’s numbers. Though it faced “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC, “Race” got a nice lead-in from “60 Minutes,” where the football crowd often lingered after CBS’s late NFL games. Many also stayed around for “Race.”

CBS has decided that the next edition of “Race” will be an all-star game, with couples like Rob and Amber returning. All-stars usually signal a franchise in need of help, and the season finale bump is a promising first step.

Meanwhile, football led NBC to a first-place finish for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 6.2 average rating and a 15 share. ABC finished second at 4.3/11, CBS third at 4.0/10, Fox fourth at 3.1/8, Univision fifth at 1.4/3 and CW sixth at 1.2/3.
 
As a reminder, fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program performance. CBS and NBC both aired football last night, which bled into other timeslots, therefore their numbers may adjust significantly when final ratings come out tomorrow.

CBS took the 7 p.m. hour with a 4.5 rating for “60 Minutes.” NBC was second that hour with a 3.1 for “Football Night in America,” ABC third with a 2.8 for “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and Fox third with a 2.2 average for repeats of “American Dad” (1.9) and “The Simpsons” (2.5). CW and Univision tied for fifth that hour at 1.2, CW for an hour of “Reba” and Univision for the first hour of its four-hour special “Aun Hay Mas: Homenaje a Raul Velasco.”
 
NBC took the lead for good during the 8 p.m. hour with a 6.4 average for NFL pregame and the first 45 minutes of its game between the Cowboys and Saints. ABC was second with a 4.2 for its first hour of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” CBS third with a 4.0 for “Race” and Fox fourth with a 3.7 for “Simpsons” (4.1) and “Dad” (3.3). CW came in fifth with a 1.5 for “7th Heaven” and Univision sixth with a 1.3 for its second hour of “Velasco.”
 
At 9 p.m., NBC led again, building to a 7.8 rating among 18-49s for football. ABC closed the gap with a 6.3 for its second hour of “Home Edition,” with CBS third with a 3.7 for “Cold Case,” Fox fourth with a 3.4 for an hour of “Family Guy” repeats, Univision fifth with a 1.7 for another hour of “Velasco,” and CW sixth with a 0.9 for a repeat of “America’s Next Top Model.”
 
At 10 p.m., NBC led once again, this time with a 7.4 rating for football. ABC was second with a 4.0 for “Brothers & Sisters,” CBS third with a 3.8 for “Without a Trace” and Univision fourth with a 1.5 for the last hour of “Velasco.”
 
NBC also finished first for the night among households, averaging a 10.0 rating and a 16 share. CBS was second at 9.3/14, ABC third at 7.5/12, Fox fourth at 4.0/6, CW fifth at 2.3/3 and Univision sixth at 1.9/3.